Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia is an award-winning 1962 film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. The film stars Peter O’Toole in his first film role in the title role. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel, from a script by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson (Lean and Spiegel had recently completed The Bridge on the River Kwai).

It is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential films in the history of film making. The dramatic score by Maurice Jarre (father of Jean Michele Jarre of Oxygen fame), and Super Panavision 70 cinematography by Freddie Young, are also hugely acclaimed. Steven Spielberg called it ‘an Amazing Film.’ and cited it as one of the key influences on his career as a film-maker.

The film depicts Lawrence’s experiences in Arabia during World War I, in particular his attacks on Aqaba and Damascus and his involvement in the Arab National Council. Its themes include Lawrence’s emotional struggles with violence in war (especially the conflicts between Arabic tribes and the slaughter of the Turkish army), his personal identity (“Who are you?” is a recurring line throughout the film), and his divided allegiance between his native Britain and its army, and his newfound comrades within the Arabian desert tribes. The film is unusual in having no women in speaking roles.

Historical Accuracy.

The historical accuracy of the film, and particularly its portrayal of Lawrence himself, has been called into question by numerous scholars

Representation of Lawrence

Many complaints about the film’s accuracy, however, centre on the characterization of T. E. Lawrence himself. The real Lawrence of Arabia (T. E. Lawrence), in the white silk robes of the Sherifs of Mecca. The main perceived problems with the portrayal of Lawrence begin with the differences in his physical appearance: 6 foot 2 inch Peter O’Toole was almost nine inches taller than the real T. E. Lawrence. His behavior, however, has caused much more debate.

The screenwriters depict Lawrence as an egotist. Lawrence actually shunned the limelight, as evidenced by his attempts after the war to hide under various assumed names. Others disagree, pointing to Lawrence’s own writings in Seven Pillars of Wisdom to support the argument that he was egotistical.

A controversial choice is the portrayal of Lawrence as being repulsed by violence while also enjoying it. The real Lawrence was far from a pacifist before the war; indeed, he was a crack shot with a pistol (his preferred weapon being a Colt .45 Peacemaker) and enjoyed practising at shooting ranges when he could. There is no record of his feeling any particular remorse over the Tafas massacre in his writings or other correspondence (it was, after all, retaliation by the Bedouin for the Turks’ sack of the village). Lawrence was remorseful to some extent over the number of Turks (and Arabs) killed in his campaigns (as is clear throughout Seven Pillars and other writings of his), but the depiction of him as a sadist who enjoyed violence is based on no historical evidence.

Filming

The film was made by Horizon Pictures and Columbia Pictures. Shooting began on May 15, 1961 and ended on October 20, 1962.

The desert scenes were shot in Jordan and Morocco, as well as Almería and Doñana in Spain. Camels caused several problems on set. O’Toole was not used to riding camels and found the saddle to be uncomfortable. While in Amman during a break in filming, he bought a piece of foam rubber at a market and added it to his saddle. Many of the extras copied the idea and sheets of the foam can be seen on many of the horse and camel saddles. The Bedouins nicknamed O’Toole “Father of the Sponge”. The idea spread and to this day many Bedouins add foam rubber to their saddles. Later, during the filming of the Aqaba scene, O’Toole was nearly killed when he fell from his camel, but fortunately, it stood over him, preventing the horses of the extras from trampling him.

Music

The score, composed by Maurice Jarre, was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Sir Adrian Boult. The soundtrack recording was originally released on Colpix Records, the records division of Columbia Pictures, in 1962. A remastered edition appeared on Castle Music, a division of the Sanctuary Records Group, on August 28, 2006.

Kenneth Alford’s march The Voice of the Guns (1917) is prominently featured on the soundtrack. One of Alford’s other pieces, the Colonel Bogey March, was the theme song for Lean’s previous film, Bridge on the River Kwai.
Releases

Reputation

The film premiered in London on December 10, 1962, and was released in the USA on December 16, 1962.Upon its original release, Lawrence (like Kwai) was a huge critical and financial success, and it remains very popular with the public and critics alike to this day.

It is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. Its visual style has influenced many directors, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Sam Peckinpah, and Martin Scorsese. It is today regarded as a masterpiece of world cinema and is often featured highly among ‘best-of’ critical lists. It’s influence upon filmmaking and popular culture has been called “undeniable”. It was ranked as the 5th greatest film of all time by the American Film Institute.

Memorable Scene

Lawrence of Arabia contains, to my mind, one of the most expertly crafted scenes in the history of cinema. The scene when Lawrence and his guide are at a waterhole and Omar Shariff’s character of Ali makes his entrance by slowly and mysteriously appearing out of the distant desert. It is gripping and superbly timed. Lean holds the tension as long as he possibly can and the wide screen lens gives the most amazing vista of the seemingly never ending desert. The scene builds up from a close up of Lawrence and follows his viewpoint away from the immediate to the panoramic view of the desert horizon.

It must also rank as one the most impressive entrances for an actor ever. Omar Shariff was a reasonably well known actor in his homeland of Egypt but this was his entrance into mainstream cinema, and what an entrance!

Cast

Peter O’Toole as T. E. Lawrence. Albert Finney - at the time a virtual unknown - was Lean’s first choice to play Lawrence, but Finney wasn’t sure the film would be a success and turned it down. Marlon Brando was also offered the part.

Alec Guinness had previously played Lawrence in the play Ross, and was briefly considered for the part, but David Lean and Sam Spiegel thought him too Alec Guinness as Prince Feisal. Feisal was originally to be portrayed by Laurence Olivier; Guinness got the part when Olivier dropped out. Guinness was made up to look as much like the real Feisal as possible; he recorded in his diaries that, while shooting in Jordan, he met several people who had known Feisal who actually mistook him for the late prince. Guinness said in interviews that he developed his Arab accent from a conversation he had with Omar Sharif.

Anthony Quinn as Auda abu Tayi. Quinn got very much into his role; he spent hours applying his own makeup, using a photograph of the real Auda to make himself look as much like him as he could.

Jack Hawkins as General Allenby. Sam Spiegel pushed Lean to cast Cary Grant. Lean, however, convinced him to choose Hawkins due to his work for them on The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish. The role was offered to many actors before Omar Sharif was cast. Horst Buchholz was the first choice, but had already signed on for the film One, Two, Three. Alain Delon had a successful screen test, but ultimately declined due to the brown contact lenses he would have had to wear. Maurice Ronet and Dilip Kumar were also considered.

José Ferrer as the Turkish Bey. Ferrer considered this his best film performance, saying an interview: “If I was to be judged by any one film performance, it would be my five minutes in Lawrence.”

Anthony Quayle as Colonel Harry Brighton.

Claude Rains as Mr. Dryden.

Arthur Kennedy as Jackson Bentley. The part was meant for Edmund O’Brien, but he became ill and had to be replaced at the last possible moment by Kennedy.