re: Lawrence of Arabia

He had major problems just trying to shoot off the Jersey shore. Hollywood wanted Jaws in a tank on the lot...along with everyone else.

Imagine being in Jordan? With no water and no cell phones?

Back in the 60's.

I agree with pretty much everything you said. I also watched it a few weeks ago for the first time. I can appreciate it for what it was, but Lawrence wasn’t that great of a character IMO.

I didn’t hate, didn’t love it.

I still get why it’s a great movie though.

You’re right about the rest of the cast. They were all incredible to watch.

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This comment stuck out like a turd in a punchbowl.

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It did have a little wang in it.

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This comment stuck out like a turd in a punchbowl.

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Speaking of the punchbowl...

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It does have a little wang to it. Good, though.

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But Lawrence was not that at all. It's rare I guess that a film this big and grand had a protagonist who was so unlikeable at multiple times in the film.

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Yeah, he's a complicated character which is what makes it so interesting. The acting performance also leaves you wondering...where is Lawrence coming from? What is his actual aim?



Spoilers (I guess, it has been 40 years but whatever):












He kills a man as a death sentence and says he liked it...which is why he didn't want to go back to the desert...as if the desert and war was changing him.

He loses the aim of the revolt and becomes hell bent on revenge (for what reason?) but personal against the Turks - raped him (hinted at); he slaughters, says take no prisoners...becomes like a theif in the desert blowing up trains and then his followers/band of banditos get to pillage the trains and take spoils like a pirate.

He had no real Army (in the movie) and after his first objective Aqaba...his one real victory, everything after that is just maurading horde guerrilla warfare, rape and pillage and steal.

And the film doesn't shy away from the accusations that he was a self-promoter. As the intro at his funeral shows, the reporter covering him calls him the most shameless self-promoter since Barnum and Bailey.

IRL he was an enigma, a small sized man with grand ambitions, died early, wrote a book grandizing himself, sort of wanted to give Arabia back to the Arabs, had an influence in WWI but it was minor.

The film does a great job of you leaving the film wondering whether or not you like Lawrence or not.

After the reporter calls him a shameless promoter in the opening funeral scene, a mourner confronts him and says he takes exception to that remark, that Lawrence was a great, great man. And the reporter asks if he knew him and the man says no he never had the pleasure and the reporter walks away and mutters something like, well I knew him.