Lawrence of Arabia, and please, form three lines...

My two favorite films are LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and BRAZIL. With LAWRENCE, it's the notion that a life is what you make of it and the particular way in which T.E. Lawrence and his actions illustrate that idea, both for good and for bad. I love that he's allowed to have flaws, deep ones, and that he is not painted in some saintly light. I think the film is astonishingly rich in characterization, with the supporting cast all turning in memorable, pitch-perfect work. I've seen it in the theater 11 times, and anytime it plays locally (i.e. the Cinerama Dome), I'm there. I've introduced at least a dozen friends to the film, and I love the experience of watching someone see the film for the first time, watching it hit them. Lean's visual style was keen and crisp throughout his career, but it reached a perfection here that has never been equalled.

And O'Toole... dear god. It's really no wonder he ended up drunk and wasted for most of his adult life. How do you top a film debut like this? How do you even try?

Line A. Would I call this one of my favorite films? Probably not, but I think one has to appreciate the sheer beauty of this film and the skill involved in making in. The acting is great, the story is interesting and the DVD looks amazing. A jolly good show and though it is long, it's certainly not boring.

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Oh God. Did you eat all this acid?

Don't worry Tripp, Django will be in the theater with you. So if worse comes to worse - and I'm not saying it will cause as you can guess I haven't seen it - we'll light up and use the empty popcorn tubs to recreate Crow and Servo...

While I have not seen it I do know myself well enough to form an understanding that I will not enjoy the film. And nothing has ever interested me about the subject matter.

Like Darryl Hall once said, I can't go for that...

Tell you what, Blo.

If I can stop buying Jedi Knight cards long enough to pay my late fee at Blockbuster, I'll rent the DVD this week...

A definite member of Line A.

This was one of the most incredible movies, not only because of its breadth and size of scope, it's just frickken' amazing.

And the colaboration between Lean and Bolt was one of the most fruitful of all in cinematic history. The two are just plain genuises (especially since they also made another one of my all-time greats: Doctor Zhivago).

And if anyone cares to know a little more insight into the making of the film, other than watching those documentaries on the spectacular DVD, read Kevin Brownlow's biography of David Lean. There's more than a few chapters devoted to the making of the film and how everyone involved pulled together to make it what it was. There's even some photos for you to chew on too....

well, that's enough out of me...

Can't really add anything that hasn't been said about a film that's been around this long, but...

I am definitely in LINE A.

"How can I fight a bloody war without bloody artillery?!?!"

Line A. If you need reasons why, you don't understand film.

I am SO in Line A.

This is my favorite film, my numero uno on the big movie list in the sky, my raison d'etre du cinema.

Why?

Here are the reasons why I love "Lawrence of Arabia":

1. It's a masterwork. Lean makes this three and a half hour long movie and there is not one dull moment. My attention never wavers when I watch this film. I am rapt with attention from start to finish. And that's saying something when you consider that the pacing is not exactly breakneck. The movie takes its time in places but it earns each slow moment with its intelligent writing and passionate acting.

I think one of the basic strengths of the movie is that for all its length there is not one wasted shot or thrown away line. Every second has some weight to it and means something.


Oh, did I mention the score is a work of perfection that meshes with "LoArabia" at every turn, and seems to embody the spirit of the movie in a way that is beautiful and mysterious?

2. It's not about "What Happened in Arabia". It's about Lawrence. He is the plot. Since he is so conflicted about his motives, as are the people around him, we can't help but examine his character in detail. He is torn between his passions, represented through Ali and Auda, to be a benefactor AND a bloody warrior. But he's also being manipulated by Dryden and Feisel, both older men playing on his indecisiveness and confusion. As the film advances and the war thickens, Lawrence becomes the most versatile piece on the chess board - but ultimately, just a pawn.

3. It's beautiful. The blue sky, the untouched desert. The colors. I think this film has sunk into my subconscious on a purely visual level. I can't really ever "explain" my total attraction to "Lawrence of Arabia" because it goes beyond words into that part of the brain that remembers images and transcendence.


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Feisal: Colonel Brighton means to put my men under European officers, does he not?
Lawrence: In effect my lord, yes.
Feisal: And I must do it because the Turks have European guns. But I fear to do it. Upon my soul I do. The English have a great hunger for desolate places. I fear they hunger for Arabia.
Lawrence: Then you must deny it to them.
Feisal: You are an Englishman. Are you not loyal to England?
Lawrence: To England, and to other things.


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[This message has been edited by Skeletor (edited 07-08-2001).]

Blofeld: Maybe if you could put your finger on it, it wouldn't hold its greatness. I think I'm paraphrasing a famous quote here, "If you can comprehend a man, the universe is as nothing to that mystery solved."


[This message has been edited by Skeletor (edited 07-08-2001).]

