What is the review of Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean?
AllMusic Review by James Christopher Monger. Composer Maurice Jarre 's majestic score for David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia is as epic and grand as the 1962 Oscar-winning movie itself. Bombastic and hypnotic, balancing sweeping strings and brass with violent percussion, Jarre (who also conducts) holds back nothing,...
What awards did Lawrence of Arabia win in 1963?
Lawrence of Arabia was nominated for ten Oscars at the 35th Academy Awards in 1963; it won seven, including Best Picture and Best Director. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama and the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Outstanding British Film.
Is Lawrence of Arabia a good movie?
Lawrence, portrayed by O'Toole, was selected as the tenth-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute. In addition, Lawrence of Arabia is currently one of the highest-rated films on Metacritic; it holds a perfect 100/100 rating, indicating "universal acclaim", based on seven reviews.
Was Lawrence really trying to help the Arabs?
“Some people think he was really trying to help the Arabs,” he replies, “but others think it was all a trick, that Lawrence was actually working for the British Empire all along.” When I press for his opinion, the sheik grows slightly discomfited.
Who did the music in Lawrence of Arabia?
Maurice JarreLawrence of Arabia / Music composed byHe was 84. Maurice Jarre, who wrote the hauntingly lovely “Lara's Theme” for “Dr. Zhivago” as well as the sweeping score for the epic “Lawrence of Arabia,” has died. He was 84.
What instrument did Maurice Jarre use in Lawrence of Arabia?
Jarre joins Ondes Martenot, harp, two pianos and cithera in a delicate and twinkling rendering of the A Phrase of the Desert Theme.
Who wrote the music for the film Witness?
Maurice JarreWitness / Music composed byMaurice Jarre, Jarre, Maurice - Witness: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Amazon.com Music. Comment: All of our used items are 100% Guaranteed to play.
Who composed the theme music for Dr Zhivago?
Maurice JarreOmar Sharif's bedside manner with Julie Christie made this film a classic as did Maurice Jarre's Oscar-winning score.
What is the theme song for Lawrence of Arabia?
Ouverture ThemeOuverture Theme (from "Lawrence of Arabia") (Remastered) - Single by Maurice Jarre on Apple Music.
Is Maurice Jarre still alive?
March 28, 2009Maurice Jarre / Date of death
Did they really build a barn in the movie witness?
An actual barn was built as a result of shooting the barn-raising scene. Unfortunately, the barn was torn down shortly afterwards. Kelly McGillis was working in a Greenwich Village coffeehouse when she got the part. Harrison Ford and Peter Weir went there to see her, and offer her the role.
Were Amish used in the movie witness?
Many were hired as Amish extras for the film. The Amish, however, took no part in it, or not that anyone can recall. "The Amish had no interest in what we were doing," says the film's producer, Edward Feldman. Though he met Amish people, he never built any close associations or friendships.
Did witness win any Oscars?
Academy Award for Writing (Or...Academy Award for Best Film...BAFTA Award for Best Origin...Writers Guild of America A...Edgar Award for Best Motio...Witness/Awards
Who won Oscar for Dr Zhivago?
“The Sound of Music” did win the best picture Oscar, beating out “Dr. Zhivago.” Christie had the role of Lara Antipova in “Zhivago.”
What instrument did Lara play in Dr Zhivago?
the balalaikaSynopsis. 'Lara's Theme' will stay with us forever. Maurice Jarre left the world last Sunday at the age of 84, some 44 years after the movie Dr Zhivago was released. However, the musical theme of the film, performed on the balalaika (a Russian stringed instrument), will stay with us forever.
What is the instrument in Dr Zhivago?
balalaikaDavid Lean's 1965 film Doctor Zhivago features balalaika prominently in the score and the plot. VulgarGrad, an Australian band fronted by actor Jacek Koman, plays songs of the Russian criminal underground, and uses a contrabass balalaika.
Does Lawrence of Arabia have an overture?
Lawrence Of Arabia Theme (Overture) - Maurice Jarre.
How long is the Lawrence of Arabia overture?
228 minuteAlternate Versions (6) There are technically four versions of the film: the original 222 minute print, then cut to 202 minutes after its 1962 premiere, the 187 minute 1970 theatrical re-cut and the 228 minute including the overture, entr'acte music and play-out music in the 1988 restoration.
