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Lawrence of Arabia (film)
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Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence-of-arabia-2.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
David Lean
Produced by
Sam Spiegel
Screenplay by
Robert Bolt
Michael Wilson
Starring
Peter O'Toole
Alec Guinness
Anthony Quinn
Jack Hawkins
Omar Sharif
Music by
Maurice Jarre
Cinematography
F.A. Young
Editing by
Anne V. Coates
Studio
Horizon Pictures
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures
Release dates
10 December 1962

Running time
222 minutes (Original release)
 228 minutes[1] (1989 restoration)
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
 Arabic
 Turkish
Budget
$15 million
Box office
$70,000,000
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British epic adventure drama film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential films in the history of cinema. The dramatic score by Maurice Jarre and the Super Panavision 70 cinematography by Freddie Young are also highly acclaimed.[2] The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won seven in total including Best Director, Best Sound Editing, and Best Picture.
The film depicts Lawrence's experiences in Arabia during World War I, in particular his attacks on Aqaba and Damascus and his involvement in the Arab National Council. Its themes include Lawrence's emotional struggles with the personal violence inherent in war, his own identity, and his divided allegiance between his native Britain and its army and his newfound comrades within the Arabian desert tribes.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot summary 1.1 Part I
1.2 Part II
2 Cast
3 Historical accuracy 3.1 Representation of Lawrence
3.2 Representation of other characters
4 Production 4.1 Pre-production
4.2 Filming
4.3 Music
5 Release 5.1 Theatrical run
5.2 Restored director's cut
5.3 Home media
5.4 New restoration, Blu-ray and theatrical re-release
6 Reception
7 Awards and honours
8 Legacy
9 Sequel
10 See also
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links

Plot summary[edit]
The film is presented in two parts, separated by an intermission.
Part I[edit]
In 1935, T. E. Lawrence is killed in a motorcycle accident. At his memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral, a reporter tries to gain insights into this remarkable, enigmatic man from those who knew him, with little success.
During the First World War, Lawrence is a misfit British Army lieutenant stationed in Cairo, notable for his insolence and knowledge. Over the objections of General Murray, he is sent by Mr. Dryden of the Arab Bureau to assess the prospects of British ally Prince Faisal in his revolt against the Turks.
On the journey, his Bedouin guide is killed by Sherif Ali for drinking from a well without permission. Lawrence later meets Colonel Brighton, who orders him to keep quiet, make his assessment of Faisal's intentions, and leave. Lawrence promptly ignores Brighton's commands when he meets Faisal. His knowledge, attitude and outspokenness pique the Prince's interest.
Brighton advises Faisal to retreat to Yenbo after a major defeat, but Lawrence proposes a daring surprise attack on Aqaba which, if successful, would provide a port from which the British could offload much-needed supplies. While strongly fortified against a naval assault, the town is lightly defended on the landward side. He convinces Faisal to provide fifty men, led by a sceptical Sherif Ali. Two teenage orphans, Daud and Farraj, attach themselves to Lawrence as his servants.
They cross the Nefud Desert, considered impassable even by the Bedouins, travelling day and night on the last stage to reach water. Gasim (I. S. Johar) succumbs to fatigue and falls off his camel unnoticed during the night. The rest make it to an oasis, but Lawrence turns back for the lost man and against all odds brings him back. Sherif Ali, won over, burns Lawrence's British uniform and gives him Arab robes to wear.
Lawrence persuades Auda abu Tayi, the leader of the powerful local Howeitat tribe, to turn against the Turks. Lawrence's plan is almost derailed when one of Ali's men kills one of Auda's because of a blood feud. Since Howeitat retaliation would shatter the fragile alliance, Lawrence declares that he will execute the murderer himself. Stunned to discover that the culprit is Gasim, he shoots him anyway. The next morning, the intact alliance overruns the Turkish garrison.
Lawrence heads to Cairo to inform Dryden and the new commander, General Allenby, of his victory. During the crossing of the Sinai Desert, Daud dies when he stumbles into quicksand. Lawrence is promoted to major and given arms and money to support the Arabs. He is deeply disturbed, confessing that he enjoyed executing Gasim, but Allenby brushes aside his qualms. He asks Allenby whether there is any basis for the Arabs' suspicions that the British have designs on Arabia. Pressed, the general states they have no such designs.
Part II[edit]
Lawrence launches a guerrilla war, blowing up trains and harassing the Turks at every turn. American war correspondent Jackson Bentley publicises his exploits, making him world famous. On one raid, Farraj is badly injured. Unwilling to leave him to be tortured, Lawrence is forced to shoot him before fleeing.
When Lawrence scouts the enemy-held city of Daraa with Ali, he is taken, along with several Arab residents, to the Turkish Bey. Lawrence is stripped, ogled and prodded. For striking out at the Bey, he is severely flogged, and possibly raped, which is implied. He is then thrown out into the street. It is an emotional turning point for Lawrence. He is so traumatised by the experience that he abandons all of his exploits, going from having proclaimed himself almost a god, to insisting he is merely a man. He attempts to return to the British forces and swear off the desert, but he never fits in there. In Jerusalem, Allenby urges him to support his "big push" on Damascus, but Lawrence is a changed, tormented man, unwilling to return. After Allenby insists that Lawrence has a destiny, he finally relents. Lawrence naively believes that the warriors will come for him rather than for money.
He recruits an army, mainly killers, mercenaries, and cutthroats motivated by money, rather than the Arab cause. They sight a column of retreating Turkish soldiers who have just slaughtered the people of the village of Tafas. One of Lawrence's men from the village demands, "No prisoners!" When Lawrence hesitates, the man charges the Turks alone and is killed. Lawrence takes up the dead man's cry, resulting in a massacre in which Lawrence himself fully participates, with disturbing relish. Afterward, he realises the horrible consequences of what he has done.
His men then take Damascus ahead of Allenby's forces. The Arabs set up a council to administer the city, but they are desert tribesmen, ill-suited for such a task. The various tribes argue among themselves and in spite of Lawrence's insistence, cannot unite against the British, who in the end take the city back under their bureaucracy. Unable to maintain the utilities and bickering constantly with each other, they soon abandon most of the city to the British. Promoted to colonel and immediately ordered home, his usefulness at an end to both Faisal and the British diplomats, a dejected Lawrence is driven away in a staff car.
Cast[edit]
Peter O'Toole as Thomas Edward "T. E." Lawrence. Albert Finney, at the time a virtual unknown, was Lean's first choice to play Lawrence, but Finney was not sure the film would be a success and turned it down. Marlon Brando was also offered the part, and Anthony Perkins and Montgomery Clift were briefly considered, before O'Toole was cast.[3] Alec Guinness had previously played Lawrence in the play Ross, and was briefly considered for the part, but David Lean and Sam Spiegel thought him too old. Lean had seen O'Toole in The Day They Robbed the Bank of England and was bowled over by his screen test, proclaiming "This is Lawrence!" Spiegel disliked O'Toole, having worked with him on Suddenly, Last Summer (where O'Toole was an understudy for Montgomery Clift and considered to take over his part after Clift's alcoholism caused problems), but acceded to Lean's demands after Finney and Brando dropped out. Pictures of Lawrence suggest also that O'Toole carried some resemblance to him, in spite of their considerable height difference. O'Toole's looks prompted a different reaction from Noël Coward, who after seeing the première of the film quipped "If you had been any prettier, the film would have been called Florence of Arabia".[4]
Alec Guinness as Prince Faisal. Faisal was originally to be portrayed by Laurence Olivier; Guinness, who performed in other David Lean films, got the part when Olivier dropped out. Guinness was made up to look as much like the real Faisal as possible; he recorded in his diaries that, while shooting in Jordan, he met several people who had known Faisal who actually mistook him for the late prince. Guinness said in interviews that he developed his Arab accent from a conversation he had with Omar Sharif.
Anthony Quinn as Auda abu Tayi. Quinn got very much into his role; he spent hours applying his own makeup, using a photograph of the real Auda to make himself look as much like him as he could. One anecdote has Quinn arriving on-set for the first time in full costume, whereupon Lean, mistaking him for a native, asked his assistant to ring Quinn and notify him that they were replacing him with the new arrival.
Jack Hawkins as General Allenby. Sam Spiegel pushed Lean to cast Cary Grant or Laurence Olivier (who was engaged at the Chichester Festival Theatre, and declined). Lean, however, convinced him to choose Hawkins due to his work for them on The Bridge on the River Kwai. Hawkins shaved his head for the role and reportedly clashed with David Lean several times during filming. Alec Guinness recounted that Hawkins was reprimanded by Lean for celebrating the end of a day's filming with an impromptu dance. Hawkins became close friends with O'Toole during filming, and the two often improvised dialogue during takes, much to Lean's dismay.
Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali. The role was offered to many actors before Omar Sharif was cast. Horst Buchholz was the first choice, but had already signed on for the film One, Two, Three. Alain Delon had a successful screen test, but ultimately declined due to the brown contact lenses he would have had to wear. Maurice Ronet and Dilip Kumar were also considered.[5] Sharif, who was already a major star in the Middle East, was originally cast as Lawrence's guide Tafas, but when the above actors proved unsuitable, Sharif was shifted to the part of Ali.
José Ferrer as the Turkish Bey. Ferrer was initially unsatisfied with the small size of his part, and accepted the role only on the condition of being paid $25,000 (more than O'Toole and Sharif combined) plus a factory-made Porsche.[6] However, he afterwards considered this his best film performance, saying in an interview: "If I was to be judged by any one film performance, it would be my five minutes in Lawrence." Peter O'Toole once said that he learned more about screen acting from Ferrer than he could in any acting class.
Anthony Quayle as Colonel Harry Brighton. Quayle, a veteran of military roles, was cast after Jack Hawkins, the original choice, was shifted to the part of Allenby. Quayle and Lean argued over how to portray the character, with Lean feeling Brighton to be an honourable character, while Quayle thought him an idiot.
Claude Rains as Mr. Dryden. Rains had previously worked with Lean on The Passionate Friends. Lean considered Rains one of his favourite actors and was happy to work with him again.
Arthur Kennedy as Jackson Bentley. In the early days of the production, when the Bentley character had a more prominent role in the film, Kirk Douglas was considered for the part; Douglas expressed interest but demanded a star salary and the highest billing after O'Toole, and thus was turned down by Spiegel. Later, Edmond O'Brien was cast in the part.[7] O'Brien filmed the Jerusalem scene, and (according to Omar Sharif) Bentley's political discussion with Ali, but he suffered a heart attack on location and had to be replaced at the last moment by Kennedy, who was recommended to Lean by Anthony Quinn.[8]
Donald Wolfit as General Murray. Wolfit was one of O'Toole's mentors.
Michel Ray as Farraj. At the time, Ray was an up-and-coming Anglo-Brazilian actor, who had previously appeared in several films, including Irving Rapper's The Brave One and Anthony Mann's The Tin Star. This was one of his last roles. Ray, under the name Michel de Carvalho, later became a prominent British businessman and, through his wife, Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, is the majority shareholder in the Heineken brewing company, worth over £8,000,000,000 sterling as of 2002.
I.S. Johar as Gasim. Johar was a well-known Bollywood actor who occasionally appeared in international productions.
Zia Mohyeddin as Tafas. Mohyeddin was one of Pakistan's best-known actors, and launched a successful stage career in London after this film's success. Most famously, he played Dr Aziz in the stage and TV adaptation of A Passage to India in the late 1960s.
Gamil Ratib as Majid. Ratib was a veteran Egyptian actor. His English was not considered good enough, so he was dubbed by Robert Rietti in the final film.
John Dimech as Daud. Dimech was a waiter from Malta. His only prior film appearance was in 1959's Killers of Kilimanjaro.
Hugh Miller as the RAMC colonel. Miller worked on several of Lean's films as a dialogue coach, and was one of several members of the film crew to be given bit parts (see below).
Fernando Sancho as the Turkish sergeant. A well-known Spanish actor, best remembered for his roles in many spaghetti Westerns.
Stuart Saunders as the regimental sergeant major
Jack Gwillim as the club secretary. A well-known English actor often playing supporting roles in British war films, Gwillim was recommended to Lean for the film by close friend Anthony Quayle.
Kenneth Fortescue as Allenby's aide
Harry Fowler as Corporal Potter
Howard Marion-Crawford as the medical officer. Marion-Crawford was cast at the last possible minute, during the filming of the "Damascus" scenes in Seville.
John Ruddock as Elder Harith. Ruddock was a noted Shakespearean actor.
Norman Rossington as Corporal Jenkins
Jack Hedley as a reporter
Henry Oscar as Silliam, Faisal's servant. Oscar frequently played non-European parts, including the Sudanese doctor in The Four Feathers (1939).
Peter Burton as a Damascus sheik
Various members of the film's crew portrayed minor characters. First assistant director Roy Stevens played the truck driver who transports Lawrence and Farraj to the Cairo HQ at the end of Act I; the Sergeant who stops Lawrence and Farraj ("Where do you think you're going to, Mustapha?") is construction assistant, Fred Bennett; and screenwriter Robert Bolt has a wordless cameo as one of the officers watching Allenby and Lawrence confer in the courtyard (he is smoking a pipe). Steve Birtles, the film's gaffer, plays the motorcyclist at the Suez Canal; David Lean himself is rumored to be the voice shouting "Who are you?" Finally, continuity girl Barbara Cole appears as one of the nurses in the Damascus hospital scene.
The film is unusual in that it has no women in credited speaking roles.
Nonfictional charactersT. E. Lawrence
Prince Faisal
Auda ibu Tayi
General Allenby
General Murray
Farraj and Daud, Lawrence's servants
Gasim, the man Lawrence rescues from the desert
Talal, the man who charges the Turkish column at Tafas
Fictional charactersSherif Ali: A combination of numerous Arab leaders, particularly Sharif Nassir—Faisal's cousin—who led the Harith[disambiguation needed] forces involved in the attack on Aqaba. The character was created largely because Lawrence did not serve with any one Arab leader (aside from Auda) throughout the majority of the war; most such leaders were amalgamated in Ali's character. This character was, however, almost certainly named after Sharif Ali ibn Hussein, a leader in the Harith tribe, who played a part in the Revolt and is mentioned and pictured in T.E. Lawrence's memoir Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
Mr Dryden: The cynical Arab Bureau official was based loosely on numerous figures, including Sir Ronald Storrs, who was head of the Arab Bureau and later the governor of Palestine. It was largely Storrs' doing that Lawrence first met Faisal and became involved with the Revolt. This character is also partially based upon Lawrence's archaeologist friend, D.G. Hogarth, as well as Mark Sykes and Henry McMahon, who historically fulfilled Dryden's role as a political liaison. He was created by the screenwriters to "represent the civilian and political wing of British interests, to balance Allenby's military objectives."
Colonel Brighton: In essence a composite of all of the British officers who served in the Middle East with Lawrence, most notably Lt. Col. Stewart F. Newcombe. Newcombe played much the same role as Brighton does in the film, being Lawrence's predecessor as liaison to the Arab Revolt; he and many of his men were captured by the Turks in 1916, though he later escaped. Also, like Brighton, Newcombe was not well liked by the Arabs, though he remained friends with Lawrence. (In Michael Wilson's original script, he was Colonel Newcombe; the character's name was later changed by Robert Bolt.) Brighton was apparently created to represent how ordinary British soldiers would feel about a man like Lawrence: impressed by his accomplishments but repulsed by his affected manner. (Lean argued that Brighton was "the only honourable character" in the film, whereas Anthony Quayle referred to his character as an "idiot".)



