Last Saturday, Peter O'Toole passed away at the age of 81. It seemed more than fitting that I would honor his life and remarkable career by writing about the brilliance of his most well-known role, the one that made him a household name at the age of 30 in 1962. It also is considered to be one of the greatest films of the 20th century (the AFI picked it as the 5th best of all time in 1999), and I agree. Last August, I was finally able to see it on the big screen for the first time at the Arclight in La Jolla, CA, and it has lost none of its magnificence. That film, of course is David Lean's epic, Lawrence of Arabia.
1.) Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence
Peter O'Toole was a relative unknown at the time he was cast to play the lead role in director, David Lean's new movie. Even though the credits claim "Introducing Peter O'Toole," he had actually had two major roles in two films prior to this: 1960's Kidnapped as well as The Day They Robbed the Bank of England. To say O'Toole was perfect for the role may be the biggest understatement in the history of cinema. He was born to play this role. Think of how many times its been said of any performance, "I really can't imagine anyone else playing this character." Well, to me, this is the pinnacle of that statement. There is no one else to play the enigmatic T.E. Lawrence.
To be honest, I would be hard pressed to think of any actor who so encapsulated a real-life figure for millions. His blue eyes seemed to pierce through the screen in contrast to the vast, dry deserts of Arabia. One of my favorite quotes about his appearance in Lawrence of Arabia came from famous playwright Noel Coward, who said that "if he'd been any prettier they'd have to call it Florence of Arabia."
For heavens sake just look at a comparison of O'Toole held up next to the actual man and you will blink two or three times. Tell me, which one is real and which one is fake?
The young actor was able to effortlessly capture all of the quirks, gravitas and underlying darkness that was part of the eccentric British officer. It is a portrayal of countless contradictions. Lawrence at once both hated and loved the deserts of Arabia. In one scene, he says he loves the desert because "it's clean," and, in another scene in Cairo, he is begging to not be sent back to it. He risks his life to save that of a Bedouin, only to violently execute him a few scenes later in order to keep the peace between tribes. At many times he appears to be a man of peace and compassion, but in one famous moment he orders his fighters to charge screaming, "NO PRISONERS!!!" as a complex series of emotions sprints across his face. The power he wields over other men's lives fills him with horror, pride, glee and revulsion all at once. It is an astonishing moment in a movie filled with many such examples. It's as if this man fought a war within himself to justify what he was doing and what his place was going to be in history. I'll write more about the controversial layers to this character a little later.
This performance remains for me one of the most underrated in history. He received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for the role. O'Toole would go on to have many other great roles like King Henry II in 1964's Becket, and also in 1969's The Lion in Winter as . . . . . hey, what do you know . . . . King Henry II. And I think that all of us who grew up in the 80's owe him a debt of gratitude for giving us Zaltar in Supergirl (1984).
2.) David Lean
Great Expectations, Brief Encounter, The Bridge On the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, Ryan's Daughter, and A Passage to India. These are just a few of the other films that famed British filmmaker, David Lean made other than Lawrence of Arabia. Impressed? You should be!
Lean was responsible for some of cinema's most celebrated movies, and most folks who aren't film geeks like me don't even know who he is. But list those movies I just mentioned? Yeah, people know those! He may be the most influential filmmaker of all time whose name is not as common as say Kubrick, Speilberg or Coppola.
David Lean had already established himself as one of the most successful directors around when he undertook the herculean task of turning the story of T.E. Lawrence into a feature length film. Fresh off of winning an Academy Award/Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture for the fantastic Bridge on the River Kwai, he would once again be working with legendary uber-producer, Sam Spiegel. Lean assembled his production team and cast, and set off for the Middle East. What he accomplished there is nothing short of amazing, and we will never see the likes of it again in this age of digital locations and green screens.
When you watch Lawrence of Arabia, you are watching nothing that is faked. It is the ultimate location shoot. Lean's attention to detail was meticulous, reaching Kubrick levels of commitment. Riders cross the vast deserts of Jordan and when you look at the screen you can't help but realize that there are no camel tracks visible . . . for miles and miles. This means the director took great care to ensure the dunes were unblemished. How did he do this without taking multiple takes? I mean, did he have guys ready to run over, cover the tracks from the previous take, and then wait for the sand to revert to its natural, untouched state? Today, James Cameron would just Photoshop them out. In 1960, David Lean had to plan for such things and it shows in the final product. The desert looks more beautiful than it ever has in movie history.
Another marvel is the famous attack on the port city of Aqaba. Approaching from the east, Lawrence's army of nomad fighters surprise the Turks by crossing the un-crossable Nefud Desert. Lean is able to film the entire charge in nearly one take as the horseback-riding Beduin massacre the Turks and lay waste to the city with little resistance. Again, no tricks here. That's hundreds of riders storming a city in a brilliantly shot battle scene that is simply iconic.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, David Lean was pretty good at his job . . . .
