Lawrence of Arabia

Spoilers

As depicted in 1962's LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, British Army Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence was a serious enigma.  A man not to be easily read, although quite photogenic.  From his early days toiling around Headquarters, doing little more than taunting comrades and superiors with his bookishness, to his eventual promotion as colonel, he is seen as someone who almost appears to be winging it.  Entirely passive, merely reacting to all the great events about him.  Even when he finally cries "No prisoners!" on the way to Damascus, there is a faraway look in those sky blue irises, eyes that seem to glow even in the darkest desert nights.  Perhaps see/cut through the things which those of mere mortals cannot.  

That is not to state that Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) is unemotional or unfeeling.  He commits murder several times and immediately laments, especially when he finds he enjoys the slaughter in the moment.  He cares, perhaps very deeply about his new Arab allies.  They revolt against the Turks across the Arabian Peninsula in the days of World War I through surprise attacks in Aqaba (a vital supply port for the Brits), spring guerrilla assaults on Turkish railways, and cross the treacherous Nefud Desert.  The latter victory, during which Lawrences rescues one of Ali's men, who's fallen behind, prompts Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) to deem the blasted Englishman an honorary Arab, even giving him the according garb.

Lawrence will be honored and damned repeatedly, even after his death, which opens director David Lean's classic of classics.  An almost arbitrary demise, certainly following the perils of warfare in the desert, a place Lawrence came to love because it was "clean."  Journalists at the funeral get conflicting answers to their inquiries of the character of the deceased.  War correspondent Jackson Bentley (Arthur Kennedy) joins Lawrence's caravan and creates an international icon.  The Brits keep promoting the mysterious figure, yet always as a means to eventually influence Arabia, despite their objections.

After a highly traumatic event in the Turkish held Syrian city of Deraa, Lawrence will wear the face of a man irrevocably violated, temporarily estranged from the environment and people he comes to love.  He may well never be the same.  He does in fact return to the desert to finish what was begun, even to help the Arabs set up council in Damascus, but he finds he is no politician, and is unable to maintain order.  From within, goes without. What was in there? A conscience for sure, but a design? A death wish?

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA was a huge production, shot in 70mm across Jordan and Morocco, its vistas stunningly captured by Lean and cinematographer F.A. Young. The movie steals one's breath even when viewed on a standard DVD.  I long for a chance to see it on the big screen.  Several scenes recall classic Westerns, and Lean was said to have been a fan of THE SEARCHERS.  Lawrence is as mysterious as any (anti)hero of the American West, though despite his being quite the capricious one, wears his heart on his sleeve a bit too obviously at times.  What are heroes really made of?

It is written......