I guess I'll be joining those in Line B, but this thread has started to peak my interest in this film. Another film everyone seems to love is Seven Samurai, I guess I should see them both.

Yes... see SEVEN SAMURAI and LAWRENCE. By all means. Now. Go. I'll wait here.

LAWRENCE is, for me, one of the most potent collection of images and moments ever assembled. I can't list all of my favorite things in it, because it's simply packed, one end to the other, but there are things about it that never fail to get my pulse racing every time I see it.

The transition when Lawrence extinguishes the match and we find ourselves on the desert finally.

"I'm the man who broke the bank in Monte Carrrrrrlo." "Monte Carrrrrlo." "Monte Carrrrrrlo."

"NO PRISONERS! NO PRISONERS!"

Jose Ferrer as the single creepiest guy in all of film history.

The sight of an ocean liner moving across the desert floor.

The way Omar Sharif seems to appear out of the swirling lines of heat, a dark shape that slowly resolves, bringing death with him.

The sequence on the Anvil, when Lawrence proves that nothing is written.

The sequence the next night, when Lawrence learns that things may, indeed, be written.

Every single glorious moment with Anthony Quinn.

The sly wit that Alec Guiness and Claude Rains bring to the film.

The release of the horses from the train.

And it goes on and on and on...

Yes!!! Anthony Quinn was at his best here:

Auda Abu Tayi: I am Auda Abu Tayi! Does Auda Serve!
Crowd: No!
Auda Abu Tayi: Does Auda Abu Tayi serve!
Crowd: No!
Auda Abu Tayi: [to Lawrence] I carry twenty-three great wounds all got in battle. Seventy-five men have I killed with my own hands in battle. I scatter, I burn my enemies' tents. I take away their flocks and herds. The Turks pay me a golden tresure, yet I am poor! Because *I* am a river to my people!

That is still one of my all-time favorite scenes from this movie...

Right on!! Freddie Young's cinematography is so damn colorful and amazing, especially when all the tribes have banded together in the Damascus scene of: "No prisoners!!". The colors, so bright and keen, the white on Lawrence, the purple flags waving and Quinn's black robes, it just feels rightfully amazing.

What about Lean's kean eye for the whole mise-en-scene? (sorry for the pretentious film term) I love that instance with Farraj and the other boy (whose name escapes me, was it Daud? I guess it's time to watch it again! ) and Lawrence at the tree in the desert, that is some spectacular use of wide-screen photography. Okay, the whole movie is an exercise in how to use the wide-screen element of filmmaking.

All in all, to quote Spielberg on the DVD: "this film makes me feel puny", and rightfully so. Everytime I watch it, I catch something new, some little touch or piece of dialogue that alluded me the time before. There's just so much to view, so much to take in, so much for people (like me) to even understand on an intial viewing. I guess I just have a lot of unbridled love for this film and I wanted to share it with some others...

[This message has been edited by Yando (edited 07-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Yando (edited 07-08-2001).]

forgive me, for this is my first time posting pictures and the image quality is off, but what a scene that was!!



And above, that is the beginning of my favorite cut of any movie I have ever seen. Period.


[This message has been edited by Yando (edited 07-08-2001).]

Yando, Skeletor, and Moriarty have all touched on the reasons that this film is one of the greats.

This was an absolutely astonishing debut from O'Toole, delivering what I consider to be one of the greatest performances ever captured on film.

I once saw a documentary about Lean in which he discussed filmmaking in general. He comments on the youth of filmmaking as an art form - it was still less than 100 years old at the time of the interview. Then, he goes on to predict (I'm paraphrasing from old memories here - someone correct me if I'm getting this wrong) that we will one day see a natural Picasso-like talent emerge in a filmmaker. This person will have nearly effortless command of the art form, and will be a true master. Lean says that we haven't seen that yet, that we're just scratching the surface of what film can do.

If "Lawrence" is just scratching the surface, I'd love to see what Lean's idea of a true master could turn out.

Eyeball Kid, do you happen to remember the name of that documentary? I'm curious now to see it...

I'd be in line A. There are just so few films of the scope and depth of Lean's masterpiece.

I think people have hit on about every technical aspect of perfection of the film, which is my candidate for Best Film Ever made. Except for the one that I find to be most important........

Peter O'Toole as Lawrence! This is the greatest performance ever to me, for so many reasons. It is such a richly crafted and honed performance that as an aspiring actor I am just blown away each time. The repression and inner-turmoil as he sees the retreating Turks. The shame and depression while sitting bitterly in that cave after being tortured. His arrogance and god-like pride as he talks to the reporter and his men. And that overall feeling of a man out of his natural element and never at peace with himself that O'Toole gives him.

And secondly, while simpler but no less amazing, is the fact that this is one of the most charismatic and icon-making performances ever given. O'Toole's look is so British, with his golden blonde hair, extremely blue eyes, and all-around white looks. It makes his place in the desert all the more visually striking. This is a performance that demands your attention.

