work film ◆ established
Lawrence of Arabia
also: Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- directed by
- David Lean
- edited by
- Anne V. Coates
- year
- 1962
awrence of Arabia is David Lean’s 1962 historical epic about T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt. Its editing is renowned for converting monumental landscapes and military movement into lucid dramatic form, while also staging some of cinema’s most famous transitions. The film is a touchstone for epic continuity, spatial clarity, and expressive compression.
editing breakdown
The film balances long-duration scenic spectacle with highly exact transitions and strong directional continuity. Anne V. Coates’s editing is most often cited for the celebrated match from a blown-out match to desert sunrise, but the larger achievement is the conversion of sprawling geography and campaign movement into legible, emotionally charged progression. The cutting rhythm alternates between contemplative expansiveness and sudden compression.
notes
Core epic-editing exemplar; the famous match cut makes it especially relevant to any grammar of graphic or conceptual transition.
notable sequences
- Match cut from extinguished match to desert sunrise
- Nefud Desert crossing
- Attack on Aqaba
- Lawrence’s return across the desert to rescue Gasim
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