GONE WITH THE WIND & LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Film reviews by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1989 Jeff Meyer
Within a week, I've doused myself in the fountain of film retrospectives, to wit, seeing the restored versions of GONE WITH THE WIND and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Both of these are film classics in the strictest sense of the term, both are epics, both have intermissions (thank God!), and both are noted for all-star casts and memorable scores and impressive cinematography. And both of them, while entertaining diversions, struck me as being less impressive than I had expected from the superlative comments that have been written about them (though one was far more disappointing than the other).
First, GONE WITH THE WIND. Not having read the novel by Margaret Mitchell (nor having any particular wish to -- hint, hint), I can't comment on how well I thought the actors played their particular roles. If I have to give Victor Fleming credit for anything, it's the way he frames a shot: zooming slowly backwards to reveal the lines of wounded men in Atlanta (and the Confederate flag), zooming back to take in the staircase of the Wilkes estate. Come to think of it, was GWTW Fleming's vessel for introducing the world to the use of the zoom shot? Or the back-lit shadowed-figures framing? If he'd used the zoom lens any more often, it would have looked like one of SCTV's old 3D movie spoofs....
Yeah, the Technicolor's impressive as heck, and Gable's performance rarely sunk into ham acting, and Vivian Leigh had a few good scenes, too. But most of the writing isn't that impressive, and much of the acting is just plain mediocre. I've seen Leslie Howard in PYGMALION, and I know he can act (and direct), but you wouldn't know it from this. I can see why they picked Olivia De Havilland for Melly, though; by the time this was shot, she had the goody-two-shoes chipmunk look down pat. (I'd have to put De Havilland down as one of the three actors I'd have the most fun with if I dubbed over their dialogue.)
Okay, let's get down to brass tacks. It's one big long soap opera. Sure, the first half has some epic parts, but the second half is all bubbles, and then everybody decent dies in the final reel. Two women sitting next to me were crying during the last half hour. Now I cry at movies at some pretty stupidest things. (Remember Vincent Spano's girlfriend reviving at the last minute in CREATOR? Eyes got runny and everything. Yeah, I know, what a sap.) But for these characters? There's not a sympathetic one in the bunch, and certainly not Scarlett. Must be a side effect of all that zoom lens action...
Now, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is another thing. It definitely *is* an epic, and it uses the land as a symbol more powerfully in a single frame than 20 minutes of Vivian Leigh holding up soil in the air while the camera zoooooms back... anyway, I saw it in 70MM, and visually it is fantastic. The panoramas, the scenes of unbelievable scope (approaching the Bedouin camp, I kept thinking "This must be a matte!" It wasn't...), the aftermath of the battle with the Turks. This is a masterpiece of what can be done with a camera and some damn talented actors. It's also an amazing performance by O'Toole, though I had thought, from other reviewers' comments, that his character would be considered more heroic and/or tragic. I came away with the feeling that this was a man without all his marbles in one knapsack to begin with, and his combination of delusions and conscience strive to send him completely off his bean. A little bit of lithium, and think of the wonders he could have achieved.... I also thought that some of the desert/battle scenes dragged on a bit, but that could be a) because of the added footage or, b) my allergies were in full swing and I came home to discover I was running a slight temperature. So take into account a small bit of crankiness.
In short, I went to both these films expecting to see something special; only in LAWRENCE did I find what I was expecting. If the latter arrives in your town (especially in 70MM), do not miss it. As to GONE WITH THE WIND, wait for it to come on television again; then you'll be able to say you've seen it, and get some ironing done while you're watching.
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
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