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The Massive Lawrence of Arabia Pic Spam
Last Sunday I took a mate to see Lawrence of Arabia in an actual 70 mm print at the Bell Light Box. It is without a doubt my favourite film of all time--I've seen it countless times--so I reckoned it was long past time for a big Lawrence pic spam to indulge my love.
The Best Edit Ever
Before I get to Peter O'Toole's prettiness and the true love of Lawrence and Ali, I'm going to get all arty for a second. Because this is one of the most amazing looking films ever committed to film. Every shot is impeccably composed and lit. The score matches perfectly with the visuals. And it has the Best. Edit. Ever. (Yes, I'm an editing geek. I'm also a vidder, so that shouldn't be surprising.)
This edit occurs early on, when Lawrence finds out he's being sent to Arabia to "appreciate the situation" with the Bedouin. The cut comes here, from Lawrence blowing out a match...
...to the sun coming up over the desert. The contrast between the two images is beautiful and shocking and really tells the viewer they're in another place entirely.
Okay, enough with the arty stuff. On to the pretty.
Florence of Arabia
There is no getting around it: Peter O'Toole is a beautiful man, and he was probably at his most beautiful in Lawrence. (He's also a stunningly good actor in it, but just at the moment let's concentrate on the pretty.)
He's at his best in the Arab robes he's given after helping the Bedouin take Aqaba. Like here, where he's all dusty and exotic.
And here, where he's facing down the injured Turkish soldier who's just shot him.
Or striding the tops of the cars of the train he has just derailed, the sun glinting behind him.
Or even here, at the end, when he's gone through hell and he knows he's going to be sent home and he'll lose Arabia and everything that means anything to him. As a performer, O'Toole does angst wonderfully, and he uses that skill to the fullest in this film.
The Epic Slash
If it was just Peter O'Toole being pretty and awesome, I would still love Lawrence, but it might not be my favourite film ever. However, it also has the bonus of being one of the greatest love stories between two men ever.
Introducing Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali:
In the above scene, Lawrence is trying to convince Ali to help him take Aqaba. That he has to get so close to him to do it is, I'm sure, only a pleasant side effect.
Then we have the aftermath of the Battle of Aqaba. Notice how Lawrence has grabbed Ali's bandolier? The best part is how his hand ends up in that position. He lovingly wraps his fingers around that leather, one finger at a time. I could watch those few second over and over again.
And then we get the epic eye fucking, with Lawrence silently asking Ali to trust him.
And Ali doing exactly that, in spite of his natural inclinations.
Ah, true love.
Hurt/Comfort O Rama
But the course of true love never did run smooth. In the case of Lawrence and Ali, there's politics and racism and an unfortunate incident with a Turkish general.
But first, a warning and a biographical digression.
The warning: this bit involves some triggery stuff.
The biographical digression: I have a feeling this is the film that seriously warped me into the person I am today. The first time I saw it, I was 8. I honestly had no business watching it, and there were large bits that I wouldn't get until I saw it again at 15 (when it positively blew my mind), but this next bit probably turned me into the hurt/comfort fan I am today.
So, what happens in the film is Lawrence, suffering from hubris and a desire to make good on a promise to the English generals, visits a Turkish garrison town with only Ali. He's caught by the Turks, who have no idea who he really is, beaten, and raped by a Turkish Bey, leaving Ali to pick up the pieces
Ali makes him sleep.
Ali forces him to eat.
And Ali generally looks after Lawrence with a care that is incredibly sweet. Here, he helps him put his robe on. Awwww.
This is, however, the beginning of the end for Lawrence and Ali. Lawrence has been shaken by his experience, and tells Ali that he needs to return to his own people. Ali, in turn, gets angry, and asks Lawrence if he's thought of the other members of their group. This is the truly telling bit: he points to the others and says "Have you no care for them," but when he gets to "them" just look where his hand is pointing. It's his own hurt he's reacting to, even though he can't admit it.
Lawrence's reaction to Ali's hurt is some pretty epic hurt of his own. (I've mentioned I have a soft spot for blokes who've had the crap kicked out of them, no? I'm sure this is ground zero for that kink.)
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Every epic love story, alas, has it's epic end. That's no different foor Lawrence and Ali.
Lawrence does return after the rape, but he's changed. Harder. More unhinged. And then he calls for the massacre of a retreating Turkish column, and Ali can no longer overlook what he's become. Here, Ali finds Lawrence, stained in the blood of the men he's killed.
Ali walks away in disgust, but Lawrence cannot help but follow. Whatever is driving them apart, there is still something tying them together.
Which brings us to the penultimate scene between them. The Bedouin have taken Dasmascus, and are trying, unsuccessfully, to find a way to work together to bring order to the city. Auda, another Bedouin chief, has just insulted Ali, and Lawrence leaps to restrain Ali, warning him there will be bloodshed if he doesn't back down.
Given the bloodshed Lawrence has just unleashed, Ali looks at him in disbelief.
And Lawrence looks down in shame. Though you'll notice that he doesn't take his hand off Ali.
Their final scene together is pretty heart wrenching.
The Bedouin are withdrawing from Damascus, taking Ali with them. Lawrence is staying, doing what he can to let the Bedouin create their own country after the war. They both know they won't see each other again. And we get one final, hopeless bit of eye fucking between them. First from Ali.
Then from Lawrence.
Then Ali leaves the room, and Lawrence, his back to Ali, looks utterly defeated.
Though he manages one last moment of wistfulness after Ali has gone.
While Ali weeps for his loss, even as Auda prods him to admit that he loves Lawrence. (Seriously! He uses the actual L word and everything.)
