Lawrence of Arabia

Today's film is Lawrence of Arabia, directed by David Lean and staring the great Anglo-Irish actor Peter O'Toole who tragically passed away in December 2013. This film is a biopic and centres around Thomas Edward Lawrence, the eccentric English officer who was charged with participating in the Arab revolt against the Turkish Empire in World War I by the British government. Its primary source material is "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom", a first hand account of the revolt by Lawrence himself.

Peter O' Toole as Lawrence

In the film, Lawrence is instructed by Mr Dryden of the Arab bureau (played here by Claude Rains) to inspect Prince Faisal's revolt against the Turks. He convinces Faisal to give him the leadership of a group of Arab fighters to cross the Nefud desert and mount a guerilla campaign against the Turkish empire. During the course of the film he risks his own life to save a a straggler in the desert which earns him the respect of the fighters and the friendship of a member of the Harith tribe, Sherif Ali (played here by Omar Sharif). His campaign is a success and his exploits are reported to the world by the American journalist Jackson Bentley. However, Lawrence is captured and tortured by the Turks. He returns to Cairo and is persuaded by General Allenby to lead an assault on Damascus. Along the way, he spearheads and revels in a massacre of a retreating Turkish army to the disgust of Bentley and Ali. He tries to assist in setting up a Pan-Arab Arab Council in Damascus but he fails as it is torn apart by the various warring Arab tribes. Lawrence returns to England a defeated man and dies in a motorcycle accident.

Alec Guinness as Prince Faisal

This film is a character study of Lawrence and not an altogether flattering one. In the early scenes of the film we see that his theatricality and effeminate affectations seem to irritate his fellow officers and his lack of discipline and punctuality does not impress General Murray, his superior officer. He also seems confident to the point of arrogance when he is given his mission by Mr Dryden of the Arab bureau to investigate Prince Faisal (played here by Alec Guinness) and assess his revolt, insisting that his time in the desert will be "fun".

The Nefud desert

The angle the film seems to take is that Lawrence was an attention-seeking narcissist who enjoyed the fame that his role in the revolt brought him all too much. The film also subtly and slyly suggests that he is a masochist with the famous matchstick trick scene. He was also depicted as being (perhaps understandably) vicious and bloodthirsty in the massacre of retreating Turkish soldiers. However, it also portrays him as being a courageous man with strong principles and a sincere belief in the Arab cause that is shaken by his ordeal in the desert. The screenwriters deserve praise for writing a balanced portrayal of Lawrence, but in spite of his flaws I could not help but connect with Lawrence because, for me, the film displayed the arc of maturation which we all have to go through but, in Lawrence's case, was particularly brutal. Lawrence starts off like many youths, idealistic, arrogant and adventurous but goes through trials and tribulations which harden him and he leaves the desert an older, sadder and wiser man.