Following in the tradition of Ben-Hur and The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia was a stunning and dramatic, nearly 4-hour epic shot in cinemascope. In fact, this was the second David Lean picture in 5 years to come away with the Academy’s top award, and like those films, and unlike so many others that were utilizing this still new technology, Lawrence of Arabia used the widescreen format to full effect, not just for eye candy, but to help create the mood, sell the adventure and tell the story. This is arguably one of the most visually stunning films ever shot, and that stunning cinematography is used very effectively in the crafting of this film. Lawrence of Arabia was David Lean’s follow up to The Bridge on the River Kwai, and he would show that he was truly the first master of the widescreen format.

I would like to focus on the widescreen format for a moment. As a film making practice, it had been en vogue for about six years to this point, with mixed results. Between 1956 and 1962 The Apartment was the only film that was not shot widescreen and would win Best Picture. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, some of those films were better than others, and some took advantage of the wider screen with various degrees of success. I don’t think that you can argue that Around the World in 80 Days was a beautiful film, but the widescreen did little more than show the landscapes and vistas, but did little to progress the story. Musicals like Gigi and West Side Story used the widescreen format to great effect in order to film their dance numbers and allow audiences to see the choreography in a way that they had never seen before. The Bridge on the River Kwai and Ben-Hur used the widescreen format in a similar way, but with action sequences taking the place of dance sequences. I would submit, however, that Lawrence of Arabia was the first of these films to utilize the medium as an effective way to set the tone, create the mood and tell the story, especially in the first half of the film.

In Lawrence of Arabia we have dozens of extreme long shots, especially when Lawrence is traveling through the desert. In fact, what Lean and Director of Photography F.A. Young did with these extreme long shots was put the characters in them at varying distances in order to show the vastness of the desert. There are many shots when Lawrence and the Arab Resistance are crossing the Nefud Desert, we are shown just how insignificant these men and camels are to the harsh and unforgiving environment. There are many other similar shots throughout the first half of the film that demonstrate the motif of man versus nature, which is one of the thematic elements of the film. What makes the motif so effective is the use of the widescreen format and its unique ability to show how big the world is and how small men are in it. Truly, Lawrence of Arabia set the bar for how widescreen cinema should be shot.

In fact, when one thinks of Lawrence of Arabia, one generally thinks of how grand it is in its scope and its amazing cinematography. However, one would be remiss if one didn’t appreciate how strong of a story this picture has, as well as the virtuoso performances of some of the greatest actors ever to grace the silver screen. IMDB places this film from a genre standpoint as Adventure/Biography/Drama. Obviously, it’s a biographical picture, but I would call it a drama before I would call it adventure. Yes, there is action and adventure in the film, but to me it’s much more dramatic and character driven than it is adventure driven. Just the pacing of the film lends it more to a drama. That, of course is said from today’s perspective where action films are paced much more frenetically than they would have been 50 years ago, but the tone of this film is coming from a much more dramatic place rather than an adventure place.

The reason I feel that way, is because while man vs. nature a clear motif in the first half of this film, man vs. self becomes the driving motif of the second half. What ties all of it together is a very clear Hero’s Journey for T. E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole). Taking out the prologue and looking at it from the beginning of the actual story, we see Lawrence in his Ordinary World, working at a military office in Cairo as a cartographer. He’s bored and he’s petulant, but we don’t have to wait long for his Call to Adventure. Mr. Dryden (Laude Raines) of the Arab Bureau believes that Lawrence has a unique ability to determine whether or not Prince Faisel (Alec Guinness) will be successful in his revolt against the Turks. The Refusal of the Call comes from General Murray, who doesn’t believe that Lawrence has earned the right to have such a high profile task to be assigned to him. Nevertheless, Lawrence accepts the mission and leaves Cairo for Arabia.

