Charismatic British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence (Peter OâToole) is meant to act as a liaison between Arabian Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness) and the British, but he pushes to do more. Uniting differing tribes, with leaders of differing personalities (Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn), he leads the Arabs in battle against the Turks, getting more and more obsessed as he does so. As he loses himself, diplomats and generals (Jack Hawkins, Claude Rains) make other plans for the region.
I first saw Lawrence of Arabia as a kid, on a twenty-five inch broadcast TV in the early 1970s. Even in that situation I knew that this was a skillfully made film. I respected it for the expertise involved in making it, but I didnât love it. It was, after all, just a film about a man, a real man caught up in historical events that may be connected to many modern problems, but were no longer directly relevant.
When I next saw it, my respect grew. Some scenes, like the mirage, seemed miracles of filmmaking. How could that have been filmed? And the meticulousness of the project amazed me. Everything in its place. Everything exactly as director David Lean wanted it to be. Still, I didnât love it. That childhood viewpoint stuck with me.
Some movies arenât for children.
Another viewing clued me in. It isnât a film about a man. Itâs about a god (or messiah if you prefer), and the message is clear: Gods are never a good thing, particularly for the god. This is a story which is always relevant. It amuses me that I could have missed this, but to be fair, I was a kid. Lean isnât subtle about it. The movie is filled with religious iconography and worship of individuals who shouldnât have been worshiped. The desert isnât just a place, but a metaphysical landscape removed from normal reality, where giants dwell and fate works its way. Gods are driven by righteousness and passion, and those are not the way to run the real world.
âWith Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me, it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.â
And with that shift, everything else fell into place, and now I love this film. It is riveting, from itâs first moment, through the match-blowing transition and that mirage scene, to the predestined end that awaits all mortal gods. It is cinematic art as it should be: beautiful, engaging, exciting, thoughtful. Every part is a masterpiece. The script is one of the best ever, with quotable line after line, yet all sounding real for the characters. And those characters are given depth by that script, and then brought to life by some of the best performances ever put to screen, led by Peter OâToole. Then there is the music, the art design, and the incredible desert photography. Itâs an exquisitely made motion picture. Iâve no idea how Lean pulled it off, how he held so many parts in his mind. It is the finest directed film of all time (and likely the finest shot and edited). Often I can see how a director shaped a film. With Lawrence of Arabia, I canât. David Lean had help, the best help a filmmaker could have, from top cinematographer Freddie Young, editor Anne Coates, composer Maurice Jarre, new talent OâToole, and the best of the old pros, Claude Rains and Alec Guiness. But that doesnât explain it.
Three years later Peter OâToole starred in Lord Jim, a film about a charismatic Brit, who travels to a troubled land in the East, where he âgoes native,â leads and fights for the locals, and things donât go well in the end. It was shot by Freddie Young and had overlapping personnel with Lawrence of Arabia in the costume, art, sound, special effects, makeup, and camera departments, as well as with the assistant directors and cast. It was based on a novel by Joseph Conrad, a novel that T.E. Lawerence âborrowedâ from in writing Seven Pillars of Wisdom (which is the basis for Lawrence of Arabia). And the result isâŚfine. Itâs not a bad film.
Now it isnât surprising that a film connected to another film in many ways isnât as good. But it is surprising that no one and nothing in it is great or even particularly good. These people did masterful work a few years earlier under the command of Lean, and here, with Richard Brooks at the helm, they are fine. Watching Lord Jim, I wouldnât have guessed any of those involved could create truly great art. But they had, with Lawrence of Arabia. Yes, some would go on to do excellent work later, but never reach these heights again. The key was Lean. No one else could have made this film.
It won seven Oscars: Picture, Director, Cinematography, Editing, Art Direction, Sound, and Score, and received three additional nominations for Actor (O’Toole), Supporting Actor (Omar Sharif), and Adapted Screenplay. It should have won them all. Lawrence of Arabia is one of the 10 best films of all time, and if someone said it was the best, I wouldnât say they were wrong.