Review of Lawrence of Arabia (1962) by Tjman09 — 22 Oct 2015

Lawrence of Arabia is a classicist Epic directed by David Lean, and starring Peter O’Toole as the titular character T.E. Lawrence. In many ways Lawrence of Arabia exemplifies an Epic, but what may be most impressive about the film is it’s use of character development and themes. Lawrence of Arabia may be the best epic of all time, because it is grand in scope, long but never boring, and beautiful to look at. It truly is a masterpiece.

When one thinks of what defines an epic, they could point to Lawrence of Arabia as a perfect example, it literally sets the standard. For example Lawrence of Arabia contains many Extreme Wide Shots of a vast panoramic landscape, this is one of the most recognizable elements of a epic, reinforcing how large in scope the story is. Most epics deal with stories that have a sense of spectacle, and therefore use these huge landscapes to show that, Lawrence of Arabia does that as well as any other film.

Set against the Arabic dessert, which lends itself to large panoramic landscape shots, the audience is treated to seeing a beautiful picture, and in the middle we see these characters trying to navigate their way through it all. The film liked to use mostly wide shots, so much so that when they use a close up, it truly feels like it has meaning. On top of that Lawrence of Arabia contains some of the most luxurious set designs, and costumes of the time. High production values is of course is another common element of an epic, but the most impressive thing about Lawrence of Arabia is the pacing and the character development.

At almost four hours it’s hard to imagine a film that wouldn’t feel long, but somehow Lawrence of Arabia manages not to. This is most likely because the themes and characters are both relatable, but also larger than life in some ways. Seeing a normal man navigate his way through massive desserts, and through foreign cultures may make him seem larger than life, but to his core the film keeps Lawrence human, so the audience never feels detached from him.

The film deals with age old themes such as the “fish out of water” theme, which is used quite often, but arguably never better than in this film. As with most of the best films, the story and character development is mostly visual. In the beginning we quickly see how out of place Lawrence is, as we see his Arab escort shot for stealing water, Lawrence is outraged, as to him killing is taboo, and water is a common commodity, yet to the arab culture, Water is so precious it’s worth killing for. As the film goes on Lawrence learns the cultural difference, and learns not to treat other cultures as barbaric, because to them he is the barbarian.

Utilizing beautiful grandeur Lawrence of Arabia still stands as one of, the best epics of all time, and a true masterpiece of cinema. Embodying all of the characteristics of a classic epic film Lawrence of Arabia is truly impressive because of it’s masterful pacing and character development. It truly is an epic experience.