A Very Modern Hero - Why 'Lawrence of Arabia' holds up so well.

National Review ^ | 6/27/2020 | Kyle Smith

[Borges]

David Lean also made A Passage to India. He cast Guinness a lot.

[dfwgator]

I know there was a recent Russian Production of Zhivago I’ve been wanting to check out.

[RooRoobird20]

Alec Guinness also played the part of Fagin, a Jew, in the
movie “Oliver Twist.”

[elcid1970]

All the Turks were firing Mauser pistols, including the one who tried to off Lawrence; every time he raised it I thought, I gotta have one of those! Took years before I did.

In grad school I saw some dudes around a car with the hood up. They were Turks. I got it to start up again. Grateful, they bought me a beer.

We talked Turkish politics (Ataturk was a god to them) and then I asked if they’d seen Lawrence of Arabia. They exploded. I recall them saying:

“That movie cannot be shown in our country!!”
“It is nothing but Arab propaganda!!”
And then....
“We are not a bunch of queers!!!”

That’s how I learned that Turks are not cool with Arabs, Muslim or not.

[Bratch]

ping

[Dr. Ursus]

There’s a great documentary on her and a bad movie starring Nicole Kidman. We visited Jordan and Wadi Rum- very inspiring!

[bagman]

The Soviet Union did get involved, publishing secret treaties and agreements made by France and England, in an effort to turn the Arab populace against those two countries. This effort was made after the Great War ended.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

“Introducing Peter O’Toole as T. E. Lawrence.”....having had a major part in The Day They Robbed the Bank of England in 1960.

And with Antony Quinn in SAVAGE INNOCENTS(1960). His voice was dubbed over making him sound different.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053244/

[Pollard]

I like blackened chicken

Does that make me racists or woke?

[Kickaha]

The “death wobble”.

[decal]

“...Alec Guinness playing Faisal of Iraq”

And Anthony Quinn playing Auda Abu Tayi

And not one female speaking role.

[left that other site]

Yeppers.

[LeoTDB69]

Just don’t pee in the punch Newbomb!

Oh wow. So many of those classic 70-80’s movies we just don’t much of anymore. That movie was hilarious, but great in so many other ways capturing that last summer together for friends after graduation. It makes me feel nostalgic.

[dsc]

“And not one female speaking role.”

Why would there be? Do we have to rewrite history?

[MikelTackNailer]

I found Peter O’Toole’s beauty distracting to the story.

Omar Sharif: "Peter, your guyliner and manscara are awesome!"

O'Toole: "Soyboy pantywaists will emulate me years from now."

[Hildy]

Did you ever see Peter O'Toole's acceptance of a special Oscar. THIS is an acceptance speech and he thanks the United States. Pure class. Watch from the 4:00 mark or else you will hear bloviating from Meryl Streep.

Peter O'Toole Special Oscar acceptance speech.

[MikelTackNailer]

My attempt at levity was no dig on O'Toole - the "guyliner" was David Lean's makeup department. He was a great actor who always brought a little more than the material he was given. That he and Richard Harris had drinking duels whenever one ran into the other is the stuff of legend.

[ek_hornbeck]

o dig on O'Toole - the "guyliner" was David Lean's makeup department. He was a great actor who always brought a little more than the material he was given. That he and Richard Harris had drinking duels whenever one ran into the other is the stuff of legend.

Peter O'Toole belongs to a very interesting cohort of actors: classically trained Brits from working class backgrounds. They bring all of the techniques of the theater and Britain's literary tradition thanks to their training and education, but also a raw grit that you didn't see as much of in their more upper-class counterparts. You get the best of both a Brando and an Olivier with their work.

Along with Peter O'Toole and Richard Harris, you had Richard Burton, Robert Shaw, and (slightly younger) Nicol Williamson and the recently deceased Albert Finney. These "angry young men" of the stage and screen remain some of my favorites.