Hacim Muhiddin BeyTurkish Bey: The Turkish Bey who captures Lawrence in Deraa was—according to Lawrence himself—General Hajim Bey (in Turkish, Hacim Muhiddin Bey), though he is not named in the film. Though the incident was mentioned in Lawrence's autobiography Seven Pillars of Wisdom, some biographers (Jeremy Wilson, John Mack) argue that Lawrence's account is to be believed; others (Michael Asher, Lawrence James) argue that contemporary evidence suggests that Lawrence never went to Dera'a at this time and that the story is invented.
Jackson Bentley: Based on famed American journalist Lowell Thomas, who helped make Lawrence famous with accounts of his bravery. However, Thomas was at the time a young man who spent only a few days (or weeks at most) with Lawrence in the field—unlike Bentley, who is depicted as a cynical middle-aged Chicago newspaperman who is present during the whole of Lawrence's later campaigns. Bentley was the narrator in Michael Wilson's original script, but Robert Bolt reduced his role significantly for the final script. Thomas did not start reporting on Lawrence until after the end of World War I, and held Lawrence in high regard, unlike Bentley, who seems to hold him in contempt.
Tafas: Lawrence's guide to Faisal is based on his actual guide, Sheikh Obeid el-Rashid, of the Hazimi branch of the Beni Salem, whom Lawrence referred to as Tafas several times in Seven Pillars. Tafas and Lawrence did meet Sherif Ali at a well during Lawrence's travels to Faisal, but the encounter was not fatal for either party. (Indeed, this scene created much controversy among Arab viewers.)
Medical officer: This unnamed officer who confronts Lawrence in Damascus is based on an actual incident in Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Lawrence's meeting the officer again while in British uniform was, however, an invention of Wilson or Bolt.
Historical accuracy[edit]
Most of the film's characters are either real or based on real characters to varying degrees. The events depicted in the film are largely based on accepted historical fact and Lawrence's own writing about events, though they have various degrees of romanticisation.
Some scenes—such as the attack on Aqaba—were heavily fictionalised, while those dealing with the Arab Council were inaccurate, inasmuch as the council remained more or less in power in Syria until France deposed Faisal in 1920. Little background on the history of the region, the First World War, and the Arab Revolt is provided, probably due to Bolt's increased focus on Lawrence (while Wilson's draft script had a broader, more politicised version of events). The theme (in the second half of the film) that Lawrence's Arab army deserted almost to a man as he moved farther north was completely fictional. The film's timeline of the Arab Revolt and World War I, and the geography of the Hejaz region, are frequently questionable. For instance, Bentley interviews Faisal in late 1917, after the fall of Aqaba, saying the United States has not yet entered the war, yet America had been in the war for several months by that time. Further, Lawrence's involvement in the Arab Revolt prior to the attack on Aqaba—such as his involvement in the seizures of Yenbo and Wejh—is completely excised. The rescue and execution of Gasim is based on two separate incidents, which were conflated for dramatic reasons. The film shows Lawrence representing the Allied cause in the Hejaz almost alone with only one British officer, Colonel Brighton (Anthony Quayle) there to assist him. In fact, there were numerous British officers such as colonels Cyril Wilson, Stewart Francis Newcombe and Pierce C. Joyce, all of whom arrived before Lawrence began serving in Arabia.[9] In addition, there was a French military mission led by Colonel Edouard Brémond serving in the Hejaz, of which no mention is made in the film.[10] The film shows Lawrence as the sole originator of the attacks on the Hejaz railroad. The first attacks on this began in early January 1917 led by officers such as Newcombe.[11] The first successful attack on the Hejaz railroad with a locomotive-destroying "Garland mine" was led by Major H. Garland in February 1917, a month before Lawrence's first attack.[12] The film shows the Hashemite forces as comprising Bedouin guerrillas, whereas in fact the core of the Hashemite forces was the Regular Arab Army recruited from Ottoman Arab POWs, who wore British-style uniforms with keffiyahs and fought in conventional battles.[13] The film makes no mention of the Sharifian Army, and leaves the viewer with the impression that the Hashemite forces were composed exclusively of Bedouin irregulars.
Representation of Lawrence[edit]