The script has some of the best dialogue ever written, as thematically powerful as it is just clever and great to hear. It is long, but never boring. It has no signs of a comic character or piece of light entertainment thrown in to appease the masses that so many films have, that ultimately reduce them in the years that follow. It is the all-arund perfect film.

Line B...*head hangs in shame*...
After reading this thread, I'm going to check it out this week...I'll be back to chat it up!

Those in Line B, we're waiting for your thoughts. Come on, I know you're scared. It seems long when you're trying to figure out exactly how many hours two hundred and sixteen minutes works out to, but here's a suggestion:

It's probably hot wherever you are and a desert movie sounds a little massochistic. Plus, you get home from work and you only have so much time before it's bedtime and you're off to the grind again. So you want to have a nice, light dinner. Right? Try, maybe a couple slices of cantaloupe or mango, a tall glass of ice water and maybe a sandwich. Now, before you sit down, pop the tape (or DVD) in the machine and just relax. Don't think about those two hundred and sixteen minutes. Trust me, they'll fly right by.

I'm exhuming this thread for three reasons. One, because people will never stop wanting to talk about Lawrence. Two, because Blofeld's adoration of it just makes me smile. Three, because on my third viewing, tonight, I was finally hit by the full power of its greatness.

I once created a thread because I was so bewildered by the Lawrence character (<a href="http://chud.nexcess.net/board/ubbhtml/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=005736" target="_blank">here</a>). Now I understand how appropriate that was. I watched the entire movie without a pause, captivated. The DVD has suddenly become one of the best Christmas presents ever.

This is ART.

Question about the famous cry "NO PRISONERS" -

What does it mean? Does it refer to what Prince Faisal was talking about earlier in the movie, about how the Arabs being prepared to kill their own rather than let them be taken prisoner? Is Lawrence telling them to just kill everyone?

I have to admit Blo, I haven't seen Lawrence or Zhivago...

"I'll get around to it..." to reiterate a popular phrase...

Are there good DVD releases of these out? (silly lazy me, I didn't even look)

Roger that, Blo...heading to Target and Best Buy tomorrow morning to pick these up and the <a href="http://chud.nexcess.net/board/ubbhtml/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=32;t=000216" target="_blank">Acklay</a>...i can't wait...

Line A for me. This is one of those films that I think is truly indicative of taste. I actually dumped a girl who said this was boring garbage...and she was a 'film student'...*shudder*. I remember the inner monologue quite well...

Self: SHE doesn't like this?...boring...brit crap?
Self: She is lacking in all things we deem worthy, Self.
Self: Yes...you're right as always...ready the escape pod.

Seriously...this is one of the few films that I tell people if you didn't like it...watch it again.

Blo, I know you probably have no inkling of who I am, but reading your enthusiasm for LoA just makes me giddy. Your sentiments (and the others in Line A) match mine EXACTLY.

Lawrence is the greatest achievement in cinema, bar none. Where Citizen Kane was amazing in its introduction of new elements (technical, storytelling, and structure), Lawrence of Arabia is the finely honed, deeply professional, thoroughly realized peak of cinematic greatness.

Not only is everything "right" about this film, each element is perfected -- an example of "how to do this correctly" for all subsequent films: the screenplay, the direction, the cinematography, the score, the acting, and Oh God -- the editing.

Does anyone out there truly appreciate how difficult it was, and how dedicated Young had to be, to capture that shot of Ali forming out of a mirage? What kind of sheer vision it took to conceive of a shot like that? Or the ability to read Bolt's description of Lawrence blowing out the match and then making a cut so precise, so heavy with meaning and metaphor, as Lean did? It boggles the mind.

I saw LoA for the first time in 89, after the restoration in Toulouse, France. I was only 12, and I think my aspirations for my future was to become a fantasy writer or something like that. When I walked out of that theater, I wanted to be a filmmaker. LoA is the reason I traveled across the entire country to LA to get my MFA in Film Production.

Oh, and to all you people in Line A who have access to scripts, BUY THE SCREENPLAY. Bolt's work is genius on screen, but the script itself is a wonder to behold. The dialogue flows like molten gold, but it's his narrative ability that makes reading the script an experience that TRULY enhances your appreciation for the finished film.

Oh, btw, I'm in Line A.

Glat

Line B.

I just haven't seen too many old films....

John, it's interesting that mention Kane, because I think Arabia is a meditation on the same subject and themes as Kane, and in many ways improves on it (that is not to question the brilliance of Welles film). Both films (that, funnily enough, start with the main character's death) try and tell us about a mysterious, unkowable man, who did contradictory things, and had some weird obsessions. In both case we leave the theater knowing we know a lot about the character, but also leave knowing that there is more to the character than we have been told. I'm definitely in line A on this film.