The Essentials: Lawrence of Arabia

Title: Lawrence of Arabia
Run Time: 216 minutes (228 director's cut)
Release Date: December 16th, 1962
Director: David Lean
Writer: Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson
Stars: Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, José Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains, Arthur Kennedy, AND Omar Sharif as 'Ali' AND introducing Peter O'Toole as 'LAWRENCE'

I would be remiss if I did not allow my first voyage into exploring essential film to be the film that is in the name of the blog, and there is a reason for that.

"There was no other director like David Lean. His ability draw you into the intimate portraits of his characters, of people like T. E. Lawrence, was remarkable. Lawrence of Arabia is the definitive epic, unrivaled in its capacity to combine pageantry and intimacy, and is the perfect example of the gift that only Lean had. He was able to awe you with spectacle and at the same time move you with the poignancy of a small, personal struggle. Still to this day, the film is one of the primary influences on both my career and my interpretation of the human condition. It inspires me just as much now as it did when I first saw it in 1962."
~ Steven Spielberg

"When I saw Lawrence of Arabia for the first time - 1962, Manhattan, the Criterion - I remember the lights going down, the opening 70mm shots from the point of view of a speeding motorcycle, and the powerful sensation that I was about to experience something completely new in cinema. David Lean and Robert Bolt took the epic form and gave it completely new life - in essence, this was the first interior epic, in which every monumentally scaled vision corresponded to the inner world of a hugely ambitious and complex man. You're looking at the landscape of the desert, as you've never seen it before, but you're also entering the landscape of a grand spirit, whose flaws were as vast as his accomplishments and his dreams"
~ Martin Scorsese

Lawrence of Arabia is the story of T. E. Lawrence, the British commander who was instrumental in leading the Arab Revolt in World War I for the British/Arab forces in Arabia. More than that, however, it is the chronicle of one man's struggle with personal identity centering around self-glorification, violence in the war, and his alliances being divided between the British and the Arabs. The film takes quite a few liberties with history, but it does so to tell a rousing and stirring story. The film was written by Michael Wilson (who went uncredited until 1995) and playwright and screenwriter Robert Bolt, also famous for writing the stageplay and screenplay for A Man for All Seasons, and is directed by David Lean, famous already for directing the 1957 Best Picture/Best Director winning film The Bridge on the River Kwai. The role of Lawrence, the protagonist and hero, went a previously unknown actor named Peter O'Toole, who instantly became a star with the release of the film, and went on to earn his first of eight Oscar nominations. Peter O'Toole also has the sad distinction of losing all eight of his nominations, which is truly a travesty. He lost for Lawrence to Gregory Peck, who won for his portray of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Dubbed the "epic of all epics," Lawrence of Arabia is spectacle in the purest form with a cast of thousands. From the broad, sweeping landscapes, to the soaring score from Maurice Jarre, to the Super Panavision 70 cinematography from Freddie Young, to the innovational writing by Young and Bolt, to the crisp direction by Lean, all the way to the legendary, inspired, and entirely perfect imagining of Lawrence by Peter O'Toole; this is one of the greatest films to ever be formed. The audience is swept away from their lives into the Arabian desert (or primarily the Jordanian, which is where it was filmed) to watch one of the most complex films ever put together. With a cast of thousands (without a single woman, no less), this film took a year and a half to make, with production lasting from May 15th 1961 to October 20th 1962 in four different countries.

Lawrence may be a hero, or he may not be. The film explores who T. E. Lawrence was, but at its core, it is the story of a man finding the tremendous power and occasional darkness inside of him. The begins with someone asking who Lawrence really was, and the film explores that question, and asks the audience the same one. The iconic poster the the right is indicative is the mood of the film. Half of Lawrence's face is shrouded in darkness, indicating both the mystery of who the man truly was, and the darkness inside of him. The film explores the complex identity issues, where occasionally Lawrence believes himself to be above normal mortality and the laws of men. This film is the largest character study ever formulated, and one that challenges the audience to view the darkness within themselves. The reason that Lawrence of Arabia strikes such a deep cord in the audience is because each and every member of the audience has that bit of believe that they are immortal. Lawrence once says in the film that to kill him, they would have to do it with a "golden bullet," representing the inability of normal guns to kill him. Though it is a film that explores darkness, it is also extraordinarily hopeful, and truly showcases the potential of leadership and humanity's ability to unite and overcome impossible barriers and problems. On the other side of the darkness in the face on the poster is illumination, bearing the strong features of a man and a will not easily tamed. This duality has never been explored before in film like it was in Lawrence of Arabia, and it still may do it better than any other film can, in my own opinion.

Lawrence of Arabia is the reason that I fell in love with film, and it is the reason I want to be a filmmaker. It had a similar impression on Steven Spielberg, who, as you can see above, was and is greatly influenced by it. The film has a certain air of majesty in its 3 hours and 36 minutes that should only ever be watched straight, in a darkened space, and with full attention. It is an absorbing film, but you have to allow yourself to be whisked away into the desert. I will not recommend this film to people who do not want to watch it, because they will become bored and check their phones a million times to see if it is almost over. However, if you can enter into the film with a desire to enjoy and be taken away by it, you will not be disappointed. I have seen the film more than five times, and I never enjoy it any less. With each new viewing, I fall in love with it all over again, and I always finish it with the urge to jump up and create a great film. This is film on the grandest and most spectacular scale, and it is indicative of why we love film, and love going to the movies. I hope that you take the opportunity to explore one of the most influential and greatest films of all time. Fall in love like I did, like Spielberg did, and like Scorsese did. Regardless if you fall in love, you will still find a rousing adventure story with plenty of action and fun to behold. There has never, and will never be, spectacle in film like in Lawrence of Arabia. I hope you enjoy my favorite film.