When was Lawrence of Arabia re-released?
Lawrence of Arabia was re-released theatrically in 2002 to celebrate the film's fortieth anniversary.
How many Oscars did Lawrence of Arabia win?
Lawrence of Arabia was nominated for ten Oscars at the 35th Academy Awards in 1963; it won seven, including Best Picture and Best Director. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama and the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Outstanding British Film.
What did Lawrence give Auda?
He gives Arab robes to Lawrence to wear. Lawrence persuades Auda abu Tayi, the leader of the powerful local Howeitat tribe, to turn against the Turks. Lawrence's scheme is almost derailed when one of Ali's men kills one of Auda's because of a blood feud.
How did Lawrence launch a guerrilla war?
Lawrence launches a guerrilla war by blowing up trains and harassing the Turks at every turn. An American war correspondent, Jackson Bentley, publicises Lawrence's exploits and makes him famous. On one raid, Farraj is badly injured. Unwilling to leave him to be tortured by the enemy, Lawrence shoots him dead before he flees.
What is the movie Lawrence of Arabia about?
(film) Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British epic historical drama film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence and his 1926 book Seven Pillars of Wisdom. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel, through his British company Horizon Pictures, and distributed by Columbia Pictures.
Which is longer, Lawrence of Arabia or Gone With The Wind?
Thus, Lawrence of Arabia is slightly more than 1 minute longer than Gone With the Wind and is, therefore, the longest movie ever to win a Best Picture Oscar. In January 1963, Lawrence was released in a version edited by 20 minutes; when it was re-released in 1971, an even shorter cut of 187 minutes was presented.
Who urges Lawrence to return to Damascus?
A short time later in Jerusalem, General Allenby urges him to support the "big push" on Damascus. Lawrence hesitates to return but finally relents.
Who wrote the score for Lawrence of Arabia?
In 1961, Jarre's music career experienced a major change when British film producer Sam Spiegel asked him to write the score for the 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia, directed by David Lean. The acclaimed score won Jarre his first Academy Award and he would go on to compose the scores to all of Lean's subsequent films.
What genre of music did Jarre write?
Jarre wrote mainly for orchestras, but began to favour synthesized music in the 1980s. Jarre pointed out that his electronic score for Witness was actually more laborious, time-consuming and expensive to produce than an orchestral score. Jarre's electronic scores from the 1980s also include Fatal Attraction, The Year of Living Dangerously, Firefox and No Way Out. A number of his scores from that era also feature electronic / acoustic blends, such as Gorillas in the Mist, Dead Poets Society, The Mosquito Coast and Jacob's Ladder .
How many awards did Jarre win?
Jarre received three A cademy Awards and received a total of nine nominations, eight for Best Original Score and one for Best Original Song. He also won four Golden Globes and was nominated for ten.
What movie did Jarre compose?
His music for the final scene of the film is based on " Unchained Melody " composed by fellow film composer Alex North. Other films for which he provided the music include A Walk in the Clouds (1995), for which he wrote the score and all of the songs, including the romantic "Mariachi Serenade". Also to his credit is the passionate love theme from Fatal Attraction (1987), and the moody electronic soundscapes of After Dark, My Sweet (1990). He was well respected by other composers including John Williams, who stated, on Jarre's death, " (He) is to be well remembered for his lasting contribution to film music ... we all have been enriched by his legacy."
How long did Jarre's song stay on the chart?
Three of his compositions spent a total of 42 weeks on the UK singles chart; the biggest hit was "Somewhere My Love" (to his tune " Lara's Theme ", with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster) performed by the Mike Sammes Singers, which reached Number 14 in 1966 and spent 38 weeks on the chart.
What was the song that Lara's theme was in?
He followed with The Train (1964) and Grand Prix (1966), both for director John Frankenheimer, and in between had another great success in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago, which included the lyricless tune " Lara's Theme " (later the tune for the song "Somewhere My Love"), and which earned him his second Oscar.
Who did Jarre work with?
