by Adam Ritchie, Contributing Writer
Welcome back to another edition of 20th Century Flicks, folks. I hope you’ve been well since we last met. It sure has been an interesting time in Hollywood, with Oscar nominations being announced, and all the usual banter about snubs, what-ifs, and maybes filling the Twittersphere. Keeping with the Oscar’s spirit, this month I managed to see something I have been wanting to for a very long time. One of history’s well known films, 10 time nominated, and seven-time winner of our eight-and-three-quarter-inch golden idol, I bring you 1962’s World War One epic, Lawrence of Arabia.
Before I begin to espouse my thoughts and opinions, let me add a couple of quick caveats first. You see, Lawrence of Arabia is based on the very real British officer T.E. Lawrence, and after seeing the film, I decided to do some research. It seems that historians argue about the accuracy of Lawrence’s depiction in the film as well as some of the events. So don’t expect complete historical accuracy. The old adage of not letting a good story get in the way of the truth may have been created because of this film (but probably not), because straight of the bat, Lawrence of Arabia is a must-see for any cinephile. My second caveat is that there are several cuts of this film, and my review is based off the 1989 restored version that is now presented in 4K HDR.
I also want to mention a couple of trigger warnings, too. Some casting choices are a bit on the nose today, as Aidan Quinn and Alec Guinness both play Arabian men in what I’ll describe as “brown face.” The film could also be viewed as a “great white savior” trope; however, this aspect of the film is factually correct, although it may lean into that a little hard at times.
Sorry for taking so long to get to the point, but now I can let you know what Lawrence of Arabia is about.
T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) was a British Soldier of little worth to his superiors, and instantly the film depicts him as somewhat of a loafer, a clown, and ne’er-do-well. His commanding officers have a level of disdain for him, but are also well aware of his education and intellect that the man himself does not seem to take too seriously.
As he is seen as disposable, Lawrence manages to get seconded to the “Arab Bureau,” as the British have interests in defeating the Ottoman empire (which the film calls “the Turks”) who control most of the Arabian deserts. Lawrence is tasked with getting into the good graces of Prince Faisal (Guinness) and discover his prospects in attempting to overthrowing the Turks. Lawrence is warned that the different “Arab” tribes are territorial and generally at war with one another, a fact he discovers as all too true when his Bedouin guide is killed by Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) for drinking from his well because “Bedouins are filthy people.”
Now alone, he manages to find his way to Colonel Brighton (Anthony Quayle) after trudging through the endless desert. Lawrence disobeys Brighton’s orders to observe and stay quiet, and his outspokenness and logical nature win out. He contradicts Brightons’s advice to the Prince after a defeat, as Lawrence says they should launch a surprise attack on the city of Aqaba, rather than retreat South, as it would help both the British an Arabians having a port city under their control.
With 50 men led by Sherif Ali (Sharif) to attack the city, they travel day and night across the desert. Along the way, Lawrence notices one of Ali’s men must have fallen off his camel from fatigue. Ali insists to leave him “as it is written,” but full of virtue, Lawrence goes back to rescue the fallen soldier Gasim, while the rest continue to Aqaba. The next day, Lawrence finds his way back with Gasim, winning over not only Ali, but the entire garrison, proving that nothing is “written,” and anything is possible, a message they needed reinforced to help them defeat the Turks.
Lawrence manages to unite the conflicted Arab tribes further by convincing local tribe leader (by offering more Gold Guineas than the Turks offer) Auda abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn) to turn against the Turks. As one of Ali’s men has killed one of Auda’s men, Lawrence steps in to quell a blood feud between the two tribes and preventing it escalating further. He says he will execute the man responsible, and when faced with the culprit, he sees that it is Gasim, the man he turned back to save. With doubt and fear in his eyes, Lawrence pulls the trigger anyway and is forever changed.
After taking Aqaba, Lawrence returns to Cairo to inform his Generals. He is clearly enduring some PTSD, but however admits to enjoying killing Gasim, and is promoted to Major, a rank he initially refuses as he doesn’t think he is fit for the role. With the Generals meeting his demands, Lawrence is given armory and money to lead more missions to disrupt the Turks occupancy of Arabia, and he returns to lead the guerrilla group.
In the interest of word count, I will leave off here with further plot details, other than to add there is a lot more politics intrigue behind the scenes, and some skulduggery from both all parties.
I want to mention the score, as the film opens to four minutes of dark screen with only music playing over it. I actually thought there was something wrong with my stream and was angrily playing around with buttons and devices until I figured out the truth. The score is iconic, and Maurice Jarre deservedly won an Oscar for it.
With a 227-minute run time, it does take some commitment to sit through Lawrence of Arabia;however, every minute was well worth it. The film is worth seeing just for O’Toole’s performance. He goes through the entire gambit of humanity, and is truly remarkable as the charming, debonair, and uniting T.E. Lawrence. He lost out to Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird for the Oscar, but it must have been a close race. All other performances are more than solid also, with Omar Sharif also being Oscar nominated for his supporting role as Sherif Ali.
If you are able to see this in 4K, do so, as the scenery and scope is gargantuan in scale, and a feast for the senses. Costing $15 million in 1962, Lawrence of Arabia is the literal definition of the Hollywood epic of that era. It deservedly won seven Oscars for all key film quality measures, including Best Picture, Best Director, Bet Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. Despite some casting choices that 100% would not happen if this film was made today, Lawrence of Arabia is a truly astonishing cinematic feat.
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