Lawrence of Arabia

OK, I admit it. This particular post is filler. In an effort to maintain a sense of rhythm I'm trying to blog at least twice a week. Some efforts maybe total phone-ins, others triumphs of profundity and wit. I'll let you, gentle and precious readers decide. This past weekend was my birthday. To celebrate, my wife and I enjoyed the four hour epic Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen. That's right, campers. A four hour movie, which takes place mainly in the desert, has no female speaking roles, was filmed without any big movie stars, whose lead actor was actually much taller than the real person, and features some pretty bad make-up, not to mention some pretty subtle (and not-so-subtle) homoerotic undertones. Could this film be made today? I'm trying to imagine the studio pitch: One man, many deserts, and many more camels. Perhaps with a ton a cash and lots of CGI camels and a love story thrown in the mix (maybe a love triangle with Lawrence caught in the middle as he treks across the Sinai) someone would give it the greenlight.

Fortunately it was made back in the early early sixties, prior to the Beatles landing in America and JFK meeting his maker in Dallas. It was a time when a grand cinematic gesture could be carried off and appreciated by a mass audience. And Lawrence is one such grand gesture which sought to create a particular mood or feeling and sustain it for as long as possible. It's as if the filmmakers simply wanted to show how a tiny speck in the desert can grow into a man doing battle against the extremes of nature and the sun and somehow survive to see another day. If you want to know the true life of the odd english soldier T.E. Lawrence, check out a history book. If you want to experience true movie transcendence, run, don't walk, to see Lawrence of Arabia.