Lawrence of Arabia
★ ★★★
I wasn’t looking forward to watching this film. Truth be told, it’s the nearly four-hour runtime that made me the most hesitant. I had always heard Lawrence of Arabia described as a sprawling epic and it’s something about those words that turned me off. It’s had the reputation of being a beautiful film and that’s all I knew about it going in. I think I was expecting a lot of panning shots of the desert, and we certainly get those, but what accompanies these vast landscapes is a compelling story about man’s struggle for power. Lawrence of Arabia is a tremendous portrait of leadership and serves as a warning to those who are so willing to lead others into battle.
Based on the real-life English officer, T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole), this story follows the trajectory of his mission to unite various Arab tribes during World War I in order to defeat the Turks. With flamboyancy and vigor, Lawrence uses unusual tactics to gain favor with a culture that he is unfamiliar with. Struck with sudden success and fame, Lawrence finds himself not just at war with the Ottoman Empire, but with other politicians and himself.
Lawrence of Arabia was far more compelling than I was expecting. The cinematography lived up to the hype. I was astounded by the beauty of the sand dunes and the epic horse rides that director David Lean was able to capture. I kept asking myself, “How were they able to pull this off?” We are so inundated with films using special effects these days that when a movie comes along like this that has so many real stunts, animals and actors, it’s truly breathtaking. The fact that the story is far stronger than I expected completely made me realize why this movie is so revered. This film is impressive now, so I can’t imagine what people thought of it when it came out in 1962.
I predict that now everyone will start comparing political tales of this nature to that of Game of Thrones, but I couldn’t help but think that this movie was an influence on the revolutionary television show. This movie shows how politicians use war and other people’s lives for their own personal gain. We sit alongside Lawerence’s journey of sacrifice and maneuvering, and when he is faced with the purpose behind his battle strategies, the audience struggles alongside him. He finds himself stuck within a system that he doesn’t quite know how to get away from and his evolution of personality is both attractive and repulsive at the same time. At the core, we all have our faults, but it’s hard not to take for yourself when it seems like political agendas will move along whether you support them or not.
This was the first leading role that I had seen Peter O’Toole in. His character is supposed to embody a God-like figure to the troops and his piercing blue eyes convey his determination and grit. Although he isn’t a big man, his actions and bravery display why he was able to gain such admiration and O’Toole has the charisma to jump off the screen. I was also taken aback by how brutal and extreme this movie was. Lean frames the savagery of both man and Mother Nature in a shocking, but respectable way. Lean never revels in the death of these soldiers but is not afraid to show an execution at gunpoint or even death by quicksand to justify Lawrence’s character shift.
As much as I enjoyed this journey, I couldn’t help but wonder why this movie was so long. I was unable to watch it all in one sitting, but after it was over I feel like a lot of the themes could’ve been explored in a tighter way. It’s a movie that captured my attention throughout but there aren’t a lot of particular scenes or moments that I will fully remember. I will encourage a lot of people to give this film a chance. I think that if somebody can forget about the runtime, they will get wrapped up in this epic struggle of wits and valor. But I would advise against viewing it in the summer. Lean captures the heat and despair of the desert so well, that it won’t help you forget the 100-degree plus heat that we’ve had this summer.
I give Lawrence of Arabia four of out five camel rides.