Peter O'Toole as T. E. Lawrence.
Many complaints about the film's accuracy centre on the characterisation of Lawrence. The perceived problems with the portrayal begin with the differences in his physical appearance: the 6-foot 2-inch (1.87 m) Peter O'Toole was almost nine inches (23 cm) taller than the man he played.[citation needed] His behaviour, however, has caused much more debate.
The screenwriters depict Lawrence as an egotist. The degree to which Lawrence sought or shunned attention, such as his use after the war of various assumed names, is a matter of debate. Even during the war, Lowell Thomas wrote in With Lawrence in Arabia that he could take pictures of him only by tricking him, although Lawrence did later agree to pose for several photos for Thomas's stage show. Thomas's famous comment that Lawrence "had a genius for backing into the limelight" referred to the fact that his extraordinary actions prevented him from being as private as he would have liked. Others disagree, pointing to Lawrence's own writings in Seven Pillars of Wisdom to support the argument that he was egotistical.
Lawrence's sexual orientation remains a controversial topic among historians; though Bolt's primary source was ostensibly Seven Pillars, the film's portrayal seems informed by Richard Aldington's then-recent Biographical Inquiry (1955), which posited among other things that Lawrence was homosexual. The film features Lawrence's alleged sadomasochism as a major part of his character (for instance, his "match trick" in Cairo, his "enjoyment" of killing Gasim). While Lawrence almost certainly engaged in flagellation and like activities after the Deraa incident, there is no biographical evidence he was a masochist before then. The film's depiction of Lawrence as an active participant in the Tafas Massacre was disputed at the time by historians, including biographer Basil Liddell Hart, but most current biographers accept the film's portrayal of the massacre as reasonably accurate.
Although the film does show that Lawrence could speak and read Arabic, could quote the Quran, and was reasonably knowledgeable about the region, it barely mentions his archaeological travels from 1911 to 1914 in Syria and Arabia, and ignores his espionage work, including a pre-war topographical survey of the Sinai Peninsula and his attempts to negotiate the release of British prisoners at Kut in Mesopotamia in 1916.
Furthermore, in the film, Lawrence is only made aware of the Sykes–Picot Agreement very late in the story and is shown to be appalled by it, whereas the "real" Lawrence, while fighting alongside the Arabs, knew about it much earlier.[14]
Lawrence's biographers have had a mixed reaction towards the film. Authorised biographer Jeremy Wilson noted that the film has "undoubtedly influenced the perceptions of some subsequent biographers", such as the depiction of the film's Ali as the real Sherif Ali, rather than a composite character, and also the highlighting of the Deraa incident.[15] (In fairness to Lean and his writers, the Deraa connection was made by several Lawrence biographers, including Edward Robinson (Lawrence the Rebel) and Anthony Nutting (The Man and the Motive) before the film's release). The film's historical inaccuracies are, in Wilson's view, more troublesome than what can be allowed under normal dramatic license. At the time, Liddell Hart publicly criticised the film, engaging Bolt in a lengthy correspondence over its portrayal of Lawrence.[16]
Representation of other characters[edit]
The film portrays General Allenby as cynical and manipulative, with a superior attitude to Lawrence, but there is much evidence that Allenby and Lawrence respected and liked each other. Lawrence once said Allenby was "an admiration of mine"[17] and later that he was "physically large and confident and morally so great that the comprehension of our littleness came slow to him".[18] In contrast to the fictional Allenby's words at Lawrence's funeral in the film, upon Lawrence's death Allenby remarked, "I have lost a good friend and a valued comrade. Lawrence was under my command, but, after acquainting him with my strategical plan, I gave him a free hand. His co-operation was marked by the utmost loyalty, and I never had anything but praise for his work, which, indeed, was invaluable throughout the campaign."[19] Allenby also spoke highly of him numerous times, and, much to Lawrence's delight, publicly endorsed the accuracy of Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Although Allenby did manipulate Lawrence during the war, their relationship lasted for years after its end, indicating that in real life they were friendly, if not close. The Allenby family was particularly upset by the Damascus scenes, where Allenby coldly allows the town to fall into chaos as the Arab Council collapses.[20]
Similarly, General Murray, though initially sceptical of the Arab Revolt's potential, thought highly of Lawrence's abilities as an intelligence officer; indeed, it was largely through Lawrence's persuasion that Murray came to support the revolt. The intense dislike shown toward Lawrence in the film is in fact the opposite of Murray's real feelings, although for his part Lawrence seemed not to hold Murray in any high regard.
The depiction of Auda abu Tayi as a man interested only in loot and money is also at odds with the historical record. Although Auda did at first join the Arab Revolt for monetary reasons, he quickly became a steadfast supporter of Arab independence. Notably after Aqaba's capture, he refused repeated bribery attempts by the Turks (though he happily pocketed their money) and remained loyal to the revolt. He was present with Lawrence from the beginning of the Aqaba expedition and in fact helped plan it along with Lawrence and Prince Faisal.
Faisal, far from being the middle-aged man depicted, was in reality in his early 30s at the time of the revolt. Faisal and Lawrence respected each others' capabilities and intelligence. They worked well together.[21]
The reactions of those who knew Lawrence and the other characters say much about the film's veracity. Its most vehement critic of its accuracy was Professor A.W.(Arnold) Lawrence, the protagonist's younger brother and literary executor, who had sold the rights to Seven Pillars of Wisdom to Spiegel for £25,000. Arnold Lawrence went on a campaign in the United States and Britain denouncing the film, famously saying, "I should not have recognised my own brother". In one pointed talk show appearance, he remarked that he had found the film “pretentious and false." He went on to say his brother was "one of the nicest, kindest and most exhilarating people I’ve known. He often appeared cheerful when he was unhappy.” Later, to the New York Times, Arnold said, “[The film is] a psychological recipe. Take an ounce of narcissism, a pound of exhibitionism, a pint of sadism, a gallon of blood-lust and a sprinkle of other aberrations and stir well.” Lowell Thomas was also critical of the portrayal of Lawrence and most of the film's characters, believing the train attack scenes were the only reasonably accurate aspect of the film.
The criticisms were not restricted to Lawrence. The Allenby family lodged a formal complaint against Columbia about the portrayal of him. Descendants of Auda abu Tayi and the real Sherif Ali, despite the fact that the film's Ali was fictional, went further, suing Columbia. The Auda case went on for almost 10 years before it was dropped.[22]
The film has its defenders. Biographer Michael Korda, author of Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia, offers a different opinion. While the film is neither "the full story of Lawrence's life or a completely accurate account of the two years he spent fighting with the Arabs," Korda argues that criticising its inaccuracy "misses the point": "The object was to produce, not a faithful docudrama that would educate the audience, but a hit picture."[23] Stephen E. Tabachnick goes further than Korda, arguing that the film's portrayal of Lawrence is "appropriate and true to the text of Seven Pillars of Wisdom."[24] British historian of the Arab Revolt David Murphy wrote that though the film was flawed due to various inaccuracies and omissions, "it was a truly epic movie and is rightly seen as a classic".[25]
Production[edit]
Pre-production[edit]


 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)
Previous films about T. E. Lawrence had been planned but had not been made. In the 1940s, Alexander Korda was interested in filming The Seven Pillars of Wisdom with either Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard or Robert Donat as Lawrence, but had to pull out due to financial difficulties. David Lean himself had been approached to direct a 1952 version for the Rank Organisation, but the project fell through. Also, at the same time as pre-production of the film, Terence Rattigan was developing his play Ross which centred primarily on Lawrence's alleged homosexuality. Ross had begun life as a screenplay, but was re-written for the stage when the film project fell through. Sam Spiegel grew furious and unsuccessfully attempted to have the play suppressed, furor at which helped to gain publicity for the film.[26] Dirk Bogarde had accepted the role in Ross; he described the cancellation of the project as "my bitterest disappointment". Alec Guinness played the role on stage.
Lean and Sam Spiegel were coming off the huge success of The Bridge on the River Kwai, and were eager to work together again. For a time, Lean was interested in a biopic of Gandhi, with Alec Guinness to play the title role and Emeric Pressburger writing the screenplay. Despite extensive pre-production work (including location scouting in India and a meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru), Lean eventually lost interest in the project.[27] Lean then returned his attention to T.E. Lawrence. Columbia Pictures had an interest in a Lawrence project dating back to the early '50s, and when Spiegel convinced a reluctant A.W. Lawrence to sell the rights to The Seven Pillars of Wisdom for £25,000, the project got underway.
When Lawrence of Arabia was first announced, Lawrence's biographer Lowell Thomas offered producer Spiegel and screenwriters Bolt and Wilson a large amount of research material he had produced on Lawrence during and after his time with him in the Arab Revolt. Spiegel rejected the offer.[citation needed]
Michael Wilson wrote the original draft of the screenplay. However, Lean was dissatisfied with Wilson's work, primarily because his treatment had a clear focus on the historical and political aspects of the Arab Revolt. Lean hired Robert Bolt to re-write the script in order to make it a character study of Lawrence himself. While many of the characters and scenes are Wilson's invention, virtually all of the dialogue in the finished film was written by Bolt.
Lean reportedly watched John Ford's film The Searchers (1956) to help him develop ideas as to how to shoot the film. Several scenes in the film directly recall Ford's film, most notably Ali's entrance at the well and the composition of many of the desert scenes and the dramatic exit from Wadi Rum. Lean biographer Kevin Brownlow even notes the physical similarity between Rumm and Ford's Monument Valley.[28] The film's plot structure also bears similarity to Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941), particularly the opening scenes with Lawrence's death and the reporter inquiring notables at Lawrence's funeral.
Filming[edit]
The film was made by Horizon Pictures and Columbia Pictures. Shooting began on 15 May 1961 and ended on 20 October 1962.
The desert scenes were shot in Jordan and Morocco, as well as Almería and Doñana in Spain. The film was originally to be filmed entirely in Jordan: the government of King Hussein was extremely helpful in providing logistical assistance, location scouting, transportation, and extras; Hussein himself visited the set several times during production and maintained cordial relationships with cast and crew. During the production of the film, Hussein met and married Toni Gardner, who was working as a switchboard operator in Aqaba. The only tension occurred when Jordanian officials learned that English actor Henry Oscar, who did not speak Arabic, would be filmed reciting the Qur'an; permission was granted only on condition that an imam be present to ensure that there were no misquotations.



 The Mudéjar pavilion of the Parque de María Luisa in Seville appeared as Jerusalem.


