A crucial sequence in the film (dubbed the "seduction" scene by David Lean) has Lawrence returning to General Allenby's HQ after his rape at Deraa. Hoping to be "an ordinary man," he encounters Feisal, who reveals the existence of the Sykes-Picot Agreement. A disgusted Lawrence attempts to resign, only to be goaded back into the field by Allenby. The end of this scene can be viewed here.
Most of this scene was missing from earlier prints of the movie. In 1989, Robert Harris released his famous restoration, which added some 20 minutes to the existing version, including this scene. However, due to poor image and sound quality, the beginning of this sequence could not be restored. Even dubbing Jack Hawkins' dialogue with actor Charles Gray proved insufficient, and the scene could only be restored in part.
I'll reproduce the missing dialogue below. Most sites claim it begins after Allenby's "Tell me what happened," but they ignore the brief scene between Dryden and Bentley ("It's a little clash of temprament that's going on in there"). Regardless (from Reel.com):
MEDIUM SHOT: The terrace outside Allenby's office. Lawrence is seated in a chair. Allenby's leaning against a pillow, his bottom on the terrace railing.
ALLENBY : … Yes. Well, you've had a glimpse of the pit.
LAWRENCE: No, a glimpse of sanity. [Hard.] And I'm not going back.
[There is a short pause. Lawrence's eyes are on the general's epaulettes. Allenby notices and begins to unbutton his jacket.]
ALLENBY: You won't go mad, Lawrence. [Quite indifferently] You've got an iron mind.
LAWRENCE: Oh, no. [But he is pleased]
ALLENBY: Oh, yes. And here's another thing. When you ask for your "common humanity" you're crying for the moon. Common humanity's the one thing you can't have.
LAWRENCE: There's nothing else.
ALLENBY: There is, for one man every hundred years or so.
LAWRENCE: [Skeptical, but we can just see the poison starting to work] Me?
ALLENBY: [Taking off his jacket] Yes, I think so. [Regarding himself with the jacket] Isn't that funny? I feel quite naked. And that's the difference. I'm a leader because someone pins crowns on me. You're a leader … [Shrugs] … because God made you one, I suppose. There's nothing you can do about it.
[Allenby sits. Lawrence looks at him suspiciously, but feeling flattered and longing to accept the paternal embrace that seems to be offered.]
ALLENBY: You write poems, don't you?
LAWRENCE: Yes.
ALLENBY: Any good?
LAWRENCE: No. Bad.
ALLENBY: [Sympathetically] Hard luck.
LAWRENCE: It's not a matter of luck.
ALLENBY: 'Course it is. I grow dahlias myself.
[Allenby takes out photo of his house and his son. He peers at it, pointing to a patch of cabbage-like flowers in the background.]
ALLENBY: I've got good soil, good compost. I buy good plants. And I'm a conscientious gardener. But I don't have the luck to be a good one. So … [Grinning] I'm a gardening sort of general. Most generals are. But there have been poet generals. Xenophon was one. Hannibal … Nelson was the last. I think you're another.
LAWRENCE: [Skeptical, wearing a tremulous smile] Nelson and me? [He is asking Allenby to be merciful.]
ALLENBY: Yes.
LAWRENCE: That's an extraordinary thing to say to a man.
ALLENBY: Not to an extraordinary man it isn't.
LAWRENCE: [Thrusting it away] No, no.
ALLENBY: [Matter-of-fact] You must know it.
LAWRENCE: [Almost desperately] No!
Because of contractual obligations the scene won't be added to the actual film. Rather, the Blu-Ray will provide it as a special feature. Still, given my ambivalence to post-hoc restorations, I can hardly complain.
Lean and Robert Bolt considered this scene crucial to the movie, excising it only with great reluctance. Bolt supposedly considered it the best thing he ever wrote. Its historical value is unquestioned, but the scene would also add welcome character depth.
The scene shows Lawrence at his lowest ebb, shamed by his experience at Deraa and disgusted over British perfidy. Nonetheless, his egomania remains scarcely restrained. The scene shows Lawrence trying desperately to resist Allenby's advances, knowing from their first meeting that flattery is Lawrene's Achilles heel. His need for a father figure in Allenby makes the "seduction" more powerful. Unable to further maintain his false humility, Lawrence gives in, ending the scene on an even more grandiose note: "The best of them won't come for money... they'll come for ME!"
More interesting still is its characterization of Allenby. In the existing film Allenby is fairly two-dimensional, a skilled general who manipulates Lawrence for military purposes, with a smidgen of guilt masked by duty ("thank God I'm a soldier!"). This scene certainly develops his manipulative side even further. Even so, we get a small glimpse of Allenby the man: he takes off his uniform, discusses his family and hobbies, and shows himself a vulnerable human being. Other scenes only hint at this mixture of guilt and insecurity, a career soldier who recognizes Lawrence's unorthodox skill and resents it. Its deletion inarguably hurts the character and Jack Hawkins' performance.
On the other hand, the scene's excision makes sense. The existing Jersualem sequence is wonderfully economical. Bolt works a remarakble amount of character and plot exposition into a relatively brief, quick-paced sequence: Lawrence's inner turmoil, his growing stature, continuing outsider status ("Lays it on a bit thick, doesn't he?") even as his legend grows, not to mention British betrayal of the Arabs. The longer version also shows Bolt as playwright more than screenwriter, producing overtly florid, theatrical dialogue. Adding it would arguably hurt the pacing and make things drag. In a film as long as Lawrence, this is a reasonable concern.
Bolt's original script shows tantalizing remnants of further scenes. The extant scene with Allenby and Brighton discussing Lawrence's reports is longer, with Allenby all but expressing jealousy of Lawrence's fame and accomplishments: "(His reports are) not lies, poems." One fascinating sequence in an earlier draft, partly reproduced in Sabine Prufer's The Individual at the Crossroads: The Works of Robert Bolt, details a conversation between Lawrence and Auda abu Tayi immediately after the capture of Aqaba. However, I doubt these scenes are available, let alone filmed in the latter's case.
Of course, we won't know for sure until October 4th (the theatrical release) or November 13th (the Blu-Ray). Either way, it's one more reason to be excited about the restoration.
UPDATE, 11/19/2012: A 45 second clip can be viewed here. The whole scene on the collector's edition Blu-Ray is listed at around 7 minutes 30 seconds.
My main observation is that Lean and Robert Harris's concerns about voice matching are correct. Charles Gray doesn't sound a thing like Jack Hawkins in this clip. Strange considering Gray provides a closer vocal match in other sequences.
When I procure the Blu-Ray I'll report on the entire scene. Needless to say I'm as intrigued as ever after seeing this clip.
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