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| A special photo to celebrate NYE 2017/18, and also because we're at Doug's parents' without our Oscar statuette! |
Plot Intro
The hot desert land of Arabia in 1916 is ruled by various warring Arab tribes, and an invading force of Turks from the North. Into this situation is sent Lieutenant T. E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole). After an inspirational meeting with one of the major Arab leaders, Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness), Lawrence teams up with Ali (Omar Sharif) and Auda (Anthony Quinn) to unite the Arab tribes against the Turks and gain control of their land- whilst also resisting the interference of the British Empire…
We end 2017 with another “epic”, but not as we know it. Our first was probably 1931’s Cimarron which was extremely Homeric in its linear episodic structure and its use of adventures and escapades to portray the heroism and development of the leading man. We then saw the titan of all epics, Gone With the Wind, in 1939, before seeing a lull in the ’40s. And then the '50s gave us The Bridge on the River Kwai (which had the same director as Lawrence, David Lean, as well as Alec Guinness) and Ben-Hur. I have written briefly about how Ben-Hur is more reflective of the epics of the time- hallowed, reverential, artifically beautiful, complete with religious overtones and unquestioning allegiance to the lead hero. The beauty of Lawrence of Arabia is that it takes the epic into new territory - in fact, into the very territory that Gone With the Wind nearly broke before the war depleted production values in Hollywood. The epic now involves flawed heroes. Small, humane stories set against a colossal backdrop. Gone With the Wind had Scarlet O’Hara’s spoilt cunning, while Lawrence of Arabia has Lawrence’s mental instability and disobedience.
And for the most part it’s awfully captivating. David Lean revels in views of the Arabian desert (also nicknamed “the sun’s anvil”), transforming it into a world that is magnificent and picturesque, but also alien and more dangerous than a jungle rife with carnivores. The first half of the film covers Lawrence’s initial travels over the desert and his battles not only with the contentious Arab tribes but also with the far more terrifying forces of nature. When he goes back into the most sun-scorched part of the desert to save a comrade who has fallen off his camel, it is made vividly clear to the audience that this seems impossible, so his success is breathtaking.
Meanwhile, the humane side of things is carried expertly by Peter O’Toole in his career-establishing performance and first of a whopping eight Oscar nominations for Best Actor (he never won). It’s hard to believe that Marlon Brando was considered for the part - an actor far too rough-around-the-edges for such a role. O’Toole is elegant, flippant, but also vulnerable and easy to support as a result. It’s a nuanced but infamous performance, mostly because he pretty much outshines a troop of far more experienced actors around him (Alec Guinness, Anthony Quayle, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins).
Like Gone With the Wind, this is a film that covers a lot of ground, though with a slower, more ponderous pace than its forerunner. And also like Gone With the Wind, the second half of the film is far inferior to the first. The first half is a relentless tale of adventure across the desert. The second is designed to show Lawrence’s descent into mental chaos and reasons for his exit from Arabia. Here, things become less engaging because a lot of character development is crammed into a shorter segment and the storyline and internal politics are more like edited highlights, losing the coherence of the first 2.5 hours.
This doesn’t ruin the film entirely, however. I was dreading this one due to the intimidating length (between 3.5 and 4 hours depending on the DVD edition you might have). But it’s never boring, and what you will be watching is one of the most spectacular, large-scale movies ever made- it’s often found right up there in the top 10 or top 100 greatest films, so set aside an afternoon and copious amounts of coffee and give it a go. I dare you.
Highlight
Lawrence’s triumphant rescue of a fallen friend from the desert is the film’s most powerful moment for me. You can’t help cheer him as he conquers nature and proves his worth to the Arab tribes.
Lowlight
The film begins with Lawrence’s famous death in a motorcycle accident. I thought this would make the film into a circular structure and come back to it, but David Lean doesn’t, so the scene feels arbitrary.
Mark
8/10
I wonder at what point the producers and directors decide to sign off on a four hour running time. Because pragmatically it makes zero sense. You either have an epic storyline that won’t quite fit into four hours, or an overblown tale in need of serious editing - and actually something we’re seeing now is that television series are beginning to overtake cinema in terms of popularity, perhaps because the extended length of ten to fifteen hours allows audiences to access a story of careful and patient content, in non-intimidating hour-long chunks.
Lawrence of Arabia very much falls into the first category. As Paul rightly says, it’s our second four hour film (after Gone With The Wind) and both suffer from having a beautifully measured, carefully paced first half, followed by a rushed second half as the creative team rush to cram the rest of the story in. But I disagree with Paul in some respects.
Firstly, I think the downfall and spiralling out of Lawrence himself is fascinating. The first half sets him up as an invincible, if eccentric hero who is forced to do terrible things in the name of success. He has to execute several people in order to save his mission, and thanks to O’Toole’s excellent performance we fully understand the toll this takes.
So when in the second half he suffers greater atrocities - including a very odd homoerotic scene where a police guard strokes his bare chest before ordering him to be beaten within an inch of his life - it makes perfect sense that he would start losing his grip. It culminates in a horrifying blood-drenched scene where he orders a perfectly unnecessary battle and is found at the heart of it, killing people with an unhinged grin on his face. It’s only his friend Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) who stops him and pulls him back to sanity.
It’s just that this section is woefully unexplored, and there’s the feeling that the writers really struggled - ironically enough I think that this would make a stronger tv series, and that this breakdown would account for at least half of a full length series. I like a flawed hero, and I found the fact that we question whether he really is a hero as the film progresses to be even more compelling. A little research reveals that the real Lawrence was a pathological liar, most likely gay - in an era when it was illegal, and certainly a masochist - not necessarily the most well balanced of men! I appreciate they reflected this - I just wanted more.
Where I most disagree with Paul though is that he says O’Toole outshines everyone, whereas for me, I found O’Toole to deliver an excellent performance certainly, but actually his supporting players often steal the limelight - (putting aside the awkwardness of white actors wearing ‘tanned’ make-up for the moment). I finally get why people always say Omar Sharif’s name and sigh (he is gorgeous) and I loved his and Anthony Quinn’s performances as two rival chieftains of Arabic clans - in particular any moment where those two sparred was excellent. But ultimately the film’s best performance for me came from Alec Guinness.
Guinness is becoming one of my favourite actors rapidly with each film of his that I discover. Here he plays a thoughtful older Arabic king, and he delivers his performance with such measured thought and drive that you cannot take your eyes from him. It’s a tour de force with only a handful of scenes across the four hours, and he clearly was an actor to be feared.
Ultimately, the beautiful landscapes win out, as David Lean makes the desert the most prominent player, and the stunning isolated background is one of the main things I feel led this film to victory. It’s an uneven shapeshifter of a film, but far more rewarding that I would have thought - and just how blue are Peter O’Toole’s eyes?!
Highlight
There’s so many moments, but Omar Sharif’s first appearance is superb. Just a dot on the horizon, he rides closer to the camera over a few minutes so it takes ages to see him. Fantastic cinematography and direction from Lean, and the first time you see Sharif’s chiselled jaw to boot.
Lowlight
The second half feels rushed, and needed another two hours to fully tell the tale. One for a Netflix series perhaps?
Mark
9/10
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