 The Plaza de España in Seville appeared as the officers' club in Cairo.
In Jordan, Lean planned to film in the real Aqaba and the archaeological site at Petra, which Lawrence had been fond of as a place of study. However, the production had to be moved to Spain, much to Lean's regret, due to cost and outbreaks of illness among the cast and crew before these scenes could be shot. The attack on Aqaba was reconstructed in a dried river bed in southern Spain (at
37°1′25″N 1°52′53″W); it consisted of over 300 buildings and was meticulously based on the town's appearance in 1917. The execution of Gasim, the train attacks and Deraa exteriors were filmed in the Almería region, with the former's filming being delayed because of a flash flood. The Sierra Nevada mountains filled in for Azrak, Lawrence's winter quarters. The city of Seville was used to represent Cairo, Jerusalem and Damascus, with the appearance of Casa de Pilatos, the Alcázar of Seville and the Plaza de España. All of the interiors were shot in Spain, including Lawrence's first meeting with Faisal and the scene in Auda's tent.
The Tafas massacre was filmed in Ouarzazate, Morocco, with Moroccan army troops substituting for the Turkish army; however, Lean could not film as much as he wanted because the soldiers were uncooperative and impatient.[29] One of the second-unit directors for the Morocco scenes was André de Toth, who suggested a shot wherein bags of blood would be machine-gunned, spraying the screen with blood. Second-unit cinematographer Nicolas Roeg approached Lean with this idea, but Lean found it disgusting. De Toth subsequently left the project.
The film's production was frequently delayed because, unusually, the film started shooting without a finished script. After Wilson quit early in the production, playwright Beverley Cross worked on the script in the interim before Bolt took over, although none of Cross's material made it to the final film. A further mishap occurred when Bolt was arrested for taking part in an anti-nuclear weapons demonstration, and Spiegel had to persuade Bolt to sign a recognizance of good behaviour for him to be released from jail and continue working on the script.
Camels caused several problems on set. O'Toole was not used to riding camels and found the saddle to be uncomfortable. While in Amman during a break in filming, he bought a piece of foam rubber at a market and added it to his saddle. Many of the extras copied the idea and sheets of the foam can be seen on many of the horse and camel saddles. The Bedouins nicknamed O'Toole "'Ab al-'Isfanjah" (أب الإسفنجة), meaning "Father of the Sponge".[30] The idea spread and to this day, many Bedouins add foam rubber to their saddles.
Later, during the filming of the Aqaba scene, O'Toole was nearly killed when he fell from his camel, but fortunately, it stood over him, preventing the horses of the extras from trampling him. Coincidentally a very similar mishap befell the real Lawrence at the Battle of Abu El Lissal in 1917. In another mishap, O'Toole seriously injured his hand during filming by punching through the window of a caravan while drunk. A brace or bandage can be seen on his left thumb during the first train attack scene, presumably due to this incident.
Along with many other Arab countries, Jordan banned the film for what they felt to be a disrespectful portrayal of Arab culture. Egypt, Omar Sharif's home country, was the only Arab nation to give the film a wide release, where it became a success through the endorsement of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who appreciated the film's depiction of Arab nationalism.
Music[edit]
The score was composed by Maurice Jarre, little known at the time and selected only after both William Walton and Malcolm Arnold had proved unavailable. Jarre was given just six weeks to compose two hours of orchestral music for Lawrence.[31] The score was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Although Sir Adrian Boult is credited as the conductor of the score in the film's credits, he could not conduct most of the score, due in part to his failure to adapt to the intricate timings of each cue, and Jarre replaced him as the conductor. The score went on to garner Jarre his first Academy Award for Music Score—Substantially Original[32] and is now considered one of the greatest scores of all time, ranking number three on the American Film Institute's top twenty-five film scores.[33]
The original soundtrack recording was originally released on Colpix Records, the records division of Columbia Pictures, in 1962. A remastered edition appeared on Castle Music, a division of the Sanctuary Records Group, on 28 August 2006.
Kenneth Alford's march The Voice of the Guns (1917) is prominently featured on the soundtrack. One of Alford's other pieces, the Colonel Bogey March, was the musical theme for Lean's previous film, The Bridge on the River Kwai.
However, a complete recording of the score was not heard until 2010, when Tadlow Music produced a CD of the music, with Nic Raine conducting The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra from scores reconstructed by Leigh Phillips.
Release[edit]
Theatrical run[edit]
The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 10 December 1962 (Royal Premiere) and was released in the United States on 16 December 1962.
The original release ran for about 222 minutes (plus overture, intermission, and exit music). A post-premiere memo (13 December 1962) noted that the film was 24,987.5 ft (70 mm) and 19,990 ft (35 mm). With 90 ft of 35 mm film projected every minute, this corresponds to exactly 222.11 minutes.
In an email to Robert Morris, co-author of a book on Lawrence of Arabia, Richard May, VP Film Preservation at Warner Bros., noted that Gone With the Wind, never edited after its premiere, is 19,884 ft of 35 mm film (without leaders, overture, intermission, entr'acte or walkout music) corresponding to 220.93 min.
Thus, Lawrence of Arabia, slightly more than 1 minute longer than Gone With the Wind, is the longest movie ever to win a Best Picture Oscar.
In January 1963, Lawrence was released in a version edited by 20 minutes; when it was re-released in 1971, an even shorter cut of 187 minutes was presented. The first round of cuts was made at the direction and even insistence of David Lean, to assuage criticisms of the film's length and increase the number of showings per day; however, during the 1989 restoration he passed blame for the cuts onto by-then-deceased producer Sam Spiegel.[34] In addition, a 1966 print, used for initial television and video releases, accidentally altered a few scenes by reversing the image.[35]
The film was screened out of competition at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.[36] and at the 2012 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.[37]
Restored director's cut[edit]
The current "restored version", undertaken by Robert A. Harris and Jim Painten (under the supervision of director David Lean), was released in 1989 with a 216-minute length (plus overture, intermission, and exit music).
Most of the cut scenes were dialogue sequences, particularly those involving General Allenby and his staff. Two whole scenes—Brighton's briefing of Allenby in Jerusalem before the Daraa scene and the British staff meeting in the field tent—were completely excised, and the former has still not been entirely restored. Much of the missing dialogue involves Lawrence's writing of poetry and verse, alluded to by Allenby in particular, saying "the last poetry general we had was Wellington". The opening of Act II, where Faisal is interviewed by Bentley, and the later scene, in Jerusalem where Allenby convinces Lawrence not to resign, existed in only fragmented form; they were restored to the 1989 re-release. Some of the more graphic shots of the Tafas massacre scene—the lengthy panning shot of the corpses in Tafas, and Lawrence shooting a surrendering Turkish soldier—were also restored. Most of the still-missing footage is of minimal import, supplementing existing scenes. One scene is an extended version of the Daraa rape sequence, which makes Lawrence's punishment in that scene more overt. Other scripted scenes exist, including a conversation between Auda and Lawrence immediately after the fall of Aqaba, a brief scene of Turkish officers noting the extent of Lawrence's campaign, and the battle of Petra (later reworked into the first train attack), but these scenes were probably not filmed. The actors still living at the time of the re-release dubbed their own dialogue, though Jack Hawkins's dialogue had to be dubbed by Charles Gray (who had already done Hawkins' voice for several films after the former developed throat cancer in the late 1960s). A full list of cuts can be found at the Internet Movie Database.[38] Reasons for the cuts of various scenes can be found in Lean's notes to Sam Spiegel, Robert Bolt, and Anne V. Coates.[39] The film runs 227 minutes in the most recent director's cut available on Blu-ray Disc and DVD.[citation needed]
Home media[edit]
Lawrence of Arabia has been released in five different DVD editions, including an initial release as a two-disc set (2001), followed by a shorter single disc edition (2002), a high resolution version of the director's cut with restored scenes (2003) issued as part of the Superbit series, as part of the Columbia Best Pictures collection (2008), and in a fully restored special edition of the director's cut (2008).[40]
Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg helped restore a version of the film for a DVD release in 2000.[41]
New restoration, Blu-ray and theatrical re-release[edit]
An 8K scan/4K intermediate digital restoration was made for Blu-ray and theatrical re-release[42] during 2012 by Sony Pictures to celebrate the film's 50th anniversary.[43] The Blu-ray edition of the film was released in the United Kingdom on 10 September 2012 and in the United States on 13 November 2012.[44] The film received a one-day theatrical release on 4 October 2012, a two-day release in Canada on 11 and 15 November 2012, and was also re-released in the United Kingdom on 23 November 2012.[45]
According to Grover Crisp, executive VP of restoration at Sony Pictures, the new 8K scan has such high resolution that when examined, showed a series of fine concentric lines in a pattern "reminiscent of a fingerprint" near the top of the frame. This was caused by the film emulsion melting and cracking in the desert heat during production. Sony had to hire a third party to minimise or eliminate the rippling artefacts in the new restored version.[42]
A 4K digitally-restored version of the film was screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival,[46][47] at the 2012 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival,[37] at the V Janela Internacional de Cinema[48] in Recife, Brazil, and at the 2013 Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose California.[49]
Reception[edit]
Upon its release, Lawrence was a huge critical and financial success and it remains popular among viewers and critics alike. The striking visuals, dramatic music, literate screenplay and superb performance by Peter O'Toole have all been common points of acclaim and the film as a whole is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made. Its visual style has influenced many directors, including George Lucas, Sam Peckinpah, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Steven Spielberg, who called the film a "miracle".[50]
The film is regarded as a masterpiece of world cinema and is ranked highly on many lists of the best films ever made. The American Film Institute ranked the film 5th in its original and 7th in its updated list of the greatest films and first in its list of the greatest films of the "epic" genre.[51] In 1991, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In 1999 the film placed third in a BFI poll of the best British films and in 2001 the magazine Total Film called it "as shockingly beautiful and hugely intelligent as any film ever made" and "faultless".[52] It has also ranked in the top ten films of all time in a Sight and Sound directors' poll. Additionally, O'Toole's performance has also often been considered one of the greatest of all time, topping lists made by both Entertainment Weekly and Premiere. T. E. Lawrence, portrayed by O'Toole, has been selected as the tenth-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute.[53]
Lawrence of Arabia is currently one of the highest-rated films on Metacritic; it holds a 100/100 rating, indicating "universal acclaim". However, some critics—notably Bosley Crowther[54] and Andrew Sarris[55]—have criticised the film for an indefinite portrayal of Lawrence and lack of depth.
Awards and honours[edit]

