LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
Directed by David Lean
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, Jose Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, Arthur Kennedy
A few years back, when I was first becoming interested in the study of film, I had a list of films that many considered to be "required viewing." All of the typical films were on there: Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Seven Samurai, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and the like. During this time, I came across Lawrence of Arabia. I tried to sit through it, but the long, tedious shots of the desert and the snail-like pace at which the film moved were too much for me, and I gave up before the Arab Revolt had taken Aqaba. Man, this movie is overrated, I thought.
Flash forward to now. I have just sat through the entire 3 hours and 47 minutes of Lawrence of Arabia, and I have just one question for the Me-of-the-Past: What were you thinking?
It would be tedious and rather pointless for me to sit here and reiterate what every film textbook ever written has said a hundred times over, but...this is a great film. And it's one of those films that film enthusiasts drool over. It's wonderfully and nearly flawlessly made. It's got some of the best cinematography in history. The shots of the desert are legendary. Even the music is great, with a theme song that I'll be humming to myself the next time I'm in Arizona. It really is the total package.
But for me, the thing that really made Lawrence of Arabia interesting was Peter O'Toole's performance. It's one thing to make a character interesting, but O'Toole makes T.E. Lawrence almost hypnotic. Everything he does has such purpose and weight behind it that you can't wait to see what he does next. But the thing about T.E. Lawrence was that he was, by all accounts in real life, a riddle wrapped in an enigma. And O'Toole plays this up to the hilt. There are very few times in the film when one can tell whether or not Lawrence is being sincere, or more specifically, what his plans and intentions are. Even real-life accounts of Lawrence's life were said to be greatly exaggerated by the man himself. So is what we see really what we get? Only Lawrence knew for sure. And O'Toole plays up the mystery.
When a movie gets up to and past the 3-hour range, it is of the utmost importance to keep the audience interested. I admit that a few years ago, my attention span was rather short, and that was to my own detriment. Because of that, I missed out on some great films. And I think the movie-going audience at large is missing out as well. Movies are supposed to take us on journeys, and journeys are not about destinations. They're about the experience we have getting to the destination. We should all sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery once in a while.
Excellent post, Terry. There's a few films that I really resisted because of the pace and my limited patience; luckily, I had a gal who wanted to watch 'em and I wanted to be with her and... well, I learned a lot from her. (Still am learning from that gal, too!)
ReplyDeleteI'm always fascinated by how much the actor knows about the character he or she plays and how much they make up. O'Toole is a fascinating actor to watch. Hypnotic is bang-on right, he pulls you right in and never lets you go. It's only afterwards that you begin to wonder...