He worked with Alfred Hitchcock on Topaz (1969): although Hitchcock's experiences with the film were unhappy, he was satisfied with Jarre's score, telling him, "I have not given you a great film, but you have given me a great score.".
Who wrote the score for Lawrence of Arabia?
Film critic and historian Leonard Maltin said Jarre’s score for “Lawrence of Arabia” is one of his all-time favorites.
Who said Jarre worked with more directors than almost any other composer in Western cinema?
As a film composer during the last half of the 20th century, Burlingame said, Jarre “worked with more important directors than almost any other composer in Western cinema.”
How did Jarre die?
Jarre died in his sleep Saturday at his home in Malibu after a short illness, his wife, Fong, said, according to a family spokesman. Various news organizations have reported that Jarre had cancer.
What did Jarre say about Lean?
Lean, Jarre said, “gave me the best pictures, the opportunity to receive three Oscars for four films -- not bad! -- and he gave me his friendship. He was a gentleman. When I lost him, I lost not only a great director but a great friend.”
What movie did Jarre win the Oscar for?
Jarre won his second Oscar for Lean’s 1965 film “Doctor Zhivago”; Jarre’s hauntingly memorable “Lara’s Theme” became one of the decade’s most popular tunes.
How many times was Jarre married?
Jarre was married four times. In addition to his wife, Jarre is survived by his sons, composer-performer Jean Michel Jarre and screenwriter Kevin Jarre; and his daughter, Stefanie Jarre.
Who is Maurice Jarre?
Maurice Jarre, the French-born composer who won Oscars for his powerfully evocative scores for the David Lean epics “Lawrence of Arabia, “Doctor Zhivago and “A Passage to India,” has died. He was 84.
Who was Lawrence of Arabia?
Lawrence Of Arabia? Lawrence of Arabia was the name given to a British Intelligence Officer, Thomas Edward Lawrence, who fought alongside Arab guerrilla forces in the Middle East during the First World War. Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in Tremadoc, Caernarvon in north Wales in 1888. Before the outbreak of the First World War he worked ...
What happened to Lawrence of Arabia?
Their deaths affected him deeply and he felt guilty for staying in such a relatively safe, office-based position. However, the start of the Arab Revolt in June 1916 led Lawrence to undertake dangerous missions inside enemy territory in Arabia.
What did Lawrence claim about Damascus?
Lawrence claimed the fall of Damascus as a victory for Feisal and left the Middle East shortly afterwards. As soon as he returned to London he began to work for Arab independence. After the Armistice in November 1918, it was agreed that Feisal and Lawrence should represent the Arabs at the upcoming peace conferences in Paris. However, British and French leaders had already agreed privately on the future of Turkey's Arab territories in the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement. The Middle East was to be divided into British and French spheres, leaving no place for independent Arab states.
How long did Lawrence stay with Feisal?
Lawrence stayed with Feisal for two years and helped him to lead the Arabs north from the Hejaz to Syria. Feisal was advised and influenced by Lawrence and successfully seized the city of Akaba on 6 July 1917.
Why did T E Lawrence wear Arab dress?
Lawrence adopted Arab dress partly for practical reasons but also because of a dislike of formal uniform and a strong identification ...
What was Lawrence involved in?
Lawrence was involved in many of these activities and at the forefront of many vital victories. He was with the Arab troops that entered Damascus along with Allenby's forces on 1 October 1918.
What agreement did the British and French have with Turkey?
However, British and French leaders had already agreed privately on the future of Turkey's Arab territories in the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement. The Middle East was to be divided into British and French spheres, leaving no place for independent Arab states.
How tall was Lawrence of Arabia?
While six-foot, three-inch Peter O’Toole cut a towering figure as the lead in the 1962 epic biopic “Lawrence of Arabia,” the real Lawrence was only five feet, five inches tall. Lawrence remained self-conscious about his height, which may have been caused by a childhood case of the mumps.
Who did Lawrence work for?
8. Lawrence worked for Winston Churchill. In 1921, the future prime minister became Colonial Secretary and employed Lawrence as an advisor on Arab affairs. The two men grew to admire each other and became lifelong friends.
What motorcycle did Lawrence own?
