Lawrence of Arabia Literary Elements

David Lean

Peter O'Toole

Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif

War epic, historical epic

English

Nine Academy Awards : Best Director - David Lean; Best Picture - San Spiegel; Best Cinematography- Freddie Young; Best Art Direction- Box/Stoli/Simoni; Best Sound - John Cox; Best Film Editing - Anne Coates; Best Soundtrack - Maurice Jarre; Best Actor in a Leading Role - Peter O'Toole; Best Supporting Actor - Omar Sharif.

1963

Sam Spiegel

World War One , "Arabia" including Turkey and Israel

Point of view is mainly that of T.E. Lawrence

Suspenseful, threatening but also exhibiting the black humor that characterizes the British military

Lawrence is the protagonist, the Turks the antagonists

The major conflict from a military perspective is between the British and Arabs against the Turks in an effort to take control of the region. The conflict between characters is chiefly between Lawrence and both his British superiors and with Sherif Ali

The taking of Damascus and the victory of Lawrence's army over the Turks

Lawrence's promotion foreshadows his sideways move to a desk job and the return to Britain that he is actually very much opposed to

Mr Dryden tells Lawrence that it is recognized to have a funny sense of humor which understated his reputation for being generally different to everyone else in every single way imaginable

Lean used a special Panavision lense that was 70mm so that he could get the widest possible shot and accentuate the grandeur of the location. He also filmed the entire movie frozen left to right to give the impression of the film being a journey.

There are no major examples of allusion in this film

It is Lawrence's abrasive personality and unwillingness to fit into the norms of his position that make him such an outstanding tactician and soldier

Sherif Ali draws a parallel between Lawrence's bravery and Arab bravery, offering to take his army uniform and give him Arab robes.