STUDIES AND RESEARCH

Lawrence of Arabia — Characters and ideas

This paper is an analysis of some aspects of David Lean’s 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia. Narratively, this film may be divided into three parts, while thematically it combines the formulas of the biographical film, the historical epic and the so-called imperial film. As such it represents a perfect exempla of these genres or subgenres while, at the same time, functioning as a commentary on them.

The paper also represents an overview of two possible approaches to this film. The first is a character analysis, or an analysis of the main thematic and semantic formulas through numerous characters (beginning naturally with the hero in the title), their relationships and their semantic potential.

The second is an analysis of its political aspects which attempts to define its place in the ideological spectrum. Both approaches lead to the same conclusion: Lawrence of Arabia is a semantically rich work that presents us with certain bitter and pessimistic reflections on civilization, politics and, ultimately, human behavior.

Bruno Kragić