Lawrence was an avid motorcyclist; he owned seven different Brough Superiors, dubbed the “Rolls-Royces of Motorcycles.”. On the morning of May 13, 1935, Lawrence sped through the English countryside on his Brough Superior SS100 motorbike.
What did Lawrence tell the British monarch?
Believing that the British government had betrayed the Arabs by reneging on a promise of independence, Lawrence quietly told the befuddled monarch that he was refusing the honor before turning and walking out of the palace. 8. Lawrence worked for Winston Churchill.
Why was Lawrence so self conscious?
Lawrence remained self-conscious about his height, which may have been caused by a childhood case of the mumps. 3. He first traveled to the Middle East as an Oxford archaeology student. Lawrence spent the summer of 1909 traveling solo through Syria and Palestine to survey the castles of the Crusaders for his thesis.
What was Lawrence's mission?
In 1914, the British military employed Lawrence on an archaeological expedition of the Sinai Peninsula and Negev Desert, a research trip that was actually a cover for a secret military survey of territory possessed by the Ottoman Turks.
When did Lawrence visit Buckingham Palace?
King George V summoned Lawrence to Buckingham Palace on October 30, 1918. Lawrence hoped that the private audience was to discuss borders for an independent Arabia, but instead the king wished to bestow a knighthood on his 30-year-old subject.
What did Lawrence do to learn Arabic?
Learning Arabic, he took to quizzing members of the local work crew on their family histories, on the region’s complex clan and tribal affiliations, and often visited the laborers in their homes to glimpse their lives up close. To the degree that these workmen had dealt with Westerners before, it had been in the master-servant form; to meet someone who took a genuine interest in their culture, joined to Lawrence’s very un-Western tolerance for hardship and hard work, drew them to the young Briton as a kindred spirit. “The foreigners come out here always to teach,” he wrote his parents from Carchemish, “whereas they had much better learn.”
Where did Lawrence first come to his appreciation of the Arab world?
There, on a promontory above a ford of the Euphrates sits the ruins of the ancient city of Carchemish.
What did Lawrence do after he graduated from Oxford?
The transformation was confirmed when, after graduating from Oxford, he wheedled his way onto a British Museum-sponsored archaeological expedition decamping for Carchemish. As the junior assistant on that dig, and one of only two Westerners permanently on-site, Lawrence saw to his scientific duties—primarily photographing and inventorying the finds—but developed an even keener interest in understanding how Arab society worked.
What is the movie Lawrence of Arabia about?
Added to this is the poignancy of his journey, so masterfully rendered in David Lean’s 1962 film, Lawrence of Arabia, of a man trapped by divided loyalties, torn between serving the empire whose uniform he wore and being true to those fighting and dying alongside him.
What did Lawrence write about the Middle East?
The Middle East’s austere terrain lured Lawrence: “The abstraction of the desert landscape,” he wrote in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, “cleansed me.” Ivor Prickett/Panos Pictures
Where did Lawrence fight in Aqaba?
A shopper examines produce at a market in Aqaba. Lawrence’s crucial battle for Aqaba occurred 40 miles north of the city. Ivor Prickett
Where did Lawrence go to study?
For his history thesis at Oxford, Lawrence resolved to study the Crusader castles of Syria, alone and on foot and at the height of the brutal Middle East summer. It was a 1,200-mile walk that carried him into villages that had never seen a European before—certainly not an unaccompanied European who, at 5-foot-4, looked to be all of 15—and it marked the beginning of his fascination with the East. “I will have such difficulty in becoming English again,” Lawrence wrote home amid his journey, sounding much like any modern college student on a junior year abroad; the difference in Lawrence’s case was that this appraisal proved quite accurate.
Overview
Production
Previous films about T. E. Lawrence had been planned but had not been made. In the 1940s, Alexander Korda was interested in filming The Seven Pillars of Wisdom with Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard, or Robert Donat as Lawrence, but had to pull out owing to financial difficulties. David Lean had been approached to direct a 1952 version for the Rank Organisation, but the project fell through. …
Plot
The film is presented in two parts, divided by an intermission.
In 1935, Lawrence dies in a motorcycle accident. At his memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral, a reporter tries, with little success, to gain insights into the remarkable, enigmatic man from those who knew him.
