Military historian Dan Snow MBE examines various historical films and explains what is accurate and what isn’t in the movies. Snow looks at over 250 years of military battles, exploring the battle tactics, strategies, and evolution of weapons throughout the years, and how these factors played into the historical war films’ timeframes.
In one episode, Snow looked at three very different films, discussing what was right and wrong about the American War of Independence in The Patriot, the Civil War in Glory, and finally the Middle East during World War I in Lawrence of Arabia. While a masterpiece, the David Lean movie was not accurate in many areas.
What Lawrence Of Arabia Gets Wrong About The Real-Life Story
The first thing that Dan Snow looked at in Lawrence of Arabia was the attack on Aqaba, an important Turkish base. This happens when Lawrence convinces the Arabian Prince Feisal to launch a surprise attack on the port to improve his supply lines. Feisal, however, only gave Lawrence 50 men.
Since Aqaba has its defenses pointed toward the sea, Lawrence attacks from the desert. However, while the scene looks incredible and was a high point in the film, Snow said that David Lean made most of it up. He even said that Lawrence shot his own camel in the back of the head in the real-life attack.
One of the biggest complaints about the inaccuracy of Lawrence of Arabia was the portrayal of Lawrence’s actual role in the battles. He had a significant role in the fighting by bringing his sensibilities to his Arab allies, but the Arab soldiers were just as responsible for the victories and decisions as Lawrence.
T.E. Lawrence himself was also depicted as much taller and more imposing than he actually was, with Peter O’Toole nine inches taller than Lawrence was. He was also portrayed as a man with a large ego, although this was inaccurate, as he had tried to remain anonymous after the war.
Lawrence of Arabia also misrepresented the other characters. General Allenby (Jack Hawkins) was shown as an adversary to Lawrence, but the two actually got along well. Auda Abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn) was also unfairly demonized as a man only concerned with wealth, when historical records show that is far from the truth.
It was also inaccurate to claim that T.E. Lawrence was one of the only members of the Allied cause helping in the Hejaz, with only one British officer there assisting him. In real life, several officers arrived to assist during this time, and even the French military sent men led by Colonel Édouard Brémond.
Some Aspects Of Lawrence Of Arabia Are Realistic
While the attack scenes on Aqaba were largely fictional, the way Lawrence and his men carried out the attack was realistic. Snow said that in World War I, trench warfare had soldiers setting up forts and firing on each other. However, attacks using charging horses and camels in open fields continued to occur in the Middle East.
According to Snow, this was a big reason Lawrence was considered such a mythical figure in the West. While people were digging in and fighting from the trenches in Europe, Lawrence was fighting like the Old West in Lawrence of Arabia, which was realistic to why he became so celebrated during his historical battles in real life.
Another factual aspect of this attack was Lawrence’s idea to launch it from the desert. Aqaba had guns that could fire 100 rounds a minute and would have killed everyone if they were pointed toward the desert. Since they were waiting for an attack from the sea, Lawrence’s attack overran them in the same way it did in real life.
This is what leads to the film’s realism. While Lawrence wasn’t the only hero, or even the person completely responsible for the victories, the depiction of the battles and the weaponry remains highly accurate, making the battle scenes some of the most exciting ever put onto film.
Lawrence Of Arabia Is Still An All-Time Classic, Despite Its Inaccuracies
While there are problems with the accuracy of T.E. Lawrence and some of the battles in the film, Lawrence of Arabia remains a beloved classic. Acclaimed directors like Steven Spielberg call it an all-time favorite, with Spielberg saying it was a huge influence on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Kathryn Bigelow said it inspired her to make The Hurt Locker, and everyone from Sam Peckinpah and Stanley Kubrick to Oliver Stone and Denis Villeneuve said it influenced their own filmmaking.
Lawrence of Arabia won six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, while being nominated for nine. It is one of the only films on Metacritic to have a perfect 100% rating and also holds a 93% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score.
The accuracy was not what sold Lawrence of Arabia; it was the filmmaking style and brilliance of director David Lean that made it a masterpiece.
Sources: History Hit on YouTube, The Arab Revolt by David Murphy
