Lawrence of Arabia is a film that my father always wanted me to watch when I was a boy. The thing is, when you are seven years old, you do not really care about a 4-hour film where the main character spends time wandering in the desert. However as I got older and found a deep appreciation for cinema, and especially in the years since Peter O' Toole's death, Lawrence of Arabia is a film that I have always wanted to see. I find myself struggling to put into exact words how I feel about David Lean's sweeping epic, but I will attempt to do so in this blog.
Lawrence of Arabia is the story of T.E. Lawrence, who led the Arab tribes against the Turks during World War I. The scope and sheer enormity of this film is beyond breathtaking. Every sweeping shot of the Arabian desert reminds you that a film of this quality cannot, and never will, ever be duplicated. This movie is also driven by an emotional and powerful performance from its star, Peter O' Toole. I love his character arc in the film because T.E. Lawrence is a vastly different man at the end of the film than he was at the beginning.
David Lean is the director of Lawrence of Arabia. As I mentioned before, I love the shots of Lawrence traveling through the desert. Logistically speaking, it is completely unfathomable to imagine the lengths that the cast and crew went through to make this movie. For me, the standout scene is when Lawrence rescues the man from the desert. I love the way this is shot because you just do not know if Lawrence is going to get to him in time. Lawrence of Arabia is a rare piece of perfect cinema, and that is in large part due to the direction of David Lean.
Lawrence of Arabia is the definition of a classic that, unfortunately, seems to be lost on this generation of film fans. I absolutely loved this film. However, I must point out that if you plan on watching it than you should probably make a day of it. You will not regret it at all.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Romantic Action
True Romance is another one of those movies that I had heard of, but never actually seen until now. Of course, the fact that this movie is written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott made me look forward to watching this movie even more. I have to say that I loved this film from beginning to end.
True Romance is the story of Clarence (Christian Slater) who steals cocaine from his girlfriends' former pimp. The rightful owners of the cocaine then attempt to track it down. Even though this movie clocks in at 121 minutes, it feels like a 3 hour epic and I mean that in the best way possible. The action is brutal, but more importantly the story is told in such a way that you care about the characters, and the ending of the movie brings closure to the film perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. I would have liked to have seen even a small sequence where Clarence finds out that his father, Clifford (Dennis Hopper), has been killed. I think this would have added to Clarence's motivations. Other than that, this is an epic and entertaining movie.
Christian Slater plays Clarence Worley. I love this character because he is a film and comic book geek at heart, but deep down he loves his lady, and is someone that you do not want to mess with at all. Slater plays this role perfectly, right down to his terrifying dark side. I must say that what makes the darkness so terrifying is the fact that it seems to come out of nowhere, as if all of Clarence's rage has been at a boiling point for years. Again, this adds to the character, and Slater shines in the role.
Patricia Arquette plays Clarence's wife, Alabama Whitman. Whitman is a woman who loves her man dearly and, like Clarence, has a dark side to her although it is in a different style. She will do anything to protect her man, even if it means her getting savagely beaten (honestly, that scene is incredibly brutal). Arquette completely disappears into character, giving one of the best female performances I have ever seen on film.
Tony Scott is the director of True Romance. As with any Tony Scott film, the action is incredibly fast-paced and filmed very well. However, there are two scenes in the film that stick out for me and they both involve on character confronting another character. These scenes are slow and drawn out, and you feel the tension build because of the way they are shot. These scenes are also uncharacteristic of Tony Scott pictures, and I personally think he did them incredibly well.
What can you say about Tony Scott films that has not been said before? The man was a genius, and True Romance is an unmitigated classic. You get invested with the characters, which makes you care about them during the action sequences. If you have not seen True Romance, treat yourself to it. You will not regret it.
True Romance is the story of Clarence (Christian Slater) who steals cocaine from his girlfriends' former pimp. The rightful owners of the cocaine then attempt to track it down. Even though this movie clocks in at 121 minutes, it feels like a 3 hour epic and I mean that in the best way possible. The action is brutal, but more importantly the story is told in such a way that you care about the characters, and the ending of the movie brings closure to the film perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. I would have liked to have seen even a small sequence where Clarence finds out that his father, Clifford (Dennis Hopper), has been killed. I think this would have added to Clarence's motivations. Other than that, this is an epic and entertaining movie.
Christian Slater plays Clarence Worley. I love this character because he is a film and comic book geek at heart, but deep down he loves his lady, and is someone that you do not want to mess with at all. Slater plays this role perfectly, right down to his terrifying dark side. I must say that what makes the darkness so terrifying is the fact that it seems to come out of nowhere, as if all of Clarence's rage has been at a boiling point for years. Again, this adds to the character, and Slater shines in the role.
Patricia Arquette plays Clarence's wife, Alabama Whitman. Whitman is a woman who loves her man dearly and, like Clarence, has a dark side to her although it is in a different style. She will do anything to protect her man, even if it means her getting savagely beaten (honestly, that scene is incredibly brutal). Arquette completely disappears into character, giving one of the best female performances I have ever seen on film.
Tony Scott is the director of True Romance. As with any Tony Scott film, the action is incredibly fast-paced and filmed very well. However, there are two scenes in the film that stick out for me and they both involve on character confronting another character. These scenes are slow and drawn out, and you feel the tension build because of the way they are shot. These scenes are also uncharacteristic of Tony Scott pictures, and I personally think he did them incredibly well.
What can you say about Tony Scott films that has not been said before? The man was a genius, and True Romance is an unmitigated classic. You get invested with the characters, which makes you care about them during the action sequences. If you have not seen True Romance, treat yourself to it. You will not regret it.
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