3 ms·
This makes me think of Peter O'Toole wearing that shining white ... garb in the middle of "Lawrence of Arabia" in defiance of all the filth in the desert. Lean
by ArkyBeagle 10y ago
This makes me think of Peter O'Toole wearing that shining white ... garb in the middle of "Lawrence of Arabia" in defiance of all the filth in the desert.
Lean did it because he could and because it reinforced the messianic oveure into which the character had fallen. And because it looked amazing in all that light. It still does. The failed theater at which I first saw this on posters kept that image for ten years or more.
But understood in the context of all that history, we gain that Lawrence was the agent of so much destruction. Destruction that we barely understand now.
So I hope all that gleaming white was worth it. Because I'd hate to think of the price we paid to get away from putty color.
- theoh 10y agoDeserts are dry, not filthy. White is the traditional colour for a tunic worn in those areas, according to this: http://www.pbs.org/lawrenceofarabia/revolt/clothing.html http://www.pbs.org/lawrenceofarabia/revolt/clothing.html Where does this "filth" idea come from?
- eli_gottlieb 10y agoWell, there is a whole lot of awful dust in the desert.
- ArkyBeagle 10y agoThe tunic got quite dirty later in the movie, and the character kept calling the desert "clean". Deserts have considerable quantities of dust. My take on the movie is that this was being communicated as a character detail of Lawrence, part of the messianic nature of the character.
- warble 10y agoDeserts are one of the cleanest natural environments. It's pretty easy to keep white stuff white there in comparison to grassland or forest (just to pick two at random)