Lessons from the director and his influential masterpiece.
In historical epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962), director David Lean gave us much more than simply one of the most famous edits in the history of cinema:
Lessons from the Desert
A four-minute featurette on the making of the film, Wind, Sand and Star: The Making of a Classic (1963):
A one-hour making-of, featuring interviews with David Lean, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, and more:
Lessons from the Director
“Dialogue compared to visuals is a bore; you are using a moving picture camera.” David Lean shares ‘What You Can Learn From Movies‘ in this interview with Charles Reynolds from 1958 (via David Lean Archive):
Tap here for full transcript
Do you believe that the same principles are involved in making a good amateur film as a good professional film? Absolutely the same. The only difference lies in the ambitiousness of the production, but a good film is good on any level, amateur or professional.
Then you believe that the amateur can learn something about film technique from watching good professional movies? Certainly, if he watches them in the proper way.
How would you advice an amateur to watch a film in order to learn from it? For example, how would you advise the amateur to watch ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’ (1957)? I would hope that he would be quite incapable of appreciating the technique of the film. I think that really good filmmaking conceals technique. If a film is really successful, the audience should be so caught up in it that they do not notice how it was made.
Do you think then that to really study a movie you should see it more than once, the first time for impact and to enjoy it, and the second time to learn from it? This sounds like a plug, but I think so. To really study a film you should have reached the point where you are no longer involved in the dramatic action. In a sense you must become bored with the story before you can study the technique. Of course as you become more and more accustomed to watching films in this manner you will automatically become more sensitive to technique on the first viewing.
Did you use this technique in learning? In my younger days, I used to spend hours in movie houses to watch the cutting.
From a Technical stand point what do you think is the mark of a good film? It tells its story in pictures. This is always the problem of good filmmaking. This is one of the biggest things that can be learned from any good movie. The amateur who wants to learn from viewing the films should try to constantly notice how the director is telling his story in terms of visuals. ‘How can I show it?’ is the questing the director must constantly ask himself. Of course, it is faster in shooting and much easier to tell a story in dialogue, but it is not as effective. Dialogue compared to visuals is a bore; you are using a moving picture camera.
Lessons for Directors
From Spielberg to Villeneuve to Scorsese – Lawrence of Arabia is your favourite director‘s favourite film:
Further Viewing
The inspiration and influence of Lawrence of Arabia, from its cinematic desert imagery, to its mystical Chosen One narrative, plus the presence of Sir Alec Guinness, can be clearly seen in galaxies far, far away…