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It's December 1962 in NYC. There is a newspaper strike but the word is out that Lawrence of Arabia is an extraordinary film.
I purchase tickets for late December and I'm lucky as Lawrence is truly a hard ticket in December 1962 at the Criterion Theater. House lights dim. Overture begins. Ok. That's nice. Picture begins. The match cut to the desert with Jarre's music blasting away and this kid is hooked for life.
Wonderful - thank you!!!
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Posted: |
Sep 7, 2019 - 8:23 AM
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pp312
(Member)
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Then the camera shifts to a close-up of the warrior boots and the music shifts in tone and tune to uncompromising masculinity and you just know Lean is making a meal of the duality of homosexual leanings intermixed with the more brutal aspects of soldiery.
Maybe. But keeping Lawrence out of the frame also allows us to concentrate on the admiring mob: they are following a shadow!
Yes, that was my interpretation of the scene: the beginning of a legend, but an insubstantial, constantly shifting one, never quite corporealized--a shadow of the reality. Lawrence never was what his publicity made him out to be, from Lowell Thomas's 'With Lawrence in Arabia' segment to his untimely (but rather noble, if it's true he threw his motorcycle down on the road rather than hit those two boys on bicycles) end; and he deliberately obscured the truth at every turn. As for the legend, sometimes he enjoyed and even employed it, at others spurned it, claiming it was destroying him.
My favorite Lawrence story is a simple one: his motorcycle ran out of gas one day and a lady with a horse float offered to give him a lift. While he was wheeling the bike into the float she remarked on his strength, to which he replied, 'Well, I should be strong. I am Lawrence of Arabia.' She passed this off as a joke, and he apparently didn't press the issue. Interesting that he should identify himself so readily, yet not seem to care that he was disbelieved.
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Sep 7, 2019 - 9:06 AM
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Last Child
(Member)
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Yes, that was my interpretation of the scene: the beginning of a legend, but an insubstantial, constantly shifting one, never quite corporealized--a shadow of the reality. Lawrence never was what his publicity made him out to be, from Lowell Thomas's 'With Lawrence in Arabia' segment to his untimely (but rather noble, if it's true he threw his motorcycle down on the road rather than hit those two boys on bicycles) end; and he deliberately obscured the truth at every turn. As for the legend, sometimes he enjoyed and even employed it, at others spurned it, claiming it was destroying him.
My favorite Lawrence story is a simple one: his motorcycle ran out of gas one day and a lady with a horse float offered to give him a lift. While he was wheeling the bike into the float she remarked on his strength, to which he replied, 'Well, I should be strong. I am Lawrence of Arabia.' She passed this off as a joke, and he apparently didn't press the issue. Interesting that he should identify himself so readily, yet not seem to care that he was disbelieved.
Unless he was visually well-known, or had a photo id, I'm not sure how he would prove who he was to a total stranger, so I can see him not pursuing it. But the point about a constructed persona is interesting. Cary Grant tells a story where he was buying a plane ticket, and the clerk said disbelievingly, "You're not Cary Grant" to which he replied, "No one is."
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The Cary Grant story is funny but also kind of profound. He has no illusions about the illusion of himself. Being mistaken for imaginary character George Kaplan in "North by Northwest" could have been semi-autobiographical. His actual character has a made-up middle initial "O" which stands for nothing.
***
The story is in fact the perfect corollary to the well-known Cary Grant quote: "Everybody wants to be Cary Grant. Even I do."
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Sep 8, 2019 - 9:32 PM
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Zoragoth
(Member)
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I saw Lawrence of Arabia both on the big and on the small screen, and think it is an amazing movie with one of the great film scores of all time.
To answer the thread's title question: no matter what the movie or what the score, not matter of highly regarded or how popular with fans it is, you will always find people who will dislike it. There is no such thing as universally appreciated art. CITIZEN KANE, JAWS, STAR WARS, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, VERTIGO, E.T. - THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL, THE GODFATHER... no matter how much a movie is liked by some, it will find its detractors. Even a movie such as TRANSFORMERS is not without its critics.
As an example, I'm rather horrified to see ET, STAR WARS, and JAWS included with these other, *actual* classics of cinema. In terms of cultural influence, yes, no doubt, but as films, as works of art, not really in the league of the others, not even close. ;-)
As far as LAURENCE, I'm astonished anyone could find it boring, or fault Jarre's magnificent score.
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Posted: |
Sep 9, 2019 - 5:55 AM
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pp312
(Member)
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Reminds me of Laurence Olivier who, despite the expertise at his craft, said he identified alot to loser character Archie Rice which he played in The ENTERTAINER. Then again, he refused to let anyone address him as Larry, and was glad he didn't change his name to Larry Oliver, as suggested in Hollywood.
That's odd. The Spartacus program book states, "No Sir Laurence formalities for him. Just call me Larry,' said Larry."
Also. Michael Caine once said in an interview that before filming Sleuth he received a note from Olivier saying, 'I know I'm Lord Olivier, but when we meet and ever after, I want you to call me Larry.' My understanding is that he always asked to be called Larry.
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Posted: |
Sep 10, 2019 - 6:01 PM
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Howard L
(Member)
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Well, that was a fun week. Didn't imagine a little post about going to see it at the movies again would spawn so much discussion. The provocative thread title undoubtedly had much to do with it. Anyway...
My favourite film of all-time - and the score is up there too,...
I think its a masterpiece..Filmwise and also in scoring.
Personally, I consider Lawrence of Arabia the greatest movie ever made.
It captured my imagination at 12...how many 4 hour films can do that?
House lights dim. Overture begins. Ok. That's nice. Picture begins. The match cut to the desert with Jarre's music blasting away and this kid is hooked for life.
Lawrence Of Arabia - The 30th Anniversary Pictorial History is a must-have. Chapter 10 (Premieres, Reviews And Video: 1989) starts with the restored world premiere at the Ziegfeld on February 4, 1989 followed by runs in Washington and Los Angeles.
The restored film opened in Los Angeles at the Century Plaza 1 on February 12. By then, American newspaper coverage on Lawrence's return was widespread and extensive. Reviews were invariably raves. In contrast to 1962's mixed critical reception, the film was now hailed as "the greatest epic of all time." It was the prime example of "the way they used to make films." An era that, according to many, would never return. It was, to cinema notables, like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Lawrence Kasdan, and countless others, quite simply, the film that changed their lives.
And it was the film that inspired some of the most literate and emotional reviews of all time:
That last statement isn't kidding. The critiques of some fairly staid critics were downright rhapsodic. It's quite remarkable. The following is the lead review--
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/29/movies/lawrence-seen-whole.html
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Posted: |
Sep 10, 2019 - 6:24 PM
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Last Child
(Member)
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Reminds me of Laurence Olivier who, despite the expertise at his craft, said he identified alot to loser character Archie Rice which he played in The ENTERTAINER. Then again, he refused to let anyone address him as Larry, and was glad he didn't change his name to Larry Oliver, as suggested in Hollywood.
That's odd. The Spartacus program book states, "No Sir Laurence formalities for him. Just call me Larry,' said Larry."
Also. Michael Caine once said in an interview that before filming Sleuth he received a note from Olivier saying, 'I know I'm Lord Olivier, but when we meet and ever after, I want you to call me Larry.' My understanding is that he always asked to be called Larry.
I thought it was odd contradiction, but it was mentioned in the imdb bio section so I included it in case it was more true than his comments about the Archie Rice character.
The Cary Grant anecdote was from a video documentary.
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