Lawrence of Arabia (1962) | Review

3/March/2021

 Watched. 

 My rating: 9.8/10. 

 I started watching this film on my laptop but then I felt disgusted by myself. Watching Lawrence of Arabia on a laptop? On a laptop? On a fucking laptop? Get real! So then I got the television out of the wall, put it on my bed, and sat as close to it as possible to get that "cinematic" feel. And now I feel much better about myself, thank you very much. The following review might consist of some spoilers, tread carefully. 

 I recently read Frank Herbert's Dune, then watched Mandalorian and now this. Its like I've been living in a desert for the past few months, especially with the sand coming out of my ear. Speaking of Dune, it shares an uncanny resemblance to Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence was released in 1962 and Dune was published in 1965. I don't know why, but it feels like Frank Herbert watched the film and then decided to write a similar story but in the sci/fi genre. Both stories feature protagonists who are outsiders, who are -because of circumstances- entangled in the affairs of desert dwelling people and are treated like a messiah by them and by the end of the story they become harbingers of bloodshed- although Muaddib (Dune) goes farther down that road than Lawrence. 

 

 Lawrence of Arabia gives you the time to awe at the bone-dry, smoothed over yet muliebral desert in the first hour. It is one of those films which I would frame and hang on the wall if I could. Every single shot is framed with such precision that it will put even the greatest of filmmakers to shame. The knockout of a background score by Maurice Jarre is what makes the film sound as good as it looks, if not better. I, personally, have a deep disdain for places with high temperatures (even though I live in Uttar Pradesh; why can't we have winter all the time?), Maurice's score makes me wanna walk down the dunes of Thar with it playing on loudest loudspeaker. After giving you a tourist's tour of the barren landscape, the tone of the film starts to get darker and darker and darker...

 

 Like Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now (1979), Lawrence goes native during a war and begins to think of himself as a prophet. But the film keeps asking this question: is he? Yeah, sure, he is the one who saves Gasim, brings peace between the two tribes by executing said Gasim and then leads the Arabians to take over Aqaba. But he is also the one who makes them charge against English soldiers for mindless revenge. An eye for an eye; Lawrence went blind for blood lust. Even in the opening scene of him riding his bike at high speeds, we know something's off with this character. He loves Arabia and all it has to offer, but he can never be assimilated by it. Not completely. Because no matter how pristine his robes are, how many verses he can quote from Quran, he is bound by the lack of melanin in his skin. 

 When Prince Feisal's character appeared, in his creaking tent as if it were an extension of his body, adding to his larger than life regal presence, I thought he was a rather Vito Corleon-esque character. An amusing fact about the film is that Marlon Brando was first approached for the role of Lawrence, which I found out after watching the film. So I thought it would be fun to bring up that a character reminded me of Brando's most celebrated performance. 

 One cannot write a piece on this film and not acknowledge it's editing. Its a masterclass in editing, that's all I've to say. The jump cut when Lawrence blows the flame of a match and the film cuts to the sunrise in the desert, is probably among the two greatest cuts of all time; the other being the "tool" cut from 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968). The other notable transition is when the sand covers a medium shot of Lawrence standing next to a camel and when it clears, its a close up of him, with the transition being as seamless as they come or when the camera assumes Lawrence's point of view, looking upwards whilst panning right; it then spins rightward and the spin comes to a stop at Lawrence's feet, him walking and talking with his superior. This film is as stylistic as it is substantial. 

 Lawrence of Arabia is an experience of the desert for the people who hate deserts. It is a character study for those who hate character studies. And, above all, it is a spectacle for cynics who hate spectacles. Bloody marvelous and epic in every sense of the word!