This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/movies by /u/Affectionate-Age715 on 2025-05-27 16:34:34+00:00.

I have watched this movie at least 2 dozen times in full and countless times through rewatching my favorite clips. I can quote this movie in my sleep.

On this rewatch, I noticed something.

Whenever he’s in control, or in a dominant or comfortable position, or victory, he is framed in the left looking towards the right.

Whenever he’s in danger, or undertaking a difficult task, or generally uncomfortable, or defeat, he’s framed in the right looking to the left.

He’s positioned in the centre when he’s in a state of ambivalence, being not quite sure where he’d be, what he’d do.

Be it the beginning of the movie where he’s reading his bike, or him leading into the desert, with his guide Tafas. Or him admonishing Sherif Ali for killing his guide, him reaching Faisal’s camp, talking to the prince privately, formulating the attack on Aqaba, crossing the nefud desert, rescuing Gasim, attacking Aqaba, walking with Allenby after convincing him to take Jerusalem, bombing the Turkish railways, agreeing to take Damascus, riding with his men towards Damascus, sitting in the aftermath of a brutal battle with a turkish brigade. In all these situations, he’s framed in the left looking rightwards.

Whenever he’s expressing displeasure or vulnerability, or conceding defeat, like being unhappy in the cartography room, being commanded to do something by his superiors, trying to convince Colonel Brighton and Prince Faisal to fight the right way, and later on trying to defend himself and convince Allenby to continue blowing up the Turkish strongholds, talking about how he was born out of wedlock riding into the anvil to save Gasim, later executing Gasim, leaving Aqaba to ride into Sinai, trying in vain to save Farraj from quicksand, trying to pass off as Arab when getting caught, suffering torture from the Turks, getting shot at by that turkish soldier. Him getting smacked by the british officer in the military hospital in Damascus and him finally leaving Arabia. In all those instances, he’s framed in the right looking leftward.

Whenever he’s in center, like him deciding to put Daud out of his misery, him talking about how he enjoyed the execution, him weighing the options between a job back home or go back to the Arabs, him pausing before joining in the slaughter of the Turkish brigade.

I wonder if it’s a cheeky in joke about Peter O’Toole being left handed.

Or a psychological trick, being that the Earth spins from west to east, a direction we associate with left to right. Him going towards the left from the right is him essentially going against what is written according to him.

Or a deeper commentary about how Lawrence is powerful when he embraces the contradictions of an Englishman going ‘native’, buying into his own hype, deciding for himself. He’s weakened when he has to defend himself, his authority is questioned, he denies the contradiction and he starts to doubt himself.

All I know is, this film never ceases to amaze me