Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

What a disappointment! Lawrence of Arabia is ranked number seven on AFI's list- it fell two spots in the past ten years. I would concur with that sentiment; I too held this film in a high regard the first time I saw it (around 2000), but nine years later, my estimation of it went down quite a bit. Now I find myself agreeing with IMDB's ranking of it- which is forty out of two-hundred and fifty movies. 

It's not that this movie is bad, oh no, It's not bad at all- the main problem with this movie is that it is far too good to actually be enjoyable. This film is epic with the capitals -E-P-I-C. Watching Lawrence Of Arabia is like reading the Oxford English Dictionary on the beach; Its just too big, too bulky, and while it is indeed much more educational than anything you would find on a CVS or Stop & Shop bookshelf- the education value of the endeavor is not worth the trouble. I love certain scenes in this movie. David Lean was a brilliant director, and if you watch the special features that come with the movie, it's apparent that the filmmakers went to a lot of trouble to film those E-P-I-C desert scenes. But, honestly, even the beautiful cinematography gets ridiculous when every time Lawrence is riding a camel, he comes upon a high mountain, 0r a valley, or just another desert wasteland and suddenly the audience is floored with this E-P-I-C  musical score (DUUUUUUN DUN DUUUUUUUN DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUN DUUUUN!!!!) until we see another mountain and the whole thing repeats. I desperately wanted to feel that sense of awe and inspiration that I did when I first watched this film; but, it just sadly wasn't there. I remember Holly and I lamenting that an hour and passed, and literally almost nothing happened. So, one of us got up to use the bathroom, and then came back and saw that Lawrence and his army were still crossing the same desert.

Perhaps I could even stand the long desert crossing scenes if there was a discernible story to be in the film. Within the first few minutes we are informed that Lawrence is to be sent on a mission of some importance (with another officer that is stationed with the Arabs) and so he is sent on his merry way. Lawrence is stationed in Cairo as a map-maker during World War I; but, his love of the desert and Arab culture propels him into a role of leader of the insurgency against the Ottoman Turks. This story is not to terribly bad; however, Lean does very little to orient the viewer with issues relating to the Ottoman Empire, the Arabs it controls, The British position in Egypt and the war, or any other type of back story. It would have even helped the view if Lean had bothered to mention that Lawrence had previous experience traveling in the desert and first hand knowledge of the Turks. Instead, Lean paints a beautiful picture of an English Romantic hero, floating into Arabia and leading the Arabs into a revolt- without giving us any type of back story or Lawrence's own personal interest in the cause (he just apparently with born with the desire to promote Arab nationalism).  Lean's portrait of Lawrence is essentially Lord Byran prancing around in the desert. 

Its hard to say that this movie is a "failure" or that it doesn't belong on the list- it is indeed E-P-I-C! and was beautifully shot. However, I will say that if you were to attempt to watch it, you will find very little enjoyment in Lean's 218 minute opus.