3.) Cinematographer Freddie Young
Freddie Young was also pretty good at his job. Starting with Lawrence of Arabia, he would work with David Lean on several of his most popular films, including Doctor Zhivago and Ryan's Daughter.
I could go on and on about his work on Lawrence, but I'll just let the following pictures speak for themselves:
That last one is from the infamous "mirage scene." Not only does it rack my brain as I try and comprehend how Young and David Lean were able to capture the mirage effect of Omar Sharif's approach from far in the distance, but also the deliberate pacing and slow build of this scene is still pure genius.
Oh hell, I can't explain it with just a picture and some words, here you go . . . . for the uninitiated:
Pretty frickin' awesome, huh?
4.) T.E. Lawrence, the Enigma
I don't pretend to be a historian, and I can safely say I am no expert on the life of one of England's most celebrated historical figures. Everything I know about Lawrence I learned from the movie, reading articles online, and from what I gleaned from Michael Korda's excellent biography Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia. I have never read Lawrence's own account of his experiences in World War I, Revolt in the Desert, or his most popular book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom. What I do know is he was a very complex figure.
He was an archaeologist and cartographer who had traveled extensively in the Middle East, specifically the Levant. Was he a British spy at the time? Probably so, since its been well-documented how often archaeologists would dip into the world of espionage. He had learned Arabic and was an expert on the Ottoman Empire when fighting broke out in 1914. Lawrence enlisted in the army and was chosen by the Arab Bureau to help promote the British plan to incite an insurgency amongst the Beduin tribes against the Turks. No simple task, given that most of these tribes hated each other more than they hated the Turkish.
There's a lot of debate and controversy around the specifics of Lawrence's character and motivations. The film depicts many of these eccentricities, and some are merely suggested. For example, there is the question of his sexuality. There are definitely homosexual undertones in the performance O'Toole gives. They are subtle and the subject is never explored. The man claimed in real life to have no personal experience of sex. He never married and there is no evidence to support he was gay. One of the only examples of the possibility that he had loved was his poem at the beginning of Seven Pillars:
"I loved you, so I drew these tides of men into my hands
and wrote my will across the sky in stars
To earn you Freedom, the seven-pillared worthy house,
that your eyes might be shining for me
When we came."
It is dedicated to a mysterious "S.A." It is not know who this is.
There is also the proficient evidence that Lawrence was a masochist. This is also explored in the movie in several scenes, including the match scene, where he burns himself to prove his control over pain. Also, there is the scene in Dera where he is captured by Jose Ferrer's Ottoman commander, who subjects Lawrence to caning. There is the hint of pleasure in O'Tool's performance and this is explored because the real-life man wrote of his torture himself saying, "a delicious warmth, probably sexual, was swelling through me." It is clear in the movie that there is a conflict within him when it comes to his attitude towards pain and pleasure, and even though it is an underlying theme, it was ahead-of-its-time to include moments like these in a large studio picture in 1962.
Last, there is the question of Lawrence's motives. There have been those who have suggested that he was a huge egotist, interested in making a name for himself by uniting the Arabs against the oppressive Turks. Others say he shied away from the camera's lens and detested the limelight. Either way, you can't deny he is a unique figure in military history. It can be argued on and on about England's role in shaping the modern day Middle East and how that country's actions and Lawrence's influence as well, led to many of the conflicts we see in that region today. Either way, what he did at that time was extraordinary for one man. He died suddenly in a motorcycle accident at the age of 46.
5.) Composer Maurice Jarre
For the final topic to support the brilliance of Lawrence of Arabia, I can't ignore the majesty of composer Maurice Jarre's famous score. I think of the match scene in particular, as O'Toole blows out the match; and in maybe the most famous transition of all time, we get the slowly rising sun across the desert as Jarre's stunning music rises slowly into the main theme.
Every part of his score supports the epic scope of the story Lean is telling. The music is celebrated by most film historians as one of the greatest of all time and I fully agree. It captures the exotics of the arid setting while also being playful when it needs to be and grand when it's necessary.
Jarre was supposed to be one of several composers who worked on the Sam Spiegel production, but, for reasons unknown, he ended up writing all of the music. He won his first of several Oscars for his work on the film and would score all of Lean's movies until the director's death. Looking at the list of films he has written music for, the number is staggering. He died in 2009, leaving behind a legacy of work in the movies that is nothing short of jaw-dropping.
So that's my case for the brilliance of Lawrence of Arabia -- written just days after the death of its lead actor. The craft that went to making this -- the epic to end all epics -- will never be matched in the modern age. It is the perfect melding of art, history, biography, and adventure that make Lawrence of Arabia a brilliant film!
Dedicated to the memory of Peter O'Toole (1932-2013).
No comments:
Post a Comment