Award
Category
Name
Outcome
35th Academy Awards
 (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)[56] Best Picture Sam Spiegel Won
Best Director David Lean Won
Best Art Direction John Box, John Stoll and Dario Simoni Won
Best Cinematography Frederick A. Young Won
Best Substantially Original Score Maurice Jarre Won
Best Film Editing Ann V. Coates Won
Best Sound John Cox Won
Best Actor Peter O'Toole Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Omar Sharif Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson Nominated
16th British Academy Film Awards
 (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Best Film from any Source Sam Spiegel and David Lean Won
Best British Film Sam Spiegel and David Lean Won
Best British Actor Peter O'Toole Won
Best British Screenplay Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson Won
Best Foreign Actor Anthony Quinn Nominated
20th Golden Globe Awards
 (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) Best Motion Picture – Drama David Lean and Sam Spiegel Won
Best Director of a Motion Picture David Lean Won
Best Supporting Actor Omar Sharif Won
Most Promising Newcomer – Male Omar Sharif Won
Best Cinematography, Color Frederick A. Young Won
Most Promising Newcomer – Male Peter O'Toole Nominated
Directors Guild of AmericaOutstanding Directorial Achievement – David Lean
David di Donatello AwardsBest Foreign Film – Sam Spiegel
British Society of CinematographersBest Cinematography Award – Freddie Young
Italian National Syndicate of Film JournalistsBest Director Foreign Film – David Lean
Kinema Junpo AwardsBest Foreign Language Film – David Lean
National Board of ReviewBest Director – David Lean
Writers' Guild of Great BritainBest British Dramatic Screenplay – Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson
American Film Institute recognition
1998 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies No. 5
2001 AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills No. 23
2003 AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: T.E. Lawrence, hero No. 10
2005 AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores No. 3
2006 AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers No. 30
2007 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) No. 7
2008 AFI's 10 Top 10 – No. 1 Epic film
Legacy[edit]
The use of the locations in Almería, Spain for the train sequences and others made that region popular with international film makers. Most famously, it became the setting of virtually all of the Spaghetti Westerns of the '60s and '70s, specifically those of Sergio Leone. (The oasis set from Lawrence briefly appears in Leone's 1965 film For a Few Dollars More.)[citation needed] Many of the sets used or built for the film were re-used in later films, including John Milius's The Wind and the Lion (1975), which used several of the same palaces in Seville and the Aqaba set as the setting for its climactic battle, while the Plaza de España appears in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), as the Theed Palace.
The main musical title of the film was used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) in the scene where Roger Moore and Barbara Bach's characters have to wander through the desert after their van breaks down. This was done as a joke by one of the editors who liked to play music from the film during the daily rushes.
The main musical title of the film was also used in the 1987 science fiction parody film Spaceballs, when the Winnebago crashes on the sand planet and the crew is forced to walk the desert.
Film director Steven Spielberg considers this his favourite film of all time and the one that convinced him to become a filmmaker.[57] Screenwriter William Monahan, who scripted Kingdom of Heaven and The Departed, among others, is a fan of Robert Bolt and has stated on numerous occasions that viewing Lawrence is what inspired him to be a screenwriter.
The scene of Lawrence showing off the 'match trick' is shown, converted into 3D, in Ridley Scott's 2012 film Prometheus. A piece of viral marketing for the film starring Guy Pearce also references the scene at a TED conference in 2032, and Michael Fassbender's android character David 8 in the film models his looks and voice after O'Toole's in Lawrence of Arabia.
Sequel[edit]
Main article: A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia
In 1990, the made-for-television film A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia was aired. It depicts events in the lives of Lawrence and Faisal subsequent to Lawrence of Arabia and featured Ralph Fiennes as Lawrence and Alexander Siddig as Prince Faisal. The film dealt primarily with the attempts of Lawrence and Faisal to secure independence for Arabia during the 1919 Versailles Conference following the end of World War I. A principal departure from the earlier film shows Faisal closer in age to Lawrence, and in sometimes troubled roles of friendship and collaboration with him—a clear echo of Lawrence's friendship with Sherif Ali in the original. The film was generally well received and deals more with the political ramifications of Lawrence's efforts in the Middle East.
See also[edit]
Cinema of Jordan
Films considered the greatest ever
BFI Top 100 British films
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (RESTORED VERSION) (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 31 March 1989.
2.Jump up ^ eMoviePoster.com
3.Jump up ^ Turner 1994, pp. 41–45
4.Jump up ^ Lane, Anthony (31 March 2008). "Master and Commander". The New Yorker.
5.Jump up ^ Turner 1994, pp. 45–49
6.Jump up ^ Turner 1994, p. 49
7.Jump up ^ Turner 1994, p. 51
8.Jump up ^ Turner 1994, pp. 137–138
9.Jump up ^ Murphy, David The Arab Revolt 1916–1918, London: Osprey, 2008 page 17
10.Jump up ^ Murphy, David The Arab Revolt 1916–1918, London: Osprey, 2008 page 18
11.Jump up ^ Murphy, David The Arab Revolt 1916–1918, London: Osprey, 2008 page 39
12.Jump up ^ Murphy, David The Arab Revolt 1916–1918, London: Osprey, 2008 pages 43–44
13.Jump up ^ Murphy, David The Arab Revolt 1916–1918, London: Osprey, 2008 page 24
14.Jump up ^ cf. Jeremy Wilson, Lawrence of Arabia: The Authorised Biography of T.E. Lawrence (1990), pp. 409–410
15.Jump up ^ Wilson, Jeremy. "Lawrence of Arabia or Smith in the Desert?". T. E. Lawrence Studies. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
16.Jump up ^ L. Robert Morris and Lawrence Raskin. Lawrence of Arabia: The 30th Anniversary Pictorial History. pp. 149–156
17.Jump up ^ "The Seven Pillars Portraits". castlehillpress.com.
18.Jump up ^ "General Allenby (biography)". pbs.org.
19.Jump up ^ "General Allenby (radio interview)". pbs.org.
20.Jump up ^ Steven C. Caton, Lawrence of Arabia: A Film's Anthropology, p. 59
21.Jump up ^ "Prince Feisal". pbs.org.
22.Jump up ^ Adrian Turner, Robert Bolt: Scenes From Two Lives, 201–206
23.Jump up ^ Korda, pp. 693–694
24.Jump up ^ Lawrence of Arabia: An Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood, Press, 2004. p. 24
25.Jump up ^ Murphy, David The Arab Revolt, Osprey: London, 2008 pages 88–89
26.Jump up ^ Brownlow 1996, pp. 410–411
27.Jump up ^ Brownlow 1996, pp. 393–401
28.Jump up ^ Brownlow 1996, p. 443
29.Jump up ^ Brownlow 1996, pp. 466–467
30.Jump up ^ Peter O'Toole, interview on the Late Show with David Letterman, 11 May 1995.
31.Jump up ^ The Economist. Obituary: Maurice Jarre. 16 April 2009.
32.Jump up ^ Oscars.org. Awardsdatabase.oscars.org (29 January 2010).
33.Jump up ^ Maurice Jarre on. Afi.com (23 September 2005).
34.Jump up ^ Brownlow 1996, pp. 484,705,709
35.Jump up ^ Caton, S.C. (1999). Lawrence of Arabia: A Film's Anthropology (pp. 129–131). Berkeley/Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21082-4.
36.Jump up ^ "Festival de Cannes: Lawrence of Arabia". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
37.^ Jump up to: a b "Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Lawrence of Arabia". kviff.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
38.Jump up ^ "Alternate versions for Lawrence of Arabia (1962)". imdb.com.
39.Jump up ^ "Director's Notes on Re-editing Lawrence of Arabia". davidlean.com.
40.Jump up ^ "Lawrence of Arabia (Collector's Edition) DVD". Retrieved 4 January 2012.
41.Jump up ^ Wasser, Frederick (2010). Steven Spielberg's America. Polity America Through the Lens. Polity. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-7456-4082-2.
42.^ Jump up to: a b Rob Sabin (20 December 2011). "Home Theater: Hollywood, The 4K Way". HomeTheater.com Ultimate Tech. Source Interlink Media. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
43.Jump up ^ Lawrence of Arabia on Blu-ray Later This Year. Blu-rayDefinition.com (12 June 2012).
44.Jump up ^ Lawrence of Arabia Blu-ray Disc Release Finalized. Hometheater.about.com (7 August 2012).
45.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056172/releaseinfo
46.Jump up ^ Cannes Classics 2012 – Festival de Cannes 2013 (International Film Festival). Festival-cannes.fr.
47.Jump up ^ 'Jaws,' 'Lawrence of Arabia,' 'Once Upon a Time in America' and 'Tess' to Get the Cannes Classics Treatment | Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews. Indiewire (26 October 2012).
48.Jump up ^ Janela Internacional de Cinema do Recife | Festival Internacional de Cinema do Recife. Janeladecinema.com.br.
49.Jump up ^ cinequest.org
50.Jump up ^ Lawrence of Arabia: The film that inspired Spielberg » Top 10 Films – Film Lists, Reviews, News & Opinion. Top 10 Films.
51.Jump up ^ American Film Institute (17 June 2008). "AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
52.Jump up ^ Film, Total. (18 September 2010) Lawrence Of Arabia: Two-Disc Set Review. TotalFilm.com.
53.Jump up ^ "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains". AFI. Retrieved 20 December 2013
54.Jump up ^ Crowther, Bosley (17 December 1962). "Screen: A Desert Warfare Spectacle:'Lawrence of Arabia' Opens in New York". The New York Times.
55.Jump up ^ T.E. Lawrence. Kirjasto.sci.fi.
56.Jump up ^ "The 35th Academy Awards (1963) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
57.Jump up ^ DVD documentary, A Conversation with Steven Spielberg
Brownlow, Kevin (1996). David Lean: A Biography. Richard Cohen Books. ISBN 978-1-86066-042-9.
Turner, Adrian (1994). The Making of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. Dragon's World Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85028-211-2.
Further reading[edit]
Morris, L. Robert and Raskin, Lawrence (1992). Lawrence of Arabia: The 30th Anniversary Pictorial History. Doubleday & Anchor, New York. A book on the creation of the film, authorised by Sir David Lean.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lawrence of Arabia (film).
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia at the Internet Movie Database
Lawrence of Arabia at Box Office Mojo
Lawrence of Arabia at Rotten Tomatoes
Lawrence of Arabia at Metacritic
Lawrence of Arabia at the American Film Institute Catalog


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Battleship Potemkin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from The Battleship Potemkin)
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For the real-life battleship, see Russian battleship Potemkin.

Battleship Potemkin
Vintage Potemkin.jpg
Directed by
Sergei Eisenstein
Produced by
Jacob Bliokh
Written by
Nina Agadzhanova
Nikolai Aseyev
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Tretyakov
Cinematography
Eduard Tisse
Distributed by
Goskino
Release dates
December 21, 1925 (USSR)
 December 5, 1926 (USA; NYC only)
Running time
75 minutes
Country
Soviet Union
Language
Silent film
Russian intertitles
Battleship Potemkin (Russian: Броненосец «Потёмкин», Bronenosets Po'tyomkin), sometimes, and more accurately, rendered as Battleship Potyomkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm. It presents a dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers of the Tsarist regime.
Battleship Potemkin has been called one of the most influential propaganda films of all time,[1] and was named the greatest film of all time at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958.[2][3][4]


Contents  [hide]
1 Cast
2 Film style and content
3 The Odessa Steps sequence 3.1 Treatment in other works of art
4 Distribution, censorship and restoration
5 Soundtracks
6 Critical reaction
7 See also
8 Notes
9 External links

