7/7/23
Newsletter #389
The Crack of Dawn
In yesterday’s presentation of Mean Streets, instead of using the shooting script (oddly entitled, Season of the Witch), which is, for the most part, the scene; I used the transcription of the movie because I wanted to include all of Robert De Niro’s improvising, which really improves the scene (like, “D.D., disappointed dunce-ski,” which he inserted; or a line like, “Nobody will lend me money anymore,” for which De Niro found the beautiful alliteration, “Nobody’ll lend me no money no more”). Also, the scene is saturated with expletives, and I don’t want to insinuate that swearing has anything to do with great dialogue, although it certainly can be.
I’ve already written about the short opening scenes of Lawrence of Arabia (1962), with Lawrence and his guide, Tafas, riding camels across the desert, heading to see Prince Feisal, but I shall now use them again. In these little scenes the screenwriter, Robert Bolt, is establishing important information quickly and subtly, while also creating terrific short scenes. Once again, the visuals of the desert are beautiful, but it’s the dialogue that makes the scene great. Or, better yet, it’s both.
The journey has just begun, and we already know that Lawrence can read and understand Arabic. Since most of the dialogue should really be in Arabic, Robert Bolt must get you to understand, subconsciously, that although they’re speaking English very clearly, they’re really speaking Arabic. This is achieved by having Tafas, a regular guy, a Bedouin guide, speak perfect English, because in reality he’d speak perfect Arabic; and Lawrence speaks very carefully, because Arabic is not his first language. But he can speak Arabic, that why he’s there. And more than that is conveyed in very few words. We’ve seen the two men riding their camels across several fantastic desert panoramas, then they stop. Lawrence takes out his canteen.
Tafas: Here you may drink. One cup.
Lawrence fills a little silver cup, raises it to his mouth, then stops.
Lawrence: You do not drink?
Tafas: No.
Lawrence: I will drink when you do.
Tafas: I am Bedu.
Lawrence pours the cup of water back into the canteen. Tafas is amused.
It boggles my mind how much is established in those few lines. Bedu means Bedouin; Tafas doesn’t need water because a Bedu, so he is like a camel; Lawrence has something to prove; Lawrence’s attitude amuses and impresses Tafas. Subtler still, a relationship is being established, based on respect.
Tafas and Lawrence crawl up to the top of a sand dune and peer out into the vast, seemingly empty, desert. Tafas points.
Tafas: Bedu.
Lawrence can’t see anybody. He looks through his binoculars and does in fact see riders approaching, but even with binoculars they’re tiny. It is now established that Bedu have incredible vision. The next seen I have repeated in my head, or spoken aloud when I was alone, a thousand times.
Tafas: From here to Lord Feisal’s camp is Harith country.
Lawrence: I know.
Tafas: I am not Harith . . .
Lawrence lowers the binoculars and looks at Tafas.
Lawrence: No, Hazimi, of the Beni Salem.
Tafas is both astonished and very pleased. He nods and smiles.
Tafas: Aye!
OK, how would Lawrence know that unless he was an honest-to-God expert? And of course, that’s what he is. It’s now established. But even more so, the relationship between he and Tafas grows. There are a number of other great little scenes that supply us with even more information and tighten the bond between the two men. Lawrence gives his army-issued pistol to Tafas. They arrive at a well in the desert. Tafas, who is being very wary — like maybe he’s doing something wrong — drops a skin bag into the well and retrieves water for both of them. Lawrence drinks from his little silver cup and looks at his compass. Tafas offhandedly remarks, “The Harith are a dirty people.”
The next scene is one of the greatest scenes in motion pictures – the meeting between Lawrence and Ali (Omar Sharif). Both Lawrence and Tafas see Ali coming from a long way away. I could at this point stray to the DP, Freddie Young, and the lens he used, etc., except this is about the dialogue, which is as good as it can be. Tafas suddenly runs from the well to his camel and retrieves the pistol Lawrence gave him. A shot rings out, the pistol flies from his hand, Tafas is killed. Ali arrives, getting off his camel as slowly as possible. He picks up the pistol and turns to Lawrence.
Ali: Is this pistol yours, English?
Lawrence: No, his.
Ali puts the pistol in his belt. He walks over to the well and picks up the little silver cup.
Ali: His?
Lawrence: Mine.
Ali: Then I will use it. (He hoists the water up from the well and takes a cup. He points at Tafas’ corpse.) He is dead.
Lawrence: Yes. Why?
Ali: This is my well.
Lawrence: I have drunk from it.
Ali: (politely) You are welcome. (Ali points his stick at Tafas) He is nothing. The well is everything. And it is mine. I am Sherif Ali Ibn Kharish.
Lawrence: I have heard of you. I had not heard you were a murderer.
Ali: You are angry, English?
Lawrence: He was my friend.
Ali: That?
Lawrence: Yes, that.
It’s a great scene, but alas, the dawn has arrived. I guess the point is, the scene isn’t great because it’s “visual,” although it is, but it’s a beautifully written scene, with polished, brilliant dialogue, that are like diamonds. I’ve seen every extant inch of interviews with the director David Lean. When asked, “How did you come up with that great transition from blowing out the match to the sunrise in the desert?” Lean looked amazed and said, “I didn’t come up with anything. That’s what it said in the script, and I shot it.”
Oh, and this was all taken from the shooting script. Not a word was changed or improvised during shooting.
Have a great day.