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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
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What many consider to be the greatest epic ever made, Lawrence of Arabia was a result of backbreaking work and determination. It is hard to ascertain if any such effort has gone into a production since, but the results speak for themselves.
Director David Lean and producer Sam Speigel were looking for a project after the success of Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). While several ideas came to the forefront [one being a film made years later by Richard Attenborough, Gandhi (1982)], both men decided on Lawrence after Speigel bought the rights to Lawrence's own autobiography on the Arab revolt during WWI against the Turkish empire, 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom'. Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson were hired to write the screenplay but Lawrence's brother, Professor A. W. Lawrence, who sold the rights to Speigel, would not permit the film to be made until he approved the final draft of the script. Once this was accomplished, the task of casting began.
The film quickly recruited some of the day's famous names to fill supporting roles. Anthony Quinn, Jose Ferrer, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins and Alec Guinness were soon cast. Hawkins and Guinness had worked with Lean and Speigel on Kwai. Guinness also had worked with Lean on Great Expectations (1946). Guinness had played Lawrence in the play 'Ross', but both Lean and Speigel thought he would be too old to portray Lawrence on film. After several actors were considered including Marlon Brando and Albert Finney, Peter O'Toole was cast after Lean saw him in a production of the Royal Shakespeare company of Stratford-on Avon. Lean thought O'Toole's range was unique as well as his likeness to Lawrence's appearance.
Omar Sharif was a well known Middle Eastern actor by the end of the 1950's, but he was relatively unknown in the United States and Britain. When he arrived to audition for the part of Ali, Lean met him at the airport and immediately donned him in native costume and screen tested him. It was a no-brainer as far as Lean was concerned for Sharif was stunningly handsome and his accent was so right for the part. Plus, he spoke English very well. In fact, Guinness copied Sharif's accent for his part of Prince Feisel. By the time the film debuted, both Sharif and O'Toole would be nominated for Academy Awards and became international stars.
Location scouting was especially cruel and demanding. Lean and Speigel wanted to film in the exact locations where the incidents took place and were able to on several occasions. King Hussein of Jordan took an immediate interest in the project and assisted whenever he could, supplying everything from camels to tribesmen to food and water. Camel trainer and zoologist John Sullivan worked tirelessly to train and aid the tribesmen and actors in the riding of the animals. Lean and Art Director John Fox scouted all locations as near as possible to the actual sights. They even found wreckage of the trains Lawrence had derailed some forty years before. The only exceptions were scenes set in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem due to modernization. Most of these scenes were shot in the deserts of southern Spain, the same locations where Sergio Leone would film his desert scenes for The Good, The Bad and the Ugly some four years later.
Both the elements and schedule affected the crew and equipment. The cast and crew worked sixteen hours a day, seven days a week for seventeen months. The sun baked the equipment so bad that the film actually melted in the camera. Homemade refrigeration blankets were used to wrap up the film containers to keep it cool. The heat was an unbearable 110 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat, blasting sand, harsh winds and fleas were just some of the problems constantly being endured. At night, it dipped down to forty degrees. This was when most of the interior tent scenes were shot. The women in these scenes were portrayed by Christian females, not Bedouin. To the Bedouin, it is insulting to carry a picture of another man's wife.
During filming of one of the interior scenes, Prince Feisel is listening to a man read from the Torah, while both Lawrence and Ali sit nearby. For some reason, listening to this man read was amusing to Sharif and O'Toole, who by this time had formed a strong bond. They could not help but laugh ruining the take. After two hours, Guinness was getting very upset and wanted to finish the scene. Soon though, he too could not help but laugh. After Lean joined in on the hilarity, the scene was abandoned and shot later.
Anthony Quinn had an interesting first day. In full makeup, he appeared on the set as Auda ibu Tayi, prosthetic nose and all. He looked so much like Tayi and not Quinn, Lean mistook him for an extra and ordered him to stay to play the part. He then asked an assistant to find "that guy Quinn we hired" to tell him he was being let go. Quinn had the recognition as being the only actor there to be fired and hired in the same day.
All the supporting actors formed friendships with each other and influenced both O'Toole and Sharif greatly. The entire cast and crew stayed in a caravan of tents on the set, since the nearest city was 150 miles away. The only man not included in on all this was producer Speigel. He was known for his harsh treatment, feeling pressure brought out the best in a staff. Lean would solve this problem by finding locations where he knew Speigel would not be able to get to. Most of the shoot, Speigel would communicate by telegram. He normally would look at the dailies and respond to Lean that the shots were no good. Lean would ignore this saying he does not know what he is talking about.
The most difficult scenes to shoot were the majority of the desert scenes, mainly due to the conditions of the sand and wind. After each take, a team would have to go out with sand equipment to level out the rough patches of sand and footprints left over. This could take hours and only one scene would get completed that day. Many of the takes were done on track dollys because of the rough desert terrain. Trucks drove around the set in a circle to kickup sand to give a sandstorm effect. Fans were too strong for filming to be accurate.
In the famous 'mirage' sequence, Sharif is filmed in one take riding his camel to the Bedouin well. The take lasts over two minutes. In the long distance shots, it does appear as if he is riding on the air. This was an actual mirage, not clever photography. The surrounding area around Sharif on film was whited out so he would stand out more.
The 'match' scene is one of the most famous cuts in movie history. Lawrence, after commenting in his office in Cairo that the desert would be fun, holds a match up and blows it out. Immediately, we are taken to the Jordan desert at sunrise where the sun replaces the match. Lean called this one of his favorite moments in the movie. The crew filming only had a fifteen minute window to get this scene right.
O'Toole had several close calls during shooting. One involved him damaging his hand when he punched a window of a truck while he was drunk. Another was when he fell off his camel during the attack on Aqaba sequence. Instead of him getting trampled to death by the other riders, his camel stood over him to protect him and the others rode by. Sharif was afraid of this happening to him during this shoot and tied himself to his saddle. O'Toole would incorporate a piece of foam rubber on his saddle to save his bottom parts during riding, a practice many Bedouins copied and still use to this day.
Lean formed great friendships with both O'Toole and Sharif. Both men were hard workers and wanted the film to be right, which Lean admired. During the well scene, Sharif is to take water out of the well basket and pour it into a small cup. The night before, Sharif felt he needed to practice this and asked a crewman to take him to the set. He rehearsed all night this seemingly simple task, but to his amazement he found his rifle kept sliding off his shoulder. He went to wardrobe and had the strap sown on his garment to prevent this. When Lean found out what lengths Sharif went to, he took the actor under his wing and the two remained close. Sharif would later star in another Lean picture, Doctor Zhivago (1965).
Despite the harsh elements and unrelenting problems, Lawrence of Arabia would go on to win seven Academy Awards, including best picture. It would remain a timeless favorite among many film fans and would place number 5 on AFI's best films of all time. Maurice Jaffe's score would place number 3 on AFI's best film scores ever and would win him an Oscar. The film would influence many future filmmakers including Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorcese, both whom helped on the restoration project of the film in 1989.
Peter O'Toole would not win an Oscar, nor has in twelve tries. (In some ways, he is the Susan Lucci of the Academy Awards!) I feel it is time he received a lifetime Oscar for his contribution to film. He definitely deserves it! Regardless of all the characters he has played or awards he has or has not won, he is one of the finest actors to come out of the British Isles in the past fifty years. But to many, he will always be remembered as Lawrence.
See these External links:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_of_Arabia
Video results at www.youtube.com
Find the DVD and the book "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" at www.amazon.com
See other articles at www.examiner.com/x-24897/West-Palm-Beach-Epic-Movie-Examiner
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