Cast[edit]
Aleksandr Antonov — Grigory Vakulinchuk (Bolshevik sailor)
Vladimir Barsky — Commander Golikov
Grigori Aleksandrov — Chief Officer Giliarovsky
Ivan Bobrov — Young sailor flogged while sleeping (as I. Bobrov)
Mikhail Gomorov — Militant sailor
Aleksandr Levshin — Petty Officer
N. Poltavseva — Woman with pince-nez
Konstantin Feldman — Student agitator
Beatrice Vitoldi — Woman with the baby carriage
Film style and content[edit]
The film is composed of five episodes:
"Men and Maggots" (Люди и черви), in which the sailors protest at having to eat rotten meat;
"Drama on the Deck" (Драма на тендре), in which the sailors mutiny and their leader, Vakulinchuk, is killed;
"A Dead Man Calls for Justice" (Мёртвый взывает) in which Vakulinchuk's body is mourned over by the people of Odessa;
"The Odessa Staircase" (Одесская лестница), in which Tsarist soldiers massacre the Odessans.
"The Rendez-Vous with the Squadron" (Встреча с эскадрой), in which the squadron tasked with intercepting the Potemkin instead declines to engage; lowering their guns, its sailors cheer on the rebellious battleship and join the mutiny.
Eisenstein wrote the film as a revolutionary propaganda film,[5][6] but also used it to test his theories of "montage".[7] The revolutionary Soviet filmmakers of the Kuleshov school of filmmaking were experimenting with the effect of film editing on audiences, and Eisenstein attempted to edit the film in such a way as to produce the greatest emotional response, so that the viewer would feel sympathy for the rebellious sailors of the Battleship Potemkin and hatred for their cruel overlords. In the manner of most propaganda, the characterization is simple, so that the audience could clearly see with whom they should sympathize.
Eisenstein's experiment was a mixed success; he "was disappointed when Potemkin failed to attract masses of viewers",[8] but the film was also released in a number of international venues, where audiences responded positively. In both the Soviet Union and overseas, the film shocked audiences, but not so much for its political statements as for its use of violence, which was considered graphic by the standards of the time.[2][9][10] The film's potential to influence political thought through emotional response was noted by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who called Potemkin "a marvelous film without equal in the cinema ... anyone who had no firm political conviction could become a Bolshevik after seeing the film".[10][11] The film was not banned in Nazi Germany, although Himmler issued a directive prohibiting SS members from attending screenings, as he deemed the movie inappropriate for the troops.[10]
The Odessa Steps sequence[edit]



 The boots of the Tsarist soldiers shown marching down the "Odessa Steps"
One of the most celebrated scenes in the film is the massacre of civilians on the Odessa Steps (also known as the Primorsky or Potemkin Stairs). This scene has been described as one of the most influential in the history of cinema, because it introduced concepts of film editing and montage to cinema. In this scene, the Tsar's soldiers in their white summer tunics march down a seemingly endless flight of steps in a rhythmic, machine-like fashion, firing volleys into a crowd. A separate detachment of mounted Cossacks charges the crowd at the bottom of the stairs. The victims include an older woman wearing pince-nez, a young boy with his mother, a student in uniform and a teenage schoolgirl. A mother pushing an infant in a baby carriage falls to the ground dying and the carriage rolls down the steps amidst the fleeing crowd.



 A baby in a carriage falling down the "Odessa Steps"


 A wide shot of the massacre on the "Odessa Steps".
The massacre on the steps, which never took place, was presumably inserted by Eisenstein for dramatic effect and to demonise the Imperial regime.[12] It is, however, based on the fact that there were widespread demonstrations in the area, sparked off by the arrival of the Potemkin in Odessa Harbour, and both The Times and the resident British Consul reported that troops fired on the crowds with accompanying loss of life (the number of casualties is unrecorded).[13] Roger Ebert writes, "That there was, in fact, no czarist massacre on the Odessa Steps scarcely diminishes the power of the scene ... It is ironic that [Eisenstein] did it so well that today, the bloodshed on the Odessa steps is often referred to as if it really happened."[14]
Treatment in other works of art[edit]



 The painter Francis Bacon called this The Battleship Potemkin image a catalyst for his work.


Alexey Titarenko paid tribute to the Odessa Steps shot in his series "City Of Shadows". Saint Petersburg, 1991.
The scene is perhaps the best example of Eisenstein's theory on montage, and many films pay homage to the scene, including Terry Gilliam's Brazil, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Brian De Palma's The Untouchables, Tibor Takacs' Deathline, Laurel and Hardy's The Music Box, Chandrashekhar Narvekar's Hindi film Tezaab, Shukō Murase's anime Ergo Proxy, and The Magic Christian. Several films spoof it, including Woody Allen's Bananas and Love and Death, Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker's Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (though actually a parody of The Untouchables), Soviet-Polish comedy Deja Vu, Jacob Tierney's The Trotsky and the Italian comedy Il secondo tragico Fantozzi. The 2011 November 7 Parade in Moscow also features a homage to the film.
The painter Francis Bacon (1909–1992) was profoundly influenced by Eisenstein's images, particularly the Odessa Steps shot of the nurse's broken glasses and open mouthed scream. The open mouth image appeared first in his Abstraction from the Human Form, in Fragment of a Crucifixion, and other works including his famous Head series.[15]
The Russian born photographer and artist Alexey Titarenko paid tribute to the Odessa Steps shot in his series "City Of Shadows" (1991–1993) by using crowd of desperate people on the stairs near the subway station in Saint Petersburg to demonize the Soviet regime and as a symbol of human tragedy.[16]
Distribution, censorship and restoration[edit]



 Another poster of The Battleship Potemkin
After its premiere in the Soviet Union, Potemkin was shown in the United States. It was shown in an edited form in Germany, with some scenes of extreme violence edited out by its German distributors. A written introduction by Leon Trotsky was cut from Soviet prints after he ran afoul of Joseph Stalin. The film was banned in West Germany, Britain (until 1954 and X-rated[17] until 1978), France, and other countries for its revolutionary zeal.
Today, however, the film is widely available in various DVD editions. However, in 2004, a three-year restoration of the film was completed. Many excised scenes of violence were restored, as well as the original written introduction by Trotsky. The previous titles, which had toned down the mutinous sailors' revolutionary rhetoric, were corrected so that they would now be an accurate translation of the original Russian titles in the film.
Soundtracks[edit]
To retain its relevance as a propaganda film for each new generation, Eisenstein hoped the score would be rewritten every 20 years. The original score was composed by Edmund Meisel. A salon orchestra performed the Berlin premiere in 1926. The instruments were flute/piccolo, trumpet, trombone, harmonium, percussion and strings without viola. Meisel wrote the score in twelve days because of the late approval of film censors. As time was so short Meisel repeated sections of the score. Composer/conductor Mark-Andreas Schlingensiepen has reorchestrated the original piano score to fit the version of the film available today.
Nikolai Kryukov composed a new score in 1950 for the 25th anniversary. In 1985 Chris Jarrett composed a solo piano accompaniment for the movie. In 1986 Eric Allaman wrote an electronic score for a showing that took place at the 1986 Berlin Film Festival. The music was commissioned by the organizers who wanted to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the picture's German premiere. The score was played only at this premiere and has not been released on CD or DVD. Contemporary reviews were largely positive apart from negative comment because the music was electronic. Allaman also wrote an opera about Battleship Potemkin, which is musically separate from the film score.
In its commercial format, on DVD for example, the film is usually accompanied by classical music added for the 50th anniversary edition re-released in 1975. Three symphonies from Dmitri Shostakovich have been used, with No. 5 beginning and ending the film, being the most prominent. In 2007 Del Rey & The Sun Kings also recorded this soundtrack. It is commercially available on CD and DVD. In an attempt to make the film relevant to the 21st century, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe (of the Pet Shop Boys) composed a soundtrack in 2004 with the Dresden Symphonic Orchestra. Their soundtrack, released in 2005 as Battleship Potemkin, premiered in September 2004 at an open-air concert in Trafalgar Square, London. There were four further live performances of the work with the Dresdner Sinfoniker in Germany in September 2005 and one at the Swan Hunter ship yard in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2006.
The avant-garde jazz ensemble Club Foot Orchestra has also re-scored the film, and performed live accompanying the film. For the 2005 restoration of the film, under the direction of Enno Patalas in collaboration with Anna Bohn, released on DVD and Blu-ray, the Deutsche Kinemathek - Museum fur Film und Fernsehen, commissioned a re-recording of the original Edmund Meisel score, performed by the Babelsberg Orchestra, conducted by Helmut Imig. In 2011 the most recent restoration was completed with an entirely new soundtrack by members of the Apskaft group. Contributing members were: AER20-200, awaycaboose, Ditzky, Drn Drn, Foucault V, fydhws, Hox Vox, Lurholm, mexicanvader, Quendus, Res Band, -Soundso- and speculativism. The entire film was digitally restored to a sharper image by Gianluca Missero (who records under the name Hox Vox). The new version is available at the Internet Archive [1].
Critical reaction[edit]
Battleship Potemkin has received extremely positive reviews from critics. Since its release, Battleship Potemkin has often been cited as one of the finest propaganda films ever made and considered amongst the greatest films of all time.[1][2] The film was named the greatest film of all time at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958.[3] Similarly, in 1952, Sight & Sound magazine cited The Battleship Potemkin as the fourth greatest film of all time and has been voted within the top ten in the magazine's five subsequent decennial polls, dropping to number 11 in the 2012 poll.[18]
In 2007, a two-disc, restored version of the film was released on DVD. Time magazine's Richard Corliss named it one of the Top 10 DVDs of the year, ranking it at #5.[19] It ranked #3 in Empire's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[20] In April 2011, Battleship Potemkin was re-released in UK cinemas, distributed by the British Film Institute. On its re-release, Total Film magazine gave the film a five-star review, stating: "...nearly 90 years on, Eisenstein’s masterpiece is still guaranteed to get the pulse racing."[21]
See also[edit]
List of films considered the best
Notes[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b "Battleship Potemkin". Retrieved 2010-11-28.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c What's the Big Deal?: Battleship Potemkin (1925). Retrieved November 28, 2010.
3.^ Jump up to: a b "Battleship Potemkin by Roger Ebert". Retrieved 2010-11-28.
4.Jump up ^ "Top Films of All-Time". Retrieved 2010-11-28.
5.Jump up ^ "Pet Shop Boys meet Battleship Potemkin". Retrieved 2010-11-28.
6.Jump up ^ "Battleship Potemkin, Strike, October by Sergei Eisenstein: Appreciation". Retrieved 2010-11-28.
7.Jump up ^ "Battleship Potemkin". Retrieved 2010-11-28.
8.Jump up ^ Neuberger, Joan (2003). Ivan the Terrible. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd.
9.Jump up ^ "Battleship Potemkin". Retrieved 2010-11-28.
10.^ Jump up to: a b c Heinrich Himmler: Order from Top SS Commander (Himmler) about Russian Propaganda Film. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
11.Jump up ^ "Triumph of the Will". www.historytoday.com. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
12.Jump up ^ Fabe, Marilyn (Aug 1, 2004). Closely Watched Films: An Introduction to the Art of Narrative Film Technique. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23862-1. p. 24
13.Jump up ^ "During the night there were .. fierce conflicts between the troops and the rioters. The dead are reckoned in hundreds." See "Havoc in the Town and Harbour", The Times, 30 June 1905, p. 5.
14.Jump up ^ ":: rogerebert.com :: Great Movies :: The Battleship Potemkin (xhtml)". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
15.Jump up ^ Peppiatt, Michael (1996). Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson ISBN 0-297-81616-0.
16.Jump up ^ Protzman, Ferdinand. "Landscape. Photographs of Time and Place." National Geographic, 2003, ISBN 0-7922-6166-6
17.Jump up ^ "Case Study: Battleshgip Potemkin, Students' British Board of Film Classification website". Sbbfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
18.Jump up ^ "Sight and Sound Historic Polls". BFI. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
19.Jump up ^ Corliss, Richard; Top 10 DVDs; time.com
20.Jump up ^ "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema – 3. The Battleship Potemkin". Empire.
21.Jump up ^ "Battleship Potemkin". Total Film. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Battleship Potemkin.
The Battleship Potemkin at the Internet Movie Database
Battleship Potemkin at allmovie
View Online on Google Video
Battleship Potemkin at official Mosfilm site with English subtitles
"Battleship Potemkin". Senses of Cinema.com. Archived from the original on 2006-01-03. Retrieved 2006-01-22.
"Potemkin sailor monument". 2odessa.com. Retrieved 2006-08-22. Monument in Odessa, explanation of the mutiny
The Battleship Potemkin watchable and downloadable with Esperanto subtitles
Battleship Potemkin is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
2011 version with new soundtrack Battleship Potemkin is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]


