One
of the greatest epics ever made!
When I stop
to ponder David Lean's Oscar-winning epic
"Lawrence of Arabia," I find myself at a point
of speechlessness. There have never been
adequate words for me to describe how I
experience Lean's masterpiece. I can't find a
way to express my thoughts, my feelings, my
ideas. I become lost in my stillness, much like
the film itself.
"Lawrence of Arabia" brings to mind Kubrick's
"2001," another film that leaves me in virtual
silence after a viewing. Seldom have I
considered myself a cinema snob, but when I hear
of individuals who say "It's so slow," "I can't
stand it," "It's boring," or "It has no plot" I
have to admit I find myself muttering under my
breath "You are so clueless."
I suppose, on a certain level, I can understand
why someone wouldn't appreciate a film such as
"Lawrence of Arabia." We live in an immediate
satisfaction culture, a film culture where
American audiences are spoon fed the same
formulaic crap year after year that has proven
to be marketable no matter how often we see it.
It has been years since a major studio has had
the guts to produce a true epic...a film on the
grand scale of a "Lawrence of Arabia."
Partially, I blame the studios, however, they
are not solely to blame. They are in business to
make a profit, and as long as the American
public keeps going to formulaic, bubble gum
cinema it will keep getting produced.
In a recent viewing of "Lawrence of Arabia" at a
local independent moviehouse, I found myself
more in awe than ever. Quite literally, for the
entire day after viewing the film I could barely
speak, I could barely tolerate noise or crowds
or distraction. I was still seeing and feeling
and living and breathing the experience of
"Lawrence of Arabia."
The casting of Peter O'Toole in the lead role of
T.E. Lawrence was a brave one, perhaps even
foolish. Yet, it ends up being inspired casting
as O'Toole brings forth such an unconventional
character with charisma interwoven with sheer
madness that to watch him on the screen is like
watching a clueless madman harness all of his
bold, frenetic energy and somehow manage to save
the world. It is exactly this unconventional
madness that makes it so believable that this
man, without the knowledge of cultural norms and
rivalries, is able to transform a nearly
hopeless situation and unite rivals such as
Prince Feisal (Alec Guiness), Sherif Ali (Omar
Sharif), and Auda Abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn). It
is with abandon that Lawrence forges ahead when
so many others would have deemed the task
impossible. His madness will not allow him to be
afraid or even hesitant of the challenges ahead
of him.
It is hard to imagine the mind that envisioned
"Lawrence of Arabia." It is hard to imagine a
vision that saw the intricate details, the quiet
moments, the simple, yet mind-numbing
cinematography that says so much in utter
silence. How did David Lean envision a film so
clearly that he could use the vastness of the
desert as the backdrop for the vastness of T.E.
Lawrence? To know the story of T.E.
Lawrence...the intricacies, the truths, the
myths, the legends, the rumors...is to know the
absolute beauty, wisdom, grace and clarity of
David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia."
I am sitting here. The room is silent. I have
turned off my television and dimmed my lights as
I finish this review. Even writing this review,
I am taken back to the experience of watching
"Lawrence of Arabia." I can barely keep my eyes
open as I remember Peter O'Toole's victory dance
across a Turkish train, as I feel the vastness
of the desert as a single man walks forward in
the distance, as I listen to the sparse words
between rival factions finding a common ground,
and as I become surrounded by the vastness of
"Lawrence of Arabia" once again
©
Written by Richard Propes
TC Candler's Comment
n/a
Jacob
Hall's Comment
n/a
