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Lawrence of Arabia
Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:11 am
Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:11 am
I finally got around to seeing the film for the first time.
I didn't not like it and I didn't love it either. But I am glad I've finally seen it all the way through.
I understand it's significance and there are some shots and sequences that are absolutely awe inspiring.
It kind of felt line the last of the old time epics too. I couldn't imagine how expensive and CGI filled this film would be now.
I like O'Toole, too, but there are many instances where you don't like Lawrence at all. I don't know if this was intentional, but some of his stubbornness and arrogance was off-putting sometimes.
Omar Shariff I thought was the true hero of tbe film. He went from a killer of tribes to a reasoned man with political leadership aspirations.
I didn't not like it and I didn't love it either. But I am glad I've finally seen it all the way through.
I understand it's significance and there are some shots and sequences that are absolutely awe inspiring.
It kind of felt line the last of the old time epics too. I couldn't imagine how expensive and CGI filled this film would be now.
I like O'Toole, too, but there are many instances where you don't like Lawrence at all. I don't know if this was intentional, but some of his stubbornness and arrogance was off-putting sometimes.
Omar Shariff I thought was the true hero of tbe film. He went from a killer of tribes to a reasoned man with political leadership aspirations.
This post was edited on 10/21/18 at 12:13 am
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Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:18 am to Jack Ruby
I mean, that's how the British were. They were stubborn imperialistic assholes and they pursued the objective whether it needed to be or not.
David Lean also directed The Bridge Over the River Kwai which is an infamously anti-British book to the point some British actors turned down roles in the film.
David Lean also directed The Bridge Over the River Kwai which is an infamously anti-British book to the point some British actors turned down roles in the film.
This post was edited on 10/21/18 at 12:20 am
Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:24 am to Jack Ruby
It's definitely intentional that there are moments where you don't like Lawrence. The central idea of the movie is what drives greatness: impetuousness, arrogance, and then turning into madness that breaks him. And along the way it asks the value of this and in what context it fits.
This post was edited on 10/21/18 at 12:25 am
Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:28 am to Jack Ruby
Lawrence was certainly an enigmatic personality. I think O’Toole captured that perfectly.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:29 am to Peazey
I've listened to some of the 7th Pillars of Wisdom. Talk about books that couldn't be written today. Interesting but lots of.... let's say racially insensitive things.
Also, T.E. Lawrence was probably gay and I haven't listened to that point in the book but he did mention being whipped felt sexual to him in an odd way.
Also, T.E. Lawrence was probably gay and I haven't listened to that point in the book but he did mention being whipped felt sexual to him in an odd way.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:34 am to Jack Ruby
I think you could argue (argue) that it's the best film ever made - on location in that shite with that perfect picture quality back then.
That said...it's a Top 5 film for me so you know my bias.
I won't say it's the best film film ever made because what is that? It's just all personal favorites. But Lawrence has the chops - the great last epic to make a case.
They will never make another movie like Lawrence again because it would cost too much. CGI desert won't suffice.
I love the movie not just for what it is but for the effort to make it. And it's a grand story.
People always ask, what movie should I watch on the big screen?
Lawrence is my default because it was mean't for that.
That said...it's a Top 5 film for me so you know my bias.
I won't say it's the best film film ever made because what is that? It's just all personal favorites. But Lawrence has the chops - the great last epic to make a case.
They will never make another movie like Lawrence again because it would cost too much. CGI desert won't suffice.
I love the movie not just for what it is but for the effort to make it. And it's a grand story.
People always ask, what movie should I watch on the big screen?
Lawrence is my default because it was mean't for that.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 10:50 am to Jack Ruby
The first time I saw it was an old VHS tape on a small box set TV. I thought it was ok, but kinda meh.
The second time I saw it was an original 70mm (2.20:1) print on the gigantic screen at the historic Fox Theater in Atlanta. I was blown away. Had the same experience with Dr. Zhivago and Wizard of Oz.
Some movies have to be watched in the format and venue for which they were intended to be fully appreciated.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 11:50 am to athenslife101
quote:How anyone had the audacity to write that or any similar story from a Japanese slant dumbfounds me. So frick 'em. British "imperial" attitudes pale next to Japanese ones.
The Bridge Over the River Kwai which is an infamously anti-British book to the point some British actors turned down roles in the film.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:10 pm to Jack Ruby
Lawrence....Lawrence of Arabia, he was an English guy, he came to fight the Turkish!! Great theme song.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:17 pm to Tiger Ugly
Love the Hollywood Knights reference....
Posted on 10/21/18 at 12:51 pm to blueboy
The book wasn't pro-Japanese. The book insulted the British because their pride helped the Japanese war effort.
The author of the book was French
The author of the book was French
Posted on 10/21/18 at 2:29 pm to Jack Ruby
One of the greatest epics ever made.
Back in the day the book was required reading.
