The "Lawrence" Experience

Sometimes, when you're not standing in a puddle with torrents of rain falling down around you, and you're not surrounded by what Justin refers to as "armchair philosophers," Seattle can be a pretty great town.
One of the perks of living here is the assortment of movie film houses, the grandest of which being the Cinerama. Yes, they rarely use the gigantic curved screen anymore and to hear people like Craig tell it, it's a shell of its former self, but if it's a shell, it's still pretty amazing. Especially when you get to see "Lawrence of Arabia" in 70MM. And especially when Craig knows, well, everyone, and you get to see it for free. Plus, Justin, Brandon, and I got a chance to hop into the booth there and see the first 8 reels (everything before the intermission) spooled up. For those of you who aren't like me and don't speak movie geek, 8 reels of 70MM (millimeter) film is absolutely enormous. 70 MM is a process that just isn't used anymore, which is a shame since it is twice the resolution of the 35MM prints we see on movie screens all the time.
It wasn't a packed house on Sunday, but it was a pretty good sized audience, especially considering that the Cinerama barely advertised this. I'd only ever seen "Lawrence" on DVD and while it is still a great movie that way, the small screen just does not capture the majesty of David Lean's masterpiece. You have to see it big, in 70MM. The vastness of the desert, Omar Sharif starting out as a tiny speck on the horizon as he slowly rides toward us. The detail is nothing short of staggering.
"Lawrence" is not an action spectacular and it does not move at break neck pace. David Lean didn't have short attention spans in mind. It is steadily-paced and probably the most assured movie I've ever seen. It's not like anything else. "Lawrence" isn't conventional in any way. It is a movie to take in rather than merely watch. The screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson is clever and offers Peter O'Toole the chance to deliver one of the greatest, if not the greatest, performance in motion picture history. The transformation of Lawrence over the course of the film makes Lean's sweeping epic an intimate character study. Made in 1962, "Lawrence of Arabia" is still a masterpiece and absolutely one of a kind.
After the movie in one of life's little coincidences, we stopped by a record store and what do I find but the vinyl album of Maurice Jarre's famed score. For 99 cents. The package was in terrible shape but the record looked perfect. Cool!
If you weren't able to make it yesterday you have three more chances to catch it at the Cinerama:
Tuesday the 24th at 7:15 PM
Sunday the 29th at 12:15 PM
Tuesday May 1st at 7:15 PM

It also plays tonight at the Ken Cinema in San Diego apparently. Not sure if they're running it in 70 or 35, but if you live down there you should check it out on the big screen. Trust me. "It's going to be fun."