LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: violence, thematic elements

Rated:

After T.E. Lawrence's death, controversy surrounded the man that became a legend. In the 1960's, he was forever remembered in film with the Academy Award-winning Lawrence of Arabia. The film opens with Lawrence's tragic death as a result of a motorcycle accident. As the people stream from his memorial service, questions are asked. "Who was he?" "Did you know him?" "What was he like?" "Are all the stories true?" that set the backdrop for this epic telling of Lawrence's life.

The lanky, blue-eyed lieutenant is an officer of the British army in WWI. A cartographer in the Cairo HQ, he is not fondly looked upon by the General, who finds Lawrence's devil-may-care attitude problematic. At the urging of a war correspondent, Dryden, he agrees to ship Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) off to Arabia and their contacts there for the time being. The young man is equally eager to go and finds that he desperately loves the clean, desolate landscape home to one of the most brutal and old-fashioned civilizations in the world. When Lawrence's guide -- who has become a close friend in their lengthy excursion against the expanse of hot sand and sun -- is murdered by an Arab lord, he is forced to continue alone. Refusing the aid of his friend's killer, he finds his way to his superior officer with the aid of his trusty compass, and is introduced to Prince Feisal. The British are willing to send the Turks fleeing from Arabia, but refuse to give the Arabs arms.

Feisal's beliefs are that the British intend to inhabit the country once it is rid of the enemy; but Lawrence's determination is that no one but the Arabs will have Arabia. Finding a confidante in this somewhat eccentric Englishman, Feisal sadly informs him that it will take a miracle to save his country. Throughout the night and most of the following day, Lawrence seeks for this miracle... and at last it comes to him. He will lead and handful of Prince Fiesal's men over some of the most God-forsaken desert in Arabia to attack the Turks by land and claim one by one their cities as his own. Despite all odds, even by those of the British government itself, Lawrence will lead the Arabs to victory and become the stuff that legends are made from.

It is not often when you find a "larger than life" screen character, but Lawrence is all this and more. From his strange eccentric nature (his almost inability to sense pain) to his passionate determination and even at times somewhat insane nature, he is somehow extremely likable, even in his darkest moments. From a satirical point of view, had Lawrence of Arabia been made today, the critics would have pounded on it for its lack of political correctness, which makes it A-class in my book. The Arabs are portrayed as a cruel nation; one tribe's aid in the war is purchased by promises of riches. Their prejudice against one another is deep and harsh; they kill one another without a second thought. (Something that is as apparently as relevant today as it was during the first world war.)

Filled with an all-star cast, including Peter O'Toole, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, and Omar Sherif, the film plays out against the desolate backdrop of the vast Arab desert with a stirring soundtrack and praiseworthy performances. The singular flaw, besides the violence that the film is wrought with, comes with the slowness of the plot. The dialogue is brilliant, the screenplay admirable, but it often becomes dull and drags in-between interchanging characters and settings. Long, overblown shots of riding camels in silence for eons; this only garnishes about the first half; after the "intermission" the plot never lags. Violence is prevalent and at times grueling, but never graphic. Fortunately in the 60's blood and guts weren't as "in" as they are today. The war scenes are generally long shots, the shootings bloodless. Included in this are several instances when Lawrence is forced to shoot and/or execute one of his own men. (One for murder, another out of pity, for if he were left wounded, the Turks would torture him.) 

We never see the impact. Lawrence is also captured and tortured by a Turkish general; a whipping is implied. A boy drowns in the sand, a beheading is implied, and several horses are struck down. The most cringe-worthy factor comes from the idea rather than the impact, when Lawrence allows his fury to overcome his sense of pity and he and his men lead a massacre against retreating Turks who have killed every man, woman, and child in a small village. One of his Arab leaders begs him to stop the slaughter, and half-crazed, Lawrence turns and vanishes into the dust. He is found later, half out of his mind and covered in blood.

Part egomaniac, part man, Lawrence is not completely without human emotion. His inner torment wages not because he was forced to execute a murderer but, as he confesses to his superior, "because I enjoyed it." He feels deeply the responsibility of his men for killing so many Turks ("We took them all prisoner. No, that's not true... we killed some of them. Too many, really."), and retreats deeply into himself after his torture, not because of the pain, but rather because he "tried" to tell them everything but couldn't. Language at times surfaces in the dialogue; a mixture of mild profanity with a few dozen uses of "bloody" thrown in for good measure. A long film (four hours with the intermission), Lawrence of Arabia is not for everyone. For those fascinated by the first world war, Lawrence himself (who has become a controversial legend for the English), or an interest in the origins of the Middle Eastern problems, it is a thought-provoking and often enjoyable epic. For romantics at heart, there is not a romantic angle in sight; indeed, not even a speaking role for a female. Children will want to avoid it due to its mature themes and violent content, but for teens and adults, it's a worthwhile turn into the pages of time.