I personally loved the movie - first saw it on the big screen and have seen it many times since.
Back in the day the book was required reading.
I personally loved the movie - first saw it on the big screen and have seen it many times since.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 2:49 pm to Jack Ruby
quote:
but there are many instances where you don't like Lawrence at all. I don't know if this was intentional, but some of his stubbornness and arrogance was off-putting sometimes.
Several good biographies on Lawrence out there, read one and you will know O Toole absolutely nailed it.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 2:50 pm to Jack Ruby
Lawrence of Arabia is a top 5 film for me.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 3:02 pm to AUFANATL
quote:
Some movies have to be watched in the format and venue for which they were intended to be fully appreciated.
Yeah it was a long process for me. First saw it on TV; then thought it was really special when I got the VHS letterbox edition, then got the DVD, then got the DVD Special Edition Superbit widescreen for a flatscreen...
And then finally, they re-released it in the theaters a few years ago for like a week.
It seriously is a movie that needs the biggest screen possible. It was shot on 70MM Super Panavision; same as 2001, Space Odyssey.
Nothing CGI could ever realistically replicate; you can see the heat in the film...the desert shimmers off in the distance going clear and then a blur...it's like you are there...stuck in the desert...you honestly feel the heat when they cross the Nefud desert.
This post was edited on 10/21/18 at 3:08 pm
Posted on 10/21/18 at 8:32 pm to mizzoubuckeyeiowa
What's a huge shame is that now they wouldn't even attempt to film it in a desert, it would automatically be thrown into a stduio with green screens. Damn shame, too.
I think the best scequence upon review is easily the entrance of Ali from the "mirage" when he comes to see his well.
From the jump cut:
To this:
Is incredible filmmaking.
I read that Lean actually filmed the whole entrance sequence in one take, but it was originally twice as long. He regretted not leaving the entirety of footage in.
I think the best scequence upon review is easily the entrance of Ali from the "mirage" when he comes to see his well.
From the jump cut:
To this:
Is incredible filmmaking.
I read that Lean actually filmed the whole entrance sequence in one take, but it was originally twice as long. He regretted not leaving the entirety of footage in.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 9:16 pm to Jack Ruby
quote:
Damn shame, too.
That's why the movie is truly a treasure. It's never going to happen again.
It's become a museum piece of film-making.
I didn't fall in love with the movie simply because of the story; I fell in love with it because of the film and the picture.
quote:
Producer Sam Spiegel wanted him to consider the cost-saving benefits of shooting in Southern California or the less volatile political climate in Israel. Lean, however, was determined to film the story where it had happened, in Jordan.
Lean's instincts about shooting in Jordan proved right when he made his first location-scouting trip there. Along with breathtaking scenery, he discovered the remains of the Turkish locomotives and railroad tracks Lawrence had destroyed during the Arab Revolution. After 40 years in the sun, they hadn't even rusted.
To capture the location's grandeur, Lean decided to shoot the film in Super Panavision 70mm. He wanted the largest frame possible.
In July 1961, the company moved to their first location, Jebel Tubeiq near the Saudi Arabian border. The spot was 150 miles away from the nearest water and had not been inhabited since a band of monks abandoned their monastery there in the seventh century A.D. Temperatures were so high in the summer sun that most thermometers couldn't even register them. In fact, the thermometers had to be cooled down.
During the desert location shoot, 300 Bedouins wearing sandals muffled in wool were charged with smoothing out the desert sands with palm fronds after each rehearsal and take so there would be no extraneous footprints in the sand.
After five months shooting in Jordan, Spiegel ran short on cash and moved the entire production to Spain, where he had frozen assets he could only spend in that country. Lean was so unhappy about the move that he stayed in Jordan on his own after everyone else had left for a rest in England. Surveying one of the last scenes there, a desert panorama complete with camels, he complained, "Bloody well match that somewhere else in the world.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 10:18 pm to blueboy
quote:
The Bridge Over the River Kwai which is an infamously anti-British book
quote:
How anyone had the audacity to write that or any similar story from a Japanese slant dumbfounds me.
Well, he was French. You don’t have to be audacious to piss on the Brits if you’re French.
He went on to take on the entire modern human race in Planet of the Apes.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 10:59 pm to Jack Ruby
I always wondered why the guy was such a legend. He pretty much just blew up a bunch of rail lines.
Posted on 10/21/18 at 11:02 pm to athenslife101
quote:I know, the most butthurt, English hating people on earth.
The author of the book was French
quote:When the alternative is being coldly shot for any resistance or even making eye contact, you work, and you may as well try to win a moral victory by doing it better than it would have been done otherwise.
their pride helped the Japanese war effort.
But that's fiction. Reality was far less cavalier and far more bleak. Any criticism of the British or any other Japanese POW's is petty and absolutely drowns in the context of Japanese atrocities.
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