Well that's it. The highlights of why I love Lawrence of Arabia, with illustrating pretty pictures.
The Best Edit Ever
Before I get to Peter O'Toole's prettiness and the true love of Lawrence and Ali, I'm going to get all arty for a second. Because this is one of the most amazing looking films ever committed to film. Every shot is impeccably composed and lit. The score matches perfectly with the visuals. And it has the Best. Edit. Ever. (Yes, I'm an editing geek. I'm also a vidder, so that shouldn't be surprising.)
This edit occurs early on, when Lawrence finds out he's being sent to Arabia to "appreciate the situation" with the Bedouin. The cut comes here, from Lawrence blowing out a match...
...to the sun coming up over the desert. The contrast between the two images is beautiful and shocking and really tells the viewer they're in another place entirely.
Okay, enough with the arty stuff. On to the pretty.
Florence of Arabia
There is no getting around it: Peter O'Toole is a beautiful man, and he was probably at his most beautiful in Lawrence. (He's also a stunningly good actor in it, but just at the moment let's concentrate on the pretty.)
He's at his best in the Arab robes he's given after helping the Bedouin take Aqaba. Like here, where he's all dusty and exotic.
And here, where he's facing down the injured Turkish soldier who's just shot him.
Or striding the tops of the cars of the train he has just derailed, the sun glinting behind him.
Or even here, at the end, when he's gone through hell and he knows he's going to be sent home and he'll lose Arabia and everything that means anything to him. As a performer, O'Toole does angst wonderfully, and he uses that skill to the fullest in this film.
The Epic Slash
If it was just Peter O'Toole being pretty and awesome, I would still love Lawrence, but it might not be my favourite film ever. However, it also has the bonus of being one of the greatest love stories between two men ever.
Introducing Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali:
In the above scene, Lawrence is trying to convince Ali to help him take Aqaba. That he has to get so close to him to do it is, I'm sure, only a pleasant side effect.
Then we have the aftermath of the Battle of Aqaba. Notice how Lawrence has grabbed Ali's bandolier? The best part is how his hand ends up in that position. He lovingly wraps his fingers around that leather, one finger at a time. I could watch those few second over and over again.
And then we get the epic eye fucking, with Lawrence silently asking Ali to trust him.
And Ali doing exactly that, in spite of his natural inclinations.
Ah, true love.
Hurt/Comfort O Rama
But the course of true love never did run smooth. In the case of Lawrence and Ali, there's politics and racism and an unfortunate incident with a Turkish general.
But first, a warning and a biographical digression.
The warning: this bit involves some triggery stuff.
The biographical digression: I have a feeling this is the film that seriously warped me into the person I am today. The first time I saw it, I was 8. I honestly had no business watching it, and there were large bits that I wouldn't get until I saw it again at 15 (when it positively blew my mind), but this next bit probably turned me into the hurt/comfort fan I am today.
So, what happens in the film is Lawrence, suffering from hubris and a desire to make good on a promise to the English generals, visits a Turkish garrison town with only Ali. He's caught by the Turks, who have no idea who he really is, beaten, and raped by a Turkish Bey, leaving Ali to pick up the pieces
Ali makes him sleep.
Ali forces him to eat.
And Ali generally looks after Lawrence with a care that is incredibly sweet. Here, he helps him put his robe on. Awwww.
This is, however, the beginning of the end for Lawrence and Ali. Lawrence has been shaken by his experience, and tells Ali that he needs to return to his own people. Ali, in turn, gets angry, and asks Lawrence if he's thought of the other members of their group. This is the truly telling bit: he points to the others and says "Have you no care for them," but when he gets to "them" just look where his hand is pointing. It's his own hurt he's reacting to, even though he can't admit it.
Lawrence's reaction to Ali's hurt is some pretty epic hurt of his own. (I've mentioned I have a soft spot for blokes who've had the crap kicked out of them, no? I'm sure this is ground zero for that kink.)
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Every epic love story, alas, has it's epic end. That's no different foor Lawrence and Ali.
Lawrence does return after the rape, but he's changed. Harder. More unhinged. And then he calls for the massacre of a retreating Turkish column, and Ali can no longer overlook what he's become. Here, Ali finds Lawrence, stained in the blood of the men he's killed.
Ali walks away in disgust, but Lawrence cannot help but follow. Whatever is driving them apart, there is still something tying them together.
Which brings us to the penultimate scene between them. The Bedouin have taken Dasmascus, and are trying, unsuccessfully, to find a way to work together to bring order to the city. Auda, another Bedouin chief, has just insulted Ali, and Lawrence leaps to restrain Ali, warning him there will be bloodshed if he doesn't back down.
Given the bloodshed Lawrence has just unleashed, Ali looks at him in disbelief.
And Lawrence looks down in shame. Though you'll notice that he doesn't take his hand off Ali.
Their final scene together is pretty heart wrenching.
The Bedouin are withdrawing from Damascus, taking Ali with them. Lawrence is staying, doing what he can to let the Bedouin create their own country after the war. They both know they won't see each other again. And we get one final, hopeless bit of eye fucking between them. First from Ali.
Then from Lawrence.
Then Ali leaves the room, and Lawrence, his back to Ali, looks utterly defeated.
Though he manages one last moment of wistfulness after Ali has gone.
While Ali weeps for his loss, even as Auda prods him to admit that he loves Lawrence. (Seriously! He uses the actual L word and everything.)
Well that's it. The highlights of why I love Lawrence of Arabia, with illustrating pretty pictures.