# The Lawrence of Arabia appreciation thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079 "2010-08-22T16:55:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/41 "2010-08-26T01:46:18Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The real Lawrence was not such a photogenic character-he was short and far from handsome. he also fictionalized much of his activities-the rape by the Turkish general was probably an invention. > But the movies is great-superbly photographed and directed. True. See **Simplicio’s** post (#28) above. That’s Lawrence in the second photo, third from the right. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/42 "2010-08-26T02:24:22Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Don Corleone saying “Make him an offer he can’t refuse”. I believe it is “Don’t refuse.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/43 "2010-08-26T02:59:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Re: the casting of Guinness- > > [King Faisal I of Iraq](http://uqconnect.net/~zzhsoszy/states/islamic/iraq_faisal.jpg) > [Alec Guinness as King Faisal](http://www.reportfromcannes.com/images/lawrence_faisal.jpg) > There’s a very strong natural resemblance made even moreso by makeup. I don’t see anything racist about it, certainly no more than Irish-Mexican Anthony Quinn playing a Bedouin (or later a Greek) or Puerto Rican Jose Ferrer playing a Turk or Omar Sharif playing a Russian, also for Lean. David Lean wanted great actors in his movies, and he _always_ wanted Alec Guinness; he’d have probably cast him as a camel if there’d been no other roles and Guinness probably would have worn a hump and been believable. In addition to frequent collaborator with Lean, Guinness seemed to be a bit of a good luck charm for him. After a long series of films together, Lean made \*\*Ryan’s Daughter \*\*without Guinness and it turned out to be his first critical disappointment and financial flop after a string of successes. > [@Sampiro](#): > > I’m trying to remember if you ever seen any women in the movie other than the funeral scene at the beginning. Are there any in the Egyptian hotel scenes? You don’t really see them but you certainly hear the Bedouin tribesmen’s wives during the scene where they depart with Lawrence for battle. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/44 "2010-08-26T08:57:05Z")
Lawrence of Arabia is way up there near the top of my favorite-movie list as well. > [@Labdad](#): > > From Roger Ebert’s review of the restored print: > > > [@](#): > > > > … he turns around and goes back, to find a friend who has fallen behind. This sequence builds up to the shot in which the shimmering heat of the desert reluctantly yields the speck that becomes a man–a shot that is held for a long time before we can even begin to see the tiny figure. On television, this shot doesn’t work at all–nothing can be seen. In a movie theater, looking at the stark clarity of a 70mm print, we lean forward and strain to bring a detail out of the waves of heat, and for a moment we experience some of the actual vastness of the desert, and its unforgiving harshness. > > … I love this scene. Lawrence refuses offered water until he reaches Sherif Ali; then says “Nothing is written.” Although I like O’Toole, I’m afraid I’ve missed most of his films. :mad: One I enjoyed, though it was a box-office flop, is _Man of La Mancha_. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/45 "2010-08-26T09:35:26Z")
To second what is said above, if you like the movie and have a certain amount of patience, read the book. If you think that the movie is remarkable for its candid depiction of a far from perfect man, that is only being true to the book _and its an autobiography!_ Yes the accuracy of the book is in doubt, but few dubious autobiographies say as “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” does - explicitly and at length - that it is not to be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/46 "2010-08-26T13:49:27Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > To second what is said above, if you like the movie and have a certain amount of patience, read the book. If you think that the movie is remarkable for its candid depiction of a far from perfect man, that is only being true to the book _and its an autobiography!_ > > Yes the accuracy of the book is in doubt, but few dubious autobiographies say as “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” does - explicitly and at length - that it is not to be trusted. I saw the movie in its original run–twice. And it inspired me to read _Seven Pillars_, released in a paperback edition due to the film. Interesting stuff, especially for one of my tender years. It also inspired a lifelong love of Peter O’Toole. The character he played in \*My Favorite Year \*seems a lot like Erroll Flynn; he also seems a lot like Peter O’Toole. A severe health emergency in 1975 sidelined his career for a time–but also stopped his drinking. This extract from [Hellraisers](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-566034/Last-man-standing-How-Peter-OToole-outlived-cinemas-biggest-hellraisers.html) recounts antics from his years with the other notorious British stars–all dead. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/47 "2010-08-26T17:38:35Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Ooo! [URL=“[Turner Classic Movies](http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=4455)”] playing on TCM this coming Saturday (8/28) at 8 p.m. [gush] Thank you! Thank you for looking this up, I’m definitly going to watch it again. I love this movie and I love Peter O’Toole and I love, love, LOVE David Lean too. [/gush] ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/48 "2010-08-26T21:53:42Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > > [@salinqmind](#): > > > > Ooo! [URL=“[Turner Classic Movies](http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=4455)”] playing on TCM this coming Saturday (8/28) at 8 p.m. > > [gush] Thank you! Thank you for looking this up, I’m definitly going to watch it again. I love this movie and I love Peter O’Toole and I love, love, LOVE David Lean too. [/gush] Me too! 😉 oh, and IMO the ‘real’ T.E. Lawrence was not unhandsome! It’s just that Peter O’Toole is overly handsome. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/49 "2010-08-26T22:31:39Z")
