So tonight was Part 2 of Lawrence of Arabia - I think had I not been falling asleep last night becuase it was late I would have watched the whole thing :) This movie is absolutely amazing - I loved it so much more than I thought I would. It's so beautiful - now I know what people refer to when they speak of the visual spectacles that David Lean creates. The desert is like its own character in this movie - perhaps it is the MAIN character. So much of the emotions of the characters are dependent on the harshness of their environment.
The second part of the movie took a few turns I didn't expect. I feel like we definitely followed Lawrence through phases - at first, I believe he wanted an adventure and Arabia gave him that. Once he got there and befriended Ali and others, he became loyal to them and their cause for freedom. However, as the process continued, I think he started to see himself as a prophet, and as he said about himself, "Do you really think I am JUST anybody?". At that time his motive changed - for glory, for fame. After his beating and after he got sidetracked from his run on Damascus, his motive changed again. No longer was he seeking glory and fame - he just wanted to go home and escape the bloodshed. Please if you have seen this movie, let me know your thoughts - do you agree/disagree?
I LOVED Anthony Quinn in this movie - such great little one line zingers. Alec Guiness was great as Prince Faisel - what a powerful voice. I think T.E. Lawrence is an unlikely hero - I wouldn't say he was manly, or particularly soldierly. In fact, he was a bit feminine and softspoken - I wonder if Peter O'Toole was like this in real life? I'm thinking no.
Roger Ebert's review of this movie made me smile because I have read SO many of his reviews and this one was just glowing - I attached a quote from it that I really liked (it is how he began his review....)
"What a bold, mad act of genius it was to make "Lawrence of Arabia," or even think that it could be made. In the words 27 years later of one of its stars, Omar Sharif: "If you are the man with the money and somebody comes to you and says he wants to make a film that's four hours long, with no stars, and no women, and no love story, and not much action either, and he wants to spend a huge amount of money to go film it in the desert, what would you say?'"
One last thing - the soundtrack was breathtaking....I attached a YouTube video for your listening pleasure :)
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Hey Moo. I pretty much agree with your assessment of T.E. Lawrence and his motivations. At first he just seems an out-of-place adventurer, then discovers a loyalty towards a certain cause but once it shows its ugly side, he turns his back on it a bit and eventually is seeking power. I think that's an over-simplified explanation because at times Lawrence seems very complex. But he definetely goes through phases. Like, when he's loyal to the Arabs, he is still seeking power and glory, and when he's seeking power it doesn't mean he's not loyal. But loyal to who? I think there's a lot of layers there.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy that this will make you a David Lean fan. If you haven't seen it before, I HIGHLY recommend that your movie project includes Dr. Zhivago. With your love of Russian history and a new-found love for David Lean, AND a love of Omar Sharif you surely CAN'T go wrong with that movie. It is breathtaking. (and long). :)
Surely I made you both sit through Zhivago with me at some point!! It is one of my absolute favorites and I am sure I remember us watching it together and freezing when they're at the winter palace. Please tell me this happened.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Lawrence having feminine qualities, in fact, it kind of bothered me because it seemed so unbefitting the character himself. It's been a long time since I've watched so I need to reserve further comment.
Chris and I watched about half of Zhivago but we were just too busy at the time and watching it in pieces just wasn't working. We'll have to give it another shot for my new challenge :)
ReplyDeleteMom - regarding your comment about the femininity befitting the person himself - apparently Lawrence in real life was homosexual. Because this wasn't really discussed at the time the movie was made, some think that David Lean chose to portray this by having Peter O'Toole be more feminine than masculine. Interesting...
ReplyDeleteYes, very interesting. I wonder if people realized that when the movie was such a big hit.
ReplyDelete