LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

With the evening unexpectedly to myself, as part of my 2020 quest to see all the Oscar-winning best pictures, I took on the film with the longest run time. That motion picture, just a few minutes short of 4 hours long, is Lawrence of Arabia which took the award in 1963.

This movie is as breathtaking as it is long, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. Director David Lean’s ability to frame the camera to convey the wonder, isolation, awe, desperation, and even time, is quite frankly, staggering. The majority of this film takes place in the desert and its majesty and pristineness seem boundless. When you pair the picturesque wonder with the Maurice Jarr score, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, it is spellbinding. To be clear, scenes shot outside the desert are also given the same attention to detail, scale, and hew so they are always enhancing the tale as it unfolds. Stepping outside this complex and well-acted story, one’s visual and auditory senses are always being gratified in a fashion that simply heightens the entire experience.

The movie starts with a completely dark screen as the overture builds for 5 minutes. As it crescendos, you already know this motion picture experience is going to be big. And then there is light. The credits roll and you watch as Thomas Edward Lawrence meets his demise in 1935! After that, the film goes back in time to tell the tale of his involvement with the Arab Revolt between 1916 and 1918. Peter O’Toole is phenomenal at bringing to life a real person who was as intelligent and brave as he was egotistical and flawed. Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, and Alec Guinness are all equally enthralling. Interestingly, women are only seen in a few background shots. There was not one female speaking character in the entire four hours.

Could the film have been edited down? Sure. Should it have been edited down? Absolutely not. This production is like a good bottle of wine that needs time to breathe and be enjoyed. Lawrence’s tale is a complex one and this version of it is cinematic storytelling at its finest. Without a doubt, Lawrence of Arabia, one of the finest films I’ve had the opportunity to take in.