Lawrence of Arabia Review

 

        You’ve probably found out that World War 1 doesn’t have that many stories involving Americans. The reason is that the United States entered the war near the end of it. Although, given the three films I’ve watched about the war, there are so many vantage points that are new to me. Since, there’s hardly any focus on the war in public education because of the country’s last-minute involvement. With all that, Lawrence of Arabia is considered one of the best World War 1 films, and one of the best films in general. And I’m very fortunate to have watched it. 

1. Who is T.E. Lawrence?

        The film is told in a non-chronological order. It starts with the death of Lawrence, during his funeral a reporter asks some attendees just who the person is. We then cut to his tenure as a cartographer in Cairo. I feel that the way the film starts is justified and the whole film has that theme or idea that is basically asked throughout the film. Anyways, Peter O’Toole plays the late twenty something Lawrence. 

        He is assigned by British Intelligence to see if the Arab Prince Faisal would be willing to rebel against the Ottoman Empire. From there, the film sees Lawrence gain allies and manage to create a guerilla Arab army. What is done so well is just how well-rounded Lawrence is. When we see him, he’s a bit of a misfit and highly educated. The best moment is when we see him be introduced to the other military officers. He has this trick that he does such as lighting a matchstick, he snuffs it out with his fingers. 

        My favorite quote he says when a officer burns himself is “The trick William Potter is not minding that it hurts.” He has this mentality of mind over matter. It’s one of his defining traits throughout the film where he sees the situation concerning the Arabs and through some empathy and diplomacy, manages to assemble a rebel force that is too much for the Turkish Army. 

        As a side note, my first exposure of the movie and scene is in Ridley Scott's film Prometheus. The android David watches the film and repeats the lines from the film in Scott's movie. He even styles his hair to be like Lawrence's. Anyways, back to the review.

2. Evolution of Lawrence

        One of the things that goes against Lawrence’s ideals is that he doesn’t kill. More so that he doesn’t kill in cold blood. I haven’t had the chance to read his book for which the film is based on. Although, he values life among his friends. We see that when he meets his guide to transport him to Prince Faisel. They drink at a fountain, unbeknownst to them Faisel’s assistant shoots the guide. Lawrence is mad that the killer, Sherif Ali murdered his friend.

        As Lawrence becomes more empathetic to the Arabs, Sherif Ali gives him robes, What I like is that even before that, Lawrence uses his vest to shield his head from the heat. It’s one of those things where you have to really see just how much the character changes and really become alienated when he returns to the British army. 

        Aside from the historical aspects of Lawrence, the overall theme of the whole movie is this: Just who is Lawrence? The film touches on this since it seems to be that he starts to shift alliances from the British to the scattered Arab tribes. While he unites them, he is looked at as odd to the Brits. For instance, the soldiers in the headquarters in Cairo are weirded out by Lawrence’s get up, even asking him to leave. 

        I think the theme illustrates just what Lawrence goes through. He becomes more in tuned with fighting alongside the Arabs. One of the best scenes is when the entire Arab tribes storm and take Damascus. Lawrence shouts “No prisoners!” when he sees one of his own get slaughtered. The whole moment just screams epic. You have Lawrence’s army storming the Turks. None of it feels discombobulated. After all of it, Lawrence looks at himself and is bloodied from the assault. 

3. The Last of the Epic Films

        When this film came out, it won numerous Academy Awards including Best Picture. It came out just when Hollywood was about to transition to a new way of filmmaking. The days of making epics were over. For some that were released, they didn’t make back their budget. Most of the studios were losing money since they had to compete with TV. 

        Nowadays, you can’t make this film since it would be succumb to so much historical corrections. I think what made that slide was that no one ever heard of the man. Like I said prior, the only time the US was involved was in the tail end of the war. Lawrence’s story is important in the regions where he was a big influence. 

        With the big scope that it has, the film stills that I use doesn’t do it justice. It deserves to be seen in the biggest screen. Either a large 4K tv or a movie theater is enough to get a good viewing. One of things that is impressive is just the vastness of it. Even though it was shot in Jordan, Morrocco, and Spain, the whole desert just looks beautiful when the breeze moves the sand from the dunes. 

4. Overall

        I’m so glad that I got a chance to watch Lawrence of Arabia. I chose this month and the genre to do a review and it paid off. I can understand that the film is approximately three hours long, but it never felt like it was dragging or just slow. What makes it enjoyable is seeing the exploits of Lawrence, and just how much of an influence he had. Lastly, I didn’t elaborate on too much because I want people to see this movie as a cinematic achievement and see a part of history that no one has heard of. 

        Lawrence of Arabia gets a five out of five.