Lawrence was one of my heroes as a kid and, thus, I wanted to see the movie. I don’t remember much about it other than that the opening credits sequence involved him cleaning his motorcycle for a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/50 "2010-08-26T23:07:42Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > I don’t remember much about it other than that the opening credits sequence involved him cleaning his motorcycle for a very long time. I don’t remember _cleaning_ the motorcycle. I remember the ride, though. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/51 "2010-08-26T23:38:48Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > > [@kidneyfailure](#): > > > > I don’t remember much about it other than that the opening credits sequence involved him cleaning his motorcycle for a very long time. > > I don’t remember _cleaning_ the motorcycle. I remember the ride, though. Well it has been 20 years since I last saw the film, but I seem to remember him cleaning or preparing it in some way. This was during the opening credits and it seemed to go on forever and ever. Am I confusing it with something else? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/52 "2010-08-27T00:00:31Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > Well it has been 20 years since I last saw the film, but I seem to remember him cleaning or preparing it in some way. This was during the opening credits and it seemed to go on forever and ever. Am I confusing it with something else? [spoiler] He was killed in a motorcycle accident, and they portray it in the film.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/53 "2010-08-27T00:02:31Z")
Well, yeah, I knew that. I am familiar with his life. But I have a specific memory of the motorcycle cleaning (or something) over the credits. It was a wide-angled overhead shot and IIRC he gets on the bike and speeds off at the end of the sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/54 "2010-08-27T00:31:24Z")
Too bad it wasn’t a Harley. Those kids would have heard him coming miles away. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/55 "2010-08-27T01:10:45Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Too bad it wasn’t a Harley. Those kids would have heard him coming miles away. Was it a Triumph? BSA? I have no idea who was making British bikes back then. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/56 "2010-08-27T01:16:49Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Was it a Triumph? BSA? > I have no idea who was making British bikes back then. [Brough Superior](http://www.broughsuperiorclub.com/pages/news/tel_brough/tel_brough.htm) > [@](#): > > Lawrence’s last motorcycle (George VII aka GW 2275, built in 1932), was fitted with all the best Brough Superior equipment of the day. In particular it was equipped with the Bentley & Draper rear suspension system, Castle Brampton front forks, Royal Enfield brakes and Lucas electrical equipment. Its engine number was 22000/S and its frame number was 1041.S. The machine sported an Amal 1.1/16-inch carburettor and a Jaeger 120mph speedometer. Lawrence was famed for giving that speedo plenty of exercise in his high-speed dashes along the lanes of England - in fact he broke it more than once! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/57 "2010-08-27T01:47:16Z")
Man, if you lose it at 120 you are hamburger meat. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/58 "2010-08-27T01:55:40Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Man, if you lose it at 120 you are hamburger meat. Almost did, once. High-speed shimmy at 125 on the ol’ Seca II. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/59 "2010-08-27T02:20:55Z")
I made 147 in my Opel GT. I realized that: 1. It didn’t make my penis any larger. 2. Girls wouldn’t lust after me. 3. No one would believe me. 4. I could die. So I quit driving fast. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079/60 "2010-08-27T22:27:41Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > Well, yeah, I knew that. I am familiar with his life. But I have a specific memory of the motorcycle cleaning (or something) over the credits. It was a wide-angled overhead shot and IIRC he gets on the bike and speeds off at the end of the sequence. Correct. As soon as the studio logo fades to black, the opening shot is, as described, an overhead shot of Lawrence preparing his motorcycle. This continues for the duration of the opening credits, which (according to the soundtrack album) lasts 2:13. So, yeah, kind of long. When the music ends there are a couple of quick close up shots as he kickstarts the motorcycle, and then it’s off down the jolly country lane of doom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lawrence-of-arabia-appreciation-thread/551079.md?page=4)