Lawrence Of Arabia [1962]

On the DVD: This vast movie is spread leisurely across two discs, with Maurice Jarre's overture standing in as intermission music for the first track of disc