I can't believe I forgot these!

Londo Mollari - Babylon 5 is Londo's story. We are so easily caught up in the fantastic struggle between humans and the minbari, everyone v. the Shadows, the Shadows v. the Vorlons, and everyone against everyone else that we forget whose voice welcomed us on board the 2.5 million tons of spinning metal, 5 miles long and located in neutral space.

Epic love stories like Sheridan and Delenn's, awesome space battles, and Arthurian myth merging with Lord of the Rings in physically-plausible (at least for the humans) science fiction all served as window dressing for the fall of our tragic hero.

Because as he rises, he falls. And his attempts at good and right for his people result in tragedy, unto his very death (no spoiler there; Londo tells us how he dies in the first episode of the first season).

It is still a tale of a patriot, a believer. A man who tried to do right and had his every happiness stripped from him in the doing.

It is also the best thing to ever grace the small screen. For a few moments, the new Battlestar Galactica came close, but its fall has made B5's legacy abundantly clear.

The story of Londo Mollari has brought tears to my eyes and had a profound effect on my upbringing. Debate, discussion, and elaborate storytelling found home in my houselhold 1993-1998. It forged a bond between my father, my sister, and I when, as an angsty, lonely teen, I was drifting away.

Londo taught me that means are just as important as the ends, but unto his last, one may still redeem himself.

Lawrence of Arabia - When I went over [livejournal.com profile] ellen_kushner's house back in December to help her recover data and reinstall software, both she and Delia Sherman highly recommended this movie. At the time it was playing at the Kendall, and the discussion centered on how it was a move made to be seen on as big a screen as possible.

Alas, with applications and the holiday season, I couldn't see it then. But through the magic of Netflix it arrived in my mailbox a few weeks ago. And, after convincing my friends that their ridiculously huge HDTV was necessary for this undertaking, we sat down to watch.

First let me state that Ellen and Delia were right on all counts. The movie is a cinematic masterpiece - gorgeous vistas and brilliant cinematography. It is a slow, winding piece that takes its time and doesn't skimp on characters, setting, or plot. It is subtle, and understated, and masterfully acted. The score is spectacular. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I also completely failed to recognize Alec Guiness in Prince Feisal's make-up. *Hangs head in shame.* I would say that my defense is only ever seeing him in Star Wars, that's no defense at all, really.

Another thing Ellen and Delia were 100% right about is the chemistry between Lawrence and Ali. Both the scene where Ali is listening to Lawrence's torture in Deraa and at the end, in Damascus, when we see Ali last and he's openly crying for Lawrence made my heart ache.

But really, they had me at Aqaba - with the two of them on their horses standing in the waves at sunset. Not only is it just a gorgeous shot, but the way it was handled - with first the setup of Lawrence, then the inclusion of Ali behind him was very expressive.

Even without Ali, Lawrence nearly drove me to tears. Both during his crossing of the Sinai and arrival in Cairo, and then again when he arrives in Jerusalem, back in uniform. The blood seeping through the bandages on his back and his assertions that he's where he belongs just plain hurt after his sojourn in the desert, his prancing around in the white Arabian garb (and what else was it but prancing, really?). To see him succumb to his baser instincts for revenge on those who did him no wrong (and be condemned for it by Ali, who nevertheless remains at his side), and retire a shell of a man was very little short of heartbreaking.

I'm not sure that the audience is supposed to like Allenby, but I can't help doing so. He's great at giving people enough rope to get the job done and then hang themselves. His refusal to accept Lawrence leaving the Arab Revolt, even in light of the torture is, if unsympathetic, understandable. And the whole concept of him encamped outside Damascus was well done.

I recognize the movie took considerable liberties with the real T.E. Lawrence (Wikipedia told me so), but on the whole I thought it respected the man's vision.

(And yes, I did make a new icon especially for this post.)
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