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Lawrence After Arabia for 162K dollars


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Lawrence After Arabia was made for only 162K dollars.  I saw it recently at my local cinema, followed by questions to Mark Griffin the director.. I'd be interested what others think of this movie.

As Mark points out,  this would hardly have paid the catering bill in David Lean's production !   I won't go into the story here,  which could contain spoilers if you aren't aware of it.  Just to say it introduces an alternative theory that the stunning  opening scene of  LOA doesn't show.  (Mind you... regrettably I never saw the director's cut of LOA.)

But coming back to the tiny budget of LAR,  I found it very interesting how this was made possible.  The movie was shot mostly around my home-county Dorset UK.  Locations were very carefully chosen,  trying to be as authentic as possible. Clouds Hill,  the actual house of T.E. Lawrence,  was used for some exterior shots.    This is normally open to the public, so the crew had to get the filming done in double-quick time before it opened.  Also they used the actual church of Lawrence's funeral.  However, the windows had been replaced in 1950s so aren't right, but if small things like this creep into a period movie does that ruin it ?   if the story survives intact. 

Needless to say on this budget, the movie wasn't done on film unfortunately.  However, I liked the general appearance,  if a little disappointed by some of the rural scenes.  And the green-screen.  I thought the Clouds Hill interior was very good lighting and composition.  And I have to say Derek Herbert's  Winston Churchill is very convincing. Worth seeing for him alone.  The scene on the airfield and in the hangar was well done.  Again, it was interesting how an authentic period Brough Superior motorbike (costing 340 dollars !!!)  was protected for the shooting.  The road accident closeup was done with it sliding on a dolly I believe,  and for the hangar  'after' scene we are not shown the damage thankfully due to the darkness. Just implied.   It's a very long take as well,  and apparently the traffic on the road outside meant they couldn't use the recorded dialogue. 

Another idea I found interesting: the film was produced in four one-week chunks,  starting in October 2018 and ending in June the following year.  So there was a long gap between the sessions.  And each week lasted only 5 days.  Some of the sets were done in a hotel,  so there were plenty of food breaks !  Maybe the fairly relaxed atmosphere helped keep the budget in check.  Having said that,  I think another 20K or so would have improved the look of the film.  And some cutting too would help, especially at the beginning.  I was a bit put off at first seeing the poster with Tom Barber Duffy as T.E.Lawrence.  But when I watched the movie he got into the part extraordinarily well, as well as playing his brother.   

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Apparently Mark Griffin only managed to get Clouds Hill quite late on, as the National Trust who own it were initially reluctant, maybe worried about the content of the film.

In his movie some things could have been done better maybe,  but the compelling story counts for a lot.  Maybe  that's good lesson for anyone planning a low-budget feature film. 

Trailer:

https://www.lawrencethemovie.com/watch

Edited by Doug Palmer
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