The story then moves back to the First World War. Lawrence is a misfit British Army lieutenant wh…
Cast
• Peter O'Toole as T. E. Lawrence. Albert Finney was a virtual unknown at the time, but he was Lean's first choice to play Lawrence. Finney was cast and began principal photography but was fired after two days for reasons that are still unclear. Marlon Brando was also offered the part, and Anthony Perkins and Montgomery Clift were briefly considered before O'Toole was cast. Alec Guinness had previously played Lawrence in the play Ross and was briefly considered for the part…
Historical accuracy
Most of the film's characters are based on actual people to varying degrees. Some scenes were heavily fictionalised, such as the attack on Aqaba, and those dealing with the Arab Council were inaccurate since the council remained more or less in power in Syria until France deposed Faisal in 1920. Little background is provided on the history of the region, the First World War, and the Arab Revolt, …
Release
The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 10 December 1962 (Royal Premiere) and was released in the United States on 16 December 1962.
The original release ran for about 222 minutes (plus overture, intermission, and exit music). A post-premiere memo (13 December 1962) noted that the film w…
Reception
Upon release, Lawrence of Arabia was a huge financial success and was widely acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. The film's visuals, score, screenplay and performance by Peter O'Toole have all been common points of praise; the film as a whole is widely considered a masterpiece of world cinema and one of the greatest films ever made. Additionally, its visual style has influenced many directors, including George Lucas, Sam Peckinpah, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Ridley …
Legacy
Film director Steven Spielberg considers this his favourite film of all time and the one that inspired him to become a filmmaker. Film director Kathryn Bigelow also considers it one of her favourite films, saying it inspired her to film The Hurt Locker in Jordan.
Lawrence of Arabia also inspired numerous other adventure, science fiction and fantasy stories in modern popular culture, including Frank Herbert's Dune franchise, George Lucas's Star Wars franchi…
Overview
Maurice-Alexis Jarre was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films from Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to A Passage to India (1984). He was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning three in the Best Original Score category for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Pas…
Film scoring
In 1961, Jarre's music career experienced a major change when British film producer Sam Spiegel asked him to write the score for the 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia, directed by David Lean. The acclaimed score won Jarre his first Academy Award and he would go on to compose the scores to all of Lean's subsequent films. He followed with The Train (1964) and Grand Prix (1966), both for director John Frankenheimer, and in between had another great success in David Lean's Doctor Z…
Early life
Jarre was born in Lyon, the son of Gabrielle Renée (née Boullu) and André Jarre, a radio technical director. He first enrolled in the engineering school at the Sorbonne, but decided to pursue music courses instead. He left the Sorbonne against his father's will and enrolled at the Conservatoire de Paris to study composition and harmony and chose percussion as his major instrument. He became director of the Théâtre National Populaire and recorded his first film score in France in 1951.
Music style
Jarre wrote mainly for orchestras, but began to favour synthesized music in the 1980s. Jarre pointed out that his electronic score for Witness was actually more laborious, time-consuming and expensive to produce than an orchestral score. Jarre's electronic scores from the 1980s also include Fatal Attraction, The Year of Living Dangerously, Firefox and No Way Out. A number of his scores from that era also feature electronic / acoustic blends, such as Gorillas in the Mist, Dead P…
Family
Jarre was married four times, the first three marriages ending in divorce. In the 1940s, his marriage to Francette Pejot, a French Resistance member and concentration camp survivor, produced a son, Jean-Michel Jarre, a French composer, performer, and music producer, who is one of the pioneers in electronic music. When Jean-Michel was five years old, Maurice split up with his wife and moved to the United States, leaving Jean-Michel with his mother in France.
Death
Maurice Jarre died on 28 March 2009 in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer.
Awards
Jarre received three Academy Awards and received a total of nine nominations, eight for Best Original Score and one for Best Original Song. He also won four Golden Globes and was nominated for ten.
The American Film Institute ranked Jarre's score for Lawrence of Arabia #3 on their list of the greatest film scores. His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list:
External links
• Maurice Jarre at IMDb
• Filmography, soundtrack reviews, capsule biography
• Obituary by the Associated Press on Legacy.com
• O'Connor, Patrick (31 March 2009). "Obituary". The Guardian. London.