Lawrence of Arabia

     When Lawrence of Arabia first premiered in 1962 it seemed to take a back seat to other classics at the time. Including, John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Howard Hawks’s Hatari!, Vincente Minnelli’s Two Weeks in Another Town, Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate, and Sidney Lumet’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night. In fact in a issue of American Cinema many critics rated it below excellent. This was during a time of cinematic rebellion against all the old characteristics of film, the literary theater has taken a new direction and Lawrence of Arabia was the last of a dying breed, of classic epic cinema. 

      While it may has not been revered back when it was released, Lawrence of Arabia is now considered one of the best movies of all time, this is all due to the fantastic direction of David Lean and the electrifying performance of a young Peter O' Toole, who's blue eyed English features stand out in the brown arab desert. Peter O' Toole manages to capture the character of who Lawrence should have been; not, a man, but a legend. This costumed epic is rich in classic touches of literary film. The costumes are extravagant, beautifully decorated, and historically accurate, from the extras clothes, to Prince Fisjals ornate robes. The makeup give a touch of old English theater where it is used to make the characters seem more than life, more than they really are. The blood is displayed in a classic Victorian sense, a touch of film noir where barely any blood is displayed but just enough so you know the deed is done. These touches give a sense of class to the movie at a time where many people were trying to break out of the mold. 

   The shots in this movie are some of the greatest shots to ever appear in a movie. Lean manages to capture the immensity of the desert, the terrifying beauty it contains, and believe me it doesn't look that bad on 70mm film. The shots in this movie are so good that  you could stop at any time in all of the 216 minutes and make that picture your wallpaper. The visuals including transitions to lighting all do their part to move the story along, and entertain at the same time.The set is all natural the desert itself, the amount of time it took assembling, shooting, and breaking down are so time consuming in those conditions not to mention expensive that the shots itself are to be appreciated for what the production crew was able to accomplish . The film is chopped into many different scenes which employ transitions. The transitions do their part to entertain and move the story along. This epic does exactly what it sets out to do. Entertain in the only way it knows. Bigger and bigger shots.

     The audio, from the beginning to the end uses instrumentation of a army band, playing army marches. The music is in your face and basically guiding you on when the plot changes, and when the scene changes. For example when Lawrence gets promoted to Lieutenant and walks down with General Allenby to the recreation room the music playing is a typical army march. The effect is like a virtual parade. And this is true of all scenes in Lawrence of Arabia. When the action gets intense the music gets more intense, when a battle is won the music gets more triumphant. The music serves only as a tool by Lean and Maurice Jarre(The composer) to move the story along; and, does a fantastic job about it.

   There is no doubt about it, Lawrence of Arabia is one of the best films ever made. While it may not be historically accurate; and, may have some acting flaws: It is mysterious, magical, handsome, sophisticated, narcissistic, brilliant, bombastic, and proud just like Lawrence himself. But it's not really a film that has hidden meaning - the ironies and ambiguities are all on the surface; but, in the film there are so many exceptional entertaining scenes, it only leads me to believe that Lawrence of Arabia is one of the greatest movies of all time.