The Crossing of the First Threshold sees Lawrence crossing the desert with his Bedouin guide. The Meeting of the Mentor happens when they’re at a well and the Bedouin is killed by Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) for drinking from the well without permission. Rivals at this point, Sherif will prove to be an ally as well as a mentor to Lawrence as he learns how to live in the desert environment and fight like an Arab. In fact, one of the classic purposes of the Mentor is to give the Hero some sort of gift or tool that will help in on his journey. Sherif will later give Lawrence traditional Arab robes so that he can me more like one of them, and become the leader that they need him to be. The Tests, Allies and Enemies portion of the journey follows where Lawrence under minds his commanding officer and suggests that they attack the port city of Acaba by approaching from the Nefud Desert. Even the Bedouins believe that it is impossible to cross, but Lawrence convinces them that it can be done by saying that he will do it, and they’re welcome to come with him. Lawrence is tested many times during the Approach portion of the Journey, which sees him and the Bedouins crossing the desert. At one point, the Bedouin Gasim falls off his camel during the night and no one notices until they arrive at the oasis the next morning. Lawrence goes after him, ignoring the warnings of Sherif and others who tell Lawrence that it is written. Exclaiming that nothing is written, Lawrence goes back in to the desert to find Gasim. They return several hours later, and now, seeing how he risked his own life for one of them, the Bedouin will now follow Lawrence anywhere. The Approach ends when they find the Howeitat tribe leader Auda abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn) and an uneasy alliance is formed between two tribes that have a tradition of mutual hatred. Before he can lead the attack on Acaba, however, the fragile peace is threatened when a Howeitat is murdered. Lawrence is heartbroken to discover that Gasim is the murderer and the only way to keep the peace is for Lawrence to execute him, which he does. It is a very heavy scene, but not the Supreme Ordeal. That happens after victory at Acaba has been won, and Lawrence must return to Cairo to inform the generals. He crosses the Sanai with Daud and Farraj, two teenagers that begged to be his valets. It’s a perilous trip and Lawrence loses his compass when they’re lost in a sandstorm. A patch of quicksand swallows Daud, killing him, and Lawrence and Farraj can only watch helplessly as it happens. Having escaped, Lawrence and Farraj continue through the desert, emotionally and physically spent.

The second act continues with the Reward. Lawrence and Farraj arrive in Cairo and go to HQ, where Lawrence demands that Farraj be treated as an equal while he goes to speak with Dryden and General Allenby (Jack Hawkins). For his taking the initiative to attack Acaba, Lawrence is promoted to Major and he asks Hawkins straight out if the British have any designs on occupying Arabia, and the general tells him flat out that they do not. The Reward continues as Lawrence succeeds in uniting the tribes of Arabia in a guerilla war against the Turks, and he amasses almost a cult following among the Arabs. What’s more, he starts to see himself as invincible.

That happens until he gets to The Road Back when he is captured in Daraa. We enter the Third Act when Lawrence refuses the advances of the Turk Bey and strikes at him, he is mercilessly flogged. His Road Back is a literal one as he returns to Cairo and asks Allenby for another assignment. He just wants to go back to being normal. Allenby tells Lawrence that he’s making one big push to Damascus, and he needs him for that. Lawrence’s Resurrection happens when he returns to Arabia one more time to lead the Arabs to Damascus so that they get there and get embedded before the English. He believes that the Arabs will fight for him, but what they really want to fight for is money. He marches his forces ahead of Allenby’s but they come across a division of Turks who have just slaughtered civilians from a local village. Sherif tries to convince him to go around and just get to Damascus, but when a man of the village attacks, they have no choice. Lawrence himself is caught up in the blood lust of it all and only when it is done does he realize the horrible consequences of his actions. They arrive in Damascus unprepared for the running of a large city and the men who lead these provincial tribes know nothing of the city’s infrastructure and don’t care how it’s run. Despite his best intentions, Lawrence is forced to abdicate to the British officers. The Return With the Elixir occurs with Lawrence going back to Allenby and Dryden, who happen to be meeting with Prince Faisal to discuss how power will be “shared”. They promote him to colonel and order him to go back to Britain, as his usefulness to all of them has come to an end.

With this clear Hero’s Journey we not only have a strong and dramatic story, but the film makers also had the tools to create dynamic characters with depth and pathos. There are few caricatures in this film, even though there are more than a few stereotypes. The drama in the story is accentuated by the fact that we’re watching Lawrence go through a roller coaster of character development. He starts out as an impetuous, arrogant and inexperienced. He grows to heroic leader and eventually devolves into a conceded self-loather. We watch as the desert and the war cause him to change. Even without a primary antagonist, this film’s Hero struggles against the forces of nature and of himself, ultimately and tragically succumbing to his demons.

Did the Academy get it right?

Yes, they did. Lawrence of Arabia is one of the great cinematic achievements of all time, and that’s not just my opinion. It’s currently ranked #7 on AFI’s list of the top 100 movies of all time. It was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 7 of them, including Best Director for David Lean and Best Cinematography for F.A. Young. It also won 4 of the 7 Golden Globes for which it was nominated. When looking at the competition, it wasn’t the greatest of years, but there were a couple of very fine films nominated against it. To Kill a Mockingbird was the signature film for Gregory Peck, and he took home the Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar over Peter O’Toole. It’s ranked #15 on AFI’s list and probably would have had a much better chance of winning had it come out in a different year, although it’s primarily a courtroom drama and it was in black and white, so it had those two things going against it. The Music Man is not on the AFI list, but is they type of musical that had won in previous years, and similar musicals will win in the future. Overall, however, Lawrence of Arabia is a top-10 all-time film, and rightly deserved to be named the Best Picture of 1962.