they don't make films like this anymore
Movie: Lawrence of Arabia Directed by David Lean Starring: Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn
“If you are the man with the money and somebody comes to you and says he wants to make a film that's four hours long, with no stars, and no women, and no love story, and not much action either, and he wants to spend a huge amount of money to go film it in the desert--what would you say?” - Omar Sharif.
I never reviewed this masterpiece because I felt that analyzing it might lose its magical charm. Sometimes it feels ridiculous to dissect films that are perfect. Why do I love this movie so much? I don't know.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the cinematography is beautiful, the editing is smooth and ahead of its time, extraordinary script and the most fabulous duo on-screen — Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif. Despite all these, I won't point at any of them to say why I love this piece of art so much.
Lawrence of Arabia is one of those films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Apocalypse Now, where it's not the individual characteristics that make it a masterpiece but how every aspect of the film is in a state of flow. It reads like a poem instead of a novel. An epic ballad about a tormented hero who is unsure whether he's the hero or the villain of his own story.
It's the filmmaker's vision that creates masterpieces. Not the technicalities. While I don't like saying 'They don't make films like this anymore,' it's sadly a fact. I hope producers would stop being a bunch of pussies and take risks as they did with auteurs like David Lean, Coppola and Kubrick. Until then, we're stuck with mid-budget epics like The Northman. The Dune gave a glimmer of hope, but it was only because it was an adaptation of a popular novel. Kino is fucked forever. Fuck the corporates. OMG, how did this turn into a rant?
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