5 Things...That Make Lawrence of Arabia the Consummate Epic

Even before I had ever seen it, whenever I thought of an epic movie Lawrence of Arabia was the first thing that came to mind.  Of course, this was in the olden days when the word epic was used to describe something sweeping and heroic, not a frat party or that burrito you just ate.  Even from just the view clips and snippets I had seen--mostly in Oscar show montages and such--it looked like a vast movie.  Wide desert panoramas, exotic costumes, British people, and TWO VHS tapes!  When I finally did see it several years ago, it did not disappoint.  Not only did it check off all the items from the What Makes an Epic Movie checklist (it has an overture and an intermission!  How much more epic can you be?), it is undoubtedly one of the finest examples of film-making ever.  Here are my five things that make David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia the consummate epic.

1.  War!

Wars are bad.  We know this.  However, as much as they are the realm of tragedy, suffering, and destruction, they are also an arena for bravery, courage, and the testing of ones mettle in ways nothing else could.  LoA--which is how we would all refer to it if it was released these days--has all of these in scads. We in the modern era are used to our movie battles being very gritty and realistic, so movie battles of a bygone era look pretty dated and cheesy for the most part.  A smitten soldier heaves his weapon skyward then clutches his chest where presumably the bullet entered only we can't know for sure because his death is completely bloodless.  For all we know it may have been a cardiac episode that did him in.  For the most part the battles in Lawrence of Arabia hold up pretty well.  There are still quite a few melodramatic rifle heaving deaths, but there is also a level of grit and decidedly unglamourous destruction not often seen in movies of the era.  Plus, in these days of CGI soldiers, its pretty cool to see a hundred or more real people riding real camels across the desert at high speed.  And where did they find all those camels!?  Legions of camels!  Camels!

Most importantly, it captures the effect war can have on people, both the individual and the group.  Lawrence is at first an idealist, bold and arrogant, looking to be the savior of the Arab people and guide them to post-war independence, free of the influence of the West.  But as the war progresses and he begins to realize the true intentions of those he considered allies, he becomes disillusioned.  He continues to fight, but he also transforms into something much different than what he was at the start.  His fuel for the battle is less his desire to free a people then to satisfy his own vanity and thirst for vengeance.  By the time he realizes what he has become, it's too late and the damage has been done.

On a broader view, the movie portrays the war as the unsentimental reality that it was.  The British would gladly accept the assistance of the Prince Feisal's little army, but pay only lip service to the idea of carving any sort of independent Arabia out of a defeated Ottoman Turk empire.  And what exactly are Prince Feisals' motivations to begin with?  The final minutes of the movie are a stark reminder that wars are generally fought for the interests of nations first, everything else second.  There are exceptions of course, and while the freeing of oppressed people can be a byproduct of war, especially in the case of WWI that was certainly a secondary objective if an objective at all.

2.  Sand!

Director David Lean and his cinematographer really really like sand dunes.  But that's okay.  There is shot after shot of beautiful, sweeping desert landscapes that convey the vastness of the desert and smallness of the men and their camels trying to cross it.   I would love to have seen Lawrence of Arabia in one of those old movie theaters with the ginormous screens.  The desert vistas must have looked absolutely--wait for it--EPIC on those screens.

3.  Characters!

Lawrence of Arabia is filled with colorful, larger than life characters, ably played by tremendous actors.  Of course, there is Peter O'Toole as Lawrence, who perfectly captures the arrogant and flamboyant mystique of the erstwhile leader of the Arab army.  The worldly Prince Feisal is played by Obi-Wan--I mean Alec Guinness, who is decidedly un-Jedi like in his political maneuvering.  Omar Sharif and Anthony Quinn are fantastic as rival tribal leaders who make up the bulk of Lawrence's shaky alliance of Arab clans.  Plus all the other British guys as various generals and soldiers are wonderful as well.  Never underestimate other British guys.  They make any movie seem more important and epic.  Must be the accents.

4.  Politics!

The first time I saw this movie was during the Iraq War, after "Mission Accomplished" and at the height of the sectarian violence.  Watching the final scenes of this movie in that context was an interesting and eye-opening experience.  Without being too spoilerish--as if I should even care about spoilers when talking about a movie released 50 years ago--the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Or as The Wire's Slim Charles would aptly say, "The Games the same, just got more fierce."

5.  Score!

Sometimes I think folks over look how important a movies score is.  It's like we take it for granted.  Well, it's not like we do take it for granted, we do take it for granted.  We just assume it will always be there, comforting us, exciting us, prompting how we should feel.  But a good score makes a huge impact.  Lawrence of Arabia's score by Maurice Jarre is a perfect example of this.  I could yammer on a little more about it, but instead just watch, listen and enjoy.

Lawrence of Arabia richly deserves its esteem as one of the greatest films of all time.  The scope and spectacle make it something to behold. From the starkness of the landscapes to the complexity of the men who inhabit it, it is by all accounts an epic of epic proportions.