Reading a Film: Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. It's one of the first films to incorporate visual of an open landscape and do it well, so well that the landscape is one of the most powerful aspects of the movie. The film tells the true story of T.E. Lawrence(played by Peter O'Toole) who was an archeologist turned Lieutenant Colonel in the middle east during WWI, who fights alongside Arabic tribes to gain control of lands taken by the Ottoman Empire and is accepted more by the Arabic people than his British counterparts.

The film begins with T.E. Lawrence's death and funeral, as many who attend realize they do not really know who he was. The rest of the film follows his life during the war, his victories his losses but mainly the change in his character. He begins as a peculiar British solider very open and mindful, almost childlike. As he fights alongside the Arabic tribesmen he is enveloped into their way of life, becoming a powerful leader fighting for them instead of the British. There is a famous seen where after his British uniform is worn and tattered he is given white robes to wear, the ones that are given to great leaders by the Arabic people. He gladly puts them on and, like a child, swoops around in his new robes following his shadow, more lively in his new robes than when he was in his British uniform.

Later in the movie, the horror of war has an obvious effect on Lawrence, causing him to become colder and more vicious in the war-torn desert. Peter O'Toole's performance is extraordinary, he conveys Lawrences emotions during disastrous events like the Tafas Massacre not only powerfully but realistically as Lawrence watches a stray solider run off to fight the Turkish army responsible for the attack screaming "no prisoners!" and killed, Lawrence, overwhelmed with grief and anger charges repeating the soldiers cry as him and his men completely destroy the Turkish soldiers in one of the most gruesome battles of the film.

There are historical inaccuracies in the film but no where near the kind seen in modern films. The script was adapted from books written by T.E Laurence himself and were done to make some characters and events more noticeable. The film is beautiful, adventurous, and has a fantastic story with amazing characters which all paint the plot with great performance and feeling leaving a work of art.