Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) A review by Damian Cannon. Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The utterly spell-binding biography of a WWI hero, Lawrence of Arabia comes close to perfection in the realms of cinematography, score, script and performances. During World War I, in the Middle East, the prime British interest was to keep the Turks from gaining control of the Suez Canal. In contrast, the existence of various allied Bedouin tribes in the region was of little interest, especially so given their fragmentation and archaic fighting methods. However, to T.E.Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) the Arab groups are all that's worth considering. Unfortunately he's stuck with a desk job in Cairo where he spends all day colouring in maps, lumbered with less than scintillating companions. However, luck comes his way when Mr. Dryden (Claude Rains), a political figure, manages to persuade Gen. Murray (Donald Wolfit) that Lawrence should be seconded to the British Arab Bureau. There his undoubted intellectual skills can be put to use gathering information, as well as placing him far out of the way in Arabia. Thus, to Lawrence's child-like glee, he gets offered an open-ended mission to find Prince Feisel (Alec Guinness) and determine what the long-term trends are. However, the Bedouin are nomads and Feisel could be anywhere within a rather large expanse of desert, which is why Lawrence teams up with a native guide and starts learning how to ride a camel. Into the wilderness they head, an incongruous pairing of callow British officer and knowledgeable tribesman. Unfortunately though, the ancient Bedouin squabbles raise their ugly head when the trail leads them into a section of the desert which is off-limits to the guide. As insignificant as they are, their appearance is noted and soon a dust cloud on the horizon resolves into the form of Sherif Ali Ibn El Kharish (Omar Sharif). Determined to identify the intruders, Sherif shoots the guide in cold-blood and toys with the shocked Lawrence. Self-determined to the end though, Lawrence rejects Sherif's offer of assistance and decides to locate the Prince himself. Alone with only a compass and common-sense, Lawrence pilots himself across the expanse and winds up stumbling across Col. Harry Brighton (Anthony Quayle), his already in-situ superior. Sizing up his charge, Brighton (a rigid and unbending military man in the best British tradition) orders him to keep quiet and remember his loyalties. Prince Feisel is a worried man though. The Turks have already defeated and demoralised his men with their powerful guns, now they bomb them from biplanes. Used to swords and hand-to-hand combat, the Arab casualties are enormous. However, Lawrence just can't contain himself and blurts out his personal opinions to Prince Feisel, much to the discomfort of Brighton (who's advising a retreat). To get his way, Lawrence pragmatically teams up with Sherif Ali and promises a miracle. Now all they need to do is get 50 warriors across the fearsome Nefud desert and onto the Turkish held port of Aqaba. The emotionally moving and visually stunning biopic of a man blinded by his own ego and desire to be extraordinary, Lawrence of Arabia succeeds on all levels. Working with epic themes of fate, loyalty, diplomacy and war, David Lean weaves a complex tapestry of diametrically opposed motives which leaves Lawrence as a dark, blank shadow in the brightly-lit desert. Thoughts, dreams and needs remain barely touched in a film which explores his status as a catalyst and figurehead far more than the man himself. Thus the enigma of Lawrence survives unbreached. The amazing thing is that even with this largely successful attempt to distance the audience from the film (apart from a few characters like Sherif), Lean still forces you to care about Lawrence. No one wishes to end their time as a pawn of powers beyond their control, be they of human or god-like origin, yet the pain of betrayal wounds so much more deeply for Lawrence. Having fought constantly to rise above the limits of humanity, his destiny forced him to confront the desperate reality of his efforts. This is the tragedy that emerges from Lawrence of Arabia. O'Toole is central to Lawrence of Arabia through both his character and his utterly convincing portrayal of the same. Incomprehensible even to those who knew him personally, Lawrence here is a teetering combination of keen intelligence, charisma and barely concealed madness. Facets of all these qualities, and more, flash from O'Toole's performance, showing how he could believe that uniting the fractured Bedouin tribesmen was forever when it was over almost before it began. As perhaps Lawrence's only friend, Sharif brings a rare humanity to the film, indicating a deep understanding of both the brutality of life and the need for compassion. Guinness is also fine, if almost unrecognisable, as a proud monarch brought low by a bleak future. In smaller roles, Anthony Quinn as Auda Abu Tayi, the initially hostile leader of the Howeitat, is suspicious but ready to be cajoled by a mad Englishman, while Jack Hawkins, as General Allenby, recognises Lawrence's potential and ruthlessly uses it. In the latter half of the film, Josi Ferrer pops up as Turkish Bey, a torturer who releases Lawrence's demons, while Arthur Kennedy, as reporter Jackson Bentley, does a magnificent job of creating his wartime hero. Lawrence of Arabia should only be viewed on the big screen for one simple reason; its breath-taking cinematography. More than just a vehicle for the display of images, here the desert is shaped into an object of desire, a force which is both unforgiving and romantic. In a film without a single female speaking part, the desert is a friend, a foe and the love interest. The visual impact of tortured wind streaming across the baked sands, swirling and twisting over the Sun's "anvil", cannot be described with words. In concert with this, the brilliant score mixes rousing orchestral themes with elements of Arabian sounding rhythms to haunting effect. However, while Lawrence of Arabia feels like a lengthy and draining experience, not a moment is wasted. The only weakness is that the second half is slightly less impressive than that which has come before, situated on a smaller scale with somewhat less focus. Ultimately, Lawrence's attempt to create an Arab state is a lost cause since the tribes unite only for pride, money and possessions, rather than for history. Even his tremendous strategical skill, will-power and ability to assimilate the Arab culture is not enough to bridge the inviolable barrier that exists between him and the men he leads. This is why the ambivalent ending works. It doesn't determine how you feel about Lawrence because there's no simple way to get to grips with his complex and jelly-like personality. I hope you enjoy the soundtrack.