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The Last Picture Show
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The Last Picture Show
The Last Picture Show (movie poster).jpg
Theatrical release poster by Richard Amsel

Directed by
Peter Bogdanovich
Produced by
Stephen J. Friedman
Screenplay by
Larry McMurtry
Peter Bogdanovich
Starring
Timothy Bottoms
Jeff Bridges
Ellen Burstyn
Ben Johnson
Cloris Leachman
Cybill Shepherd
Clu Gulager
Cinematography
Robert Surtees
Editing by
Donn Cambern
Studio
BBS Productions
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures
Release dates
October 22, 1971

Running time
118 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$1.3 million
Box office
$29,133,000[1]
The Last Picture Show is a 1971 American drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from a semi-autobiographical 1966 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry.
Set in a small town in north Texas during the year November 1951 – October 1952, it is about the coming of age of Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and his friend Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges). The cast includes Cybill Shepherd in her film debut, Ben Johnson, Eileen Brennan, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Clu Gulager, Randy Quaid in his film debut, and John Hillerman. For aesthetic and technical reasons it was shot in black and white, which was unusual for its time.
The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and four nominations for acting: Ben Johnson and Jeff Bridges for Best Supporting Actor, and Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman for Best Supporting Actress, with Johnson and Leachman winning.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Casting
3 Production
4 Awards and legacy 4.1 Academy Awards
4.2 Home media
5 Director's cut
6 Sequel
7 References
8 External links

Plot[edit]
In 1951, Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges) are small-town Texas high-school seniors. They are friends and co-captains of Anarene High School's football team and share a rooming house home and a battered old pickup truck. Duane is good-looking, amusing and popular, and dates Jacy Farrow (Cybill Shepherd), the prettiest (and wealthiest) girl in town. Sonny is sensitive and caring, with an unpleasant girlfriend, Charlene Duggs (Sharon Taggart), whom he does not love; she shares his indifference, and they decide to call it quits.
At Christmastime, Sonny stumbles into an affair with Ruth Popper (Cloris Leachman), the depressed, middle-aged wife of his high-school coach, Coach Popper (Bill Thurman). At the sad little town Christmas dance, Jacy is invited by unsavory Lester Marlow (Randy Quaid) to a naked indoor pool party at the home of Bobby Sheen (Gary Brockette), a wealthy boy who seems to offer better prospects than Duane. Since Bobby is not interested in her as long as she is a virgin, she must get someone to have sex with her first.
The group of boys take the young street-sweeper, Billy (Sam Bottoms), to a prostitute to lose his virginity, but the prostitute hits Billy in the face, causing his nose to bleed. Duane and Sonny take Billy back home, where their mentor and father-figure in town, Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson), tells them that since they cannot even take care of a friend, he wants nothing to do with them. However, they all eventually reconcile when Sonny sneaks into the cafe for food and apologies. Duane and Sonny go on a road trip to Mexico, an event that happens entirely off-screen, and return to discover that Sam died of a stroke, leaving a will that bequeaths the town's movie theater to the woman who ran the concession stand; the café to its waitress, Genevieve (Eileen Brennan); and the pool hall to Sonny.
Jacy invites Duane to a motel for sex, but he is unable to perform. She loses her virginity to him on their second attempt and having achieved what she wanted from Duane, she breaks up with him by phone, and he goes to work on the oil rigs. When Bobby elopes with another girl, Jacy is alone again, and out of boredom has sex with Abilene (Clu Gulager), her mother's lover, though he is cold to her after their rendezvous. When Jacy hears of Sonny's affair with Ruth, she sets her sights on him, and Ruth gets nudged out very quickly. Sonny gets injured with a broken bottle in a fight with Duane, who still considers Jacy "his" girl. Duane decides to leave town and joins the Army. Jacy pretends to be impressed that Sonny would fight over her and suggests they elope. On their way to their honeymoon, they are stopped by an Oklahoma state trooper; apparently Jacy left a note telling her parents all about their plan. The couple is fetched back to Anarene by her father and mother in separate automobiles. On the trip back, Jacy's mother Lois (Ellen Burstyn) admits to Sonny she was Sam the Lion's erstwhile paramour and tells him he was much better off with Ruth Popper than with Jacy.
Duane returns to town for a visit before shipping out for Korea. He and Sonny are among the meager group attending the final screening at Sam's old movie house, which is no longer a viable business. The two men opine that there will not be anything left to do in town now that the cinema is closing, but Sam did not teach anyone how to run it, so it had to close. The next morning, after Sonny sees Duane off on the Trailways bus, young Billy is run over and killed as he sweeps the street. Sonny flees back to Ruth, whom he has been ignoring since Jacy stole him away months earlier. Her first reaction is to show her hurt and anger, then the two slip into a haunting, beatific calm in her familiar kitchen.
Casting[edit]
Ben Johnson as Sam the Lion, the owner of the town's café, movie theater, and pool hall. According to Bogdanovich, Tex Ritter was almost cast in the role (he was introduced to Bogdanovich by John Ritter, who was being considered for the part of Sonny). Johnson was not keen on the part because of the wordiness of the script; Eileen Brennan recalled that he hated to talk, saying he would rather ride his horse a "thousand miles than say any of these goddamn words." But Bogdanovich had his heart set on Johnson. He called director John Ford, whom he knew well, having previously completed a documentary on him, and Ford persuaded Johnson into the role by asking him "Do you want to be the Duke's sidekick forever?"[2] Johnson continued to find reasons not to do the film, and finally Bogdanovich told him, "You, in this role, are going to get an Academy Award," and finally Johnson accepted, "All right, I'll do the damn thing."[3] Johnson did indeed win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Jeff Bridges as Duane Jackson, one of the popular kids in the school, who dates Jacy at the beginning of the picture. Bridges got the role because in the book he is not a particularly likeable character; Bogdanovich thought that Bridges's naturally fun personality would give the character extra depth and warmth, and make him less disagreeable.[3]
Timothy Bottoms as Sonny Crawford, Duane's buddy, who begins the picture with a girlfriend he does not like and ends up in an affair with Ruth. Bogdanovich liked Bottoms for his sad eyes, and recalled that he was convinced to cast him when he learned that he was being highly touted at the time by his agent who said he had been given the lead in a Dalton Trumbo movie Johnny Got His Gun (1971); "I guess that's what convinced me" he said.[3] Bottoms did indeed have the lead in Johnny Got His Gun, although he was playing a quadriplegic and terribly mutilated World War I soldier who could not see, hear, move or speak.
Cybill Shepherd as Jacy Farrow, a pretty and popular girl who learns about life through her experiments with sexual attraction. Shepherd was a model whom Bogdanovich spotted on the cover of an issue of Glamour magazine (probably June 1970). "There was something about her expression that was very piquant," he later said. He arranged to meet her with her agent in a hotel in New York. She was, Bogdanovich says, interested in going through college and not particularly interested in being in movies, but she liked the script and thought it was an interesting part. She was playing with a rose on the table, and Bogdanovich kept expecting the rose to keel over and collapse; he recognised in that gesture the way Jacy Farrow plays with guys in the movie, and this convinced him that he had found Jacy. Bert Schneider, the producer, found a screen test Shepherd had done with Roger Vadim about a year before in which she was playing scenes from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with no sound, and dancing silently to a Rolling Stones song. After filming had finished, Bogdanovich admitted to Shepherd that the only time he ever doubted his decision was when he saw that screen test.[3] Shepherd went to Los Angeles and read with Tex Ritter, and with Robert Mitchum's son as well as Jeff Bridges and Timothy Bottoms. Bogdanovich was married to Polly Platt but began an affair with Shepherd during the filming.
Cloris Leachman as Ruth Popper, Coach Popper's wife, who has a romantic affair with Sonny. Leachman wanted the role and Bogdanovich was impressed enough with her read-through to offer the part she wanted for a performance that ultimately earned her an Oscar.
Ellen Burstyn as Lois Farrow, Jacy's mother, who romped with Sam in her younger days and has an off-and-on affair with Abilene. Burstyn was asked to read for the part of Genevieve, but she liked the part of Lois Farrow and asked if she could read for that and ended up reading for all three parts, including Coach Popper's wife. Bogdanovich thought she would be good as any one of them and decided he wanted her in the picture for any role she selected. She chose to be Jacy's mother because she thought the part interesting.[3]
Eileen Brennan as Genevieve, the café waitress, who inherits the café after Sam dies. Bogdanovich had seen Brennan onstage in the off-Broadway production of Little Mary Sunshine and thought she had the perfect face for the tired waitress. When she read the script, Brennan thought it so powerful she wanted very much to be a part of the film and gladly accepted the role.[3]
Randy Quaid as Lester Marlow, an unsavory character. Quaid was asked to read for the part of Bobby, the rich kid from Wichita Falls, but Bogdanovich thought he would be better as Marlow; it was Quaid's debut role.[3]
Clu Gulager as Abilene, a man the same age as Sam, who sleeps with both Jacy and Lois. Bogdanovich's first choice was the country singer Jimmy Dean, but his producers did not like that idea; his next choice was Gulager, whom he had seen give a great performance in Don Siegel's The Killers (1964). Gulager played hitman Lee with what Bogdanovich described as, "good regional quality."[3]
Bill Thurman as Coach Popper, the high school's athletic coach and Ruth Popper's husband; it is implied that he is homosexual, and he is confirmed as such in the director's commentary.
Frank Marshall as Tommy Logan, a high school student. Marshall had been a production manager on Bogdanovich's earlier film, Targets, and they had such fun working together that Bogdanovich had promised him something on his next film. He came along as assistant production manager working with Polly Platt on location scouting and played a small part as the student who is smacked on the backside by Coach Popper during basketball practice. He shows up again later as a football player in a scene near the end.[3]
Sam Bottoms as Billy the street-sweeper. Timothy Bottoms's younger brother Sam came along to stay with his brother for a few days as rehearsals started in Archer City. Seeing Sam sitting on some stairs, Bogdanovich asked him if he could act. Sam, who had appeared in productions of Santa Barbara Youth Theater since he was 10 years old, shrugged, and despite having previously cast the part to an actor from Dallas, Bogdanovich signed Sam up.[3][4]
Sharon Taggart as Charlene Duggs, Sonny's dumpy, unpleasant girlfriend in the first act.
Production[edit]
Peter Bogdanovich was a 31-year-old stage actor, film essayist and critic with two small films—Targets (1968) (also known as Before I Die) and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968)—to his directorial credit. One day while waiting in a cashier's line in a drugstore he happened to look at the rack of paperbacks and his eye fell on an interesting title, The Last Picture Show. The back of the book said it was "kids growing up in Texas," and Bogdanovich decided that it did not interest him and put it back. A few weeks later actor Sal Mineo handed Bogdanovich a copy of the book, "I always wanted to be in this," he said, "but I'm a little too old now," and recommended that Bogdanovich make it into a film. At the time Bogdanovich was married to Polly Platt and he asked her to read it, and her response was, "I don't know how you make it into a picture, but it's a good book."[3] Bogdanovich, McMurtry and some sources suggest[5] an uncredited Polly Platt went through the book and wrote a script that tells the story chronologically.
Stephen Friedman was a lawyer with Columbia Pictures, but keen to break into film production and he had bought the film rights to the book, so Bogdanovich hired him as producer.[6]
After discussing the film with Orson Welles, his houseguest at the time, Bogdanovich decided to shoot the film in black and white.[3]
Larry McMurtry was born in the small North Texas town of Archer City. In writing about his hometown he renamed it "Thalia" and in order to film "Thalia" Bogdanovich went back to Archer City. But for the film he renamed it Anarene, a name chosen to provide correspondence to the cow-town of Abilene in Howard Hawks' Red River (1948).[7]
After shooting the film, Bogdanovich went back to Los Angeles to edit the film on a Moviola. Bogdanovich has said[3] he edited the entire film himself, but refused to credit himself as editor, reasoning that director and co-writer was enough. When informed that the Motion Picture Editors Guild required an editor credit, he suggested Donn Cambern who had been editing another film, Drive, He Said (1971) in the next office and had helped Bogdanovich with some purchasing paperwork concerning the film's opticals.[3] Cambern disputes this, stating that Bogdanovich did do an edit of the film, which he screened for a selection of guests, including Jack Nicholson, Bob Rafelson and himself. The consensus was the film was going to be great but needed further editing to achieve its full potential. Bogdanovich invited Cambern to edit the film further, and Cambern made significant contributions to the film's final form.
In 1973, largely because of the skinny-dipping party scene, the film was banned in Phoenix, Arizona when the city attorney notified a drive-in theater manager that the film violated a state obscenity statute. Eventually, a federal court decided that the film was not obscene.[8][9]
Awards and legacy[edit]
Academy Awards[edit]
WinsBest Supporting Actor: Ben Johnson
Best Supporting Actress: Cloris Leachman
NominationsBest Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges
Best Supporting Actress: Ellen Burstyn
Best Picture: Stephen J. Friedman, producer
Best Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Best Adapted Screenplay: Larry McMurtry and Peter Bogdanovich
Best Cinematography: Robert L. Surtees

