Brilliant, charismatic, enigmatic - T.E Lawrence is one of the most fascinating personalities of the twentieth century. Torn between his desire to be extraordinary and his simultaneous longing for anonymity, Lawrence had, according to Lowell Thomas (the American journalist on whom the character of Jackson Bentley in Lawrence of Arabia is loosely based) "a genuis for backing into the limelight."

Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in Wales in 1888, the second of five illegitimate sons of the Anglo-Irish Baronet Sir Thomas Chapman and Sarah Lawrence, who had previously been employed as a governmess in the Chapman household. As a child Lawrence had a fascination with archeology, as well as a love of castles and chivalric romance. He was a great lover and admirer of the arts, and especially of poetry. During the First World War Lawrence was to become a key figure in the Arab revolt, a role which would become increasingly important as the war continued, and would eventually earn him the title of "Lawrence of Arabia." Lawrence died in May 1935 after suffering severe head injuries in a motorcycle accident.

The man himself - studio shot.

Lawrence has been described as a man who showed a different side of himself to everybody, and never the same side twice. Lawrence's masterwork, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, an autobiographical account of his time in Arabia, provides numerous insights into (as well as raising more questions about) Lawrence's complex character. Much has been made of Lawrence's sado-masochistic tendencies, and his simultaneous fear and love of (or his fear OF loving) pain ("Pain of the slightest had been my obsession and secret terror, from a boy" Lawrence confesses in Seven Pillars). Lawrence once told his friend, poet and author Robert Graves, that he desired to "eat dirt until its taste is normal to me." Over the issue of Lawrence's sexuality there has been much debate. In an interview in 1986 Professor Lawrence explained the issue by saying "He hated the thought of sex. He had read any amount of medievel literature about characters... who had quelled sexual longings by beatings. And that's what he did."

In making Lawrence of Arabia Director David Lean and Screenwriter Robert Bolt faced the task of adapting and condensing the lengthy Seven Pillars of Wisdom into suitable material for a film, and the even greater challange of capturing on screen the mystery of Lawrence of Arabia.

Robert Bolt made the decision to reject the conflicting views of Lawrence historians and take Seven Pillars of Wisdom as Gospel (this meant, among other things, staying as true as possible to Lawrence's own account of the Deraa incident). The result, playwright Bolt's (A Man for All Seasons) first attempt at writing for a film, is a flawless, multi-layered screenplay which, far from re-moulding Lawrence to bring him into par with Hollywood conventions, explores the complexities of Lawrence's character and looks at the contrast between the legendary figure and the man, presenting him as the greatest of anti-heroes.

The performance of then newcomer Peter O'Toole is, quite simply, stunning. He captures perfectly the enigma of Lawrence and the struggle of a man trapped within his own extraordinary nature.

Quote:

"The 'trick', William Potter, is not minding if it hurts."

Background Information:

Marlon Brando was originally considered for the part of Lawrence, but dropped out to play Fletcher Christian in the remake of Mutiny on the Bounty.

Albert Finney was then considered for the role (although David Lean was not overly enthusiastic about the idea). Finney, however, later turned down the part, his main reasons for doing so being 1) he was afraid that playing the lead role in a Lean/Spiegal epic would turn him into a "star", which he did not want, and 2) because producer Sam Spiegel's contract bound him to several other pictures after Lawrence.

Peter O'Toole was chosen for the role when David Lean saw The Day they Robbed the Bank of England, which had O'Toole "playing a sort of silly-ass Englishman in a trout fishing scene."