 In 1998, The Last Picture Show was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. It also ranked number 19 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.[10] In 2007, the film was ranked #95 on the American Film Institute's 10th Anniversary Edition of the 100 greatest American films of all time.
In April 2011, The Last Picture Show was re-released in UK and Irish cinemas, distributed by Park Circus. Total Film magazine gave the film a five-star review, stating: "Peter Bogdanovich's desolate Texan drama is still as stunning now as it was in 1971."[11]
Stephen King's novel Lisey's Story makes repeated references to The Last Picture Show as the main character Scott Landon frequently watches the film throughout the novel during flashbacks.
Home media[edit]
The film was released by The Criterion Collection in November 2010 as part of their box set, America Lost and Found: The BBS Story. It included a high-definition digital transfer of Peter Bogdanovich’s director’s cut, two audio commentaries, one from 1991, featuring Bogdanovich and actors Cybill Shepherd, Randy Quaid, Cloris Leachman, and Frank Marshall; the other from 2009, featuring Bogdanovich “The Last Picture Show”: A Look Back, (1999) and Picture This (1990), documentaries about the making of the film, A Discussion with Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, a 2009 Q&A, screen tests and location footage, and excerpts from a 1972 television interview with director François Truffaut about the New Hollywood.[12]
Director's cut[edit]
In 1992, Bogdanovich re-edited the film to create a "director's cut". This version restores seven minutes of footage that Bogdanovich trimmed from the 1971 release because Columbia imposed a firm 119-minute time limit on the film.[3] With this requirement removed in the 1990s, Bogdanovich used the 127-minute cut on laserdisc, VHS and DVD releases. The original 1971 cut is not currently available on home video, though it was released on VHS and laserdisc through Columbia Tristar home video.
There are two substantial scenes restored in the director's cut. The first is a sex scene between Jacy and Abilene that plays in the poolhall after it has closed for the night; it precedes the exterior scene where he drops her off home and she says "Whoever would have thought this would happen?" The other major insertion is a scene that plays in Sam's café, where Genevieve watches while an amiable Sonny and a revved-up Duane decide to take their road trip to Mexico; it precedes the exterior scene outside the poolhall when they tell Sam of their plans, the last time they will ever see him.
Several shorter scenes were also restored. One comes between basketball practice in the gym and the exterior at The Rig-Wam drive-in; it has Jacy, Duane and Sonny riding along in her convertible (and being chased by an enthusiastic little dog), singing an uptempo rendition of the more solemn school song sung later at the football game. Another finds Sonny cruising the town streets in the pick-up, gazing longingly into Sam's poolhall, café and theater, from which he has been banished. Finally, there is an exterior scene of the auto caravan on its way to the Senior Picnic; as it passes the fishing tank where he had fished with Sam and Billy, Sonny sheds a tear for his departed friend and his lost youth.
Two scenes got slightly longer treatments: Ruth's and Sonny's return from the doctor, and the boys' returning Billy to Sam after his encounter with Jemmie Sue—both had added dialogue. Also, a number of individual shots were put back in, most notably a handsome Gregg Toland-style deep focus shot in front of the Royal Theatre as everyone gets in their cars.[3]
Sequel[edit]
Texasville is the 1990 sequel to The Last Picture Show, based on McMurtry's 1987 novel of the same name, also directed by Bogdanovich, from his own screenplay, without McMurtry this time. The film reunites actors Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Timothy Bottoms, Cloris Leachman, Eileen Brennan, Randy Quaid, Sharon Ullrick (née Taggart) and Barc Doyle.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The Last Picture Show, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
2.Jump up ^ Biskind, Peter, 1998. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80996-6
3.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Peter Bogdanovich (2001) The Last Picture Show: A Look Back [DVD]
4.Jump up ^ LA Times-18 December 2008 Sam Bottoms's Obituary
5.Jump up ^ Jigsaw Lounge - Neil Young
6.Jump up ^ Kings Road Entertainment-Company History
7.Jump up ^ Filmsite - Tim Dirks
8.Jump up ^ "Censored Films and Television at University of Virginia online". .lib.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
9.Jump up ^ "Most Controversial Films of All Time". Filmsite.org. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
10.Jump up ^ Countdown: The 50 best high school movies | Photo Gallery | News | Entertainment Weekly[dead link]
11.Jump up ^ "The Last Picture Show Review". Total Film. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
12.Jump up ^ "The Last Picture Show". The Criterion Collection.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Last Picture Show
The Last Picture Show at the Internet Movie Database
The Last Picture Show at the TCM Movie Database
The Last Picture Show at allmovie
The Last Picture Show at Box Office Mojo
The Last Picture Show at Rotten Tomatoes
Criterion Collection Essay by Graham Fuller
Criterion Collection Essay by Danny Peary
Criterion Collection Essay by J. Hoberman

Awards
Preceded by
West Side Story Academy Award winner for
Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Succeeded by
Julia


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Films directed by Peter Bogdanovich


1960s
Targets (1968) ·
 Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968)
 

1970s
Directed by John Ford (1971) ·
 The Last Picture Show (1971) ·
 What's Up, Doc? (1972) ·
 Paper Moon (1973) ·
 Daisy Miller (1974) ·
 At Long Last Love (1975) ·
 Nickelodeon (1976) ·
 Saint Jack (1979)
 

1980s
They All Laughed (1981) ·
 Mask (1985) ·
 Illegally Yours (1988)
 

1990s
Texasville (1990) ·
 Noises Off (1992) ·
 The Thing Called Love (1993) ·
 To Sir, with Love II (1996) ·
 The Price of Heaven (1997) ·
 Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Women (1997) ·
 Naked City: A Killer Christmas (1998) ·
 A Saintly Switch (1999)
 

2000s
The Cat's Meow (2001) ·
 The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004) ·
 Hustle (2004) ·
 Runnin' Down a Dream (2007)
 

2010s
She's Funny That Way (2014)
 

 


Categories: 1971 films
English-language films
American films
1970s drama films
American coming-of-age films
American LGBT-related films
Basketball films
Black-and-white films
Columbia Pictures films
Films based on novels
Films directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winning performance
Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winning performance
Films set in Texas
Films set in the 1950s
Films set in 1951
Films set in 1952
Films shot in Florida
Films shot in Texas
United States National Film Registry films
Screenplays by Peter Bogdanovich
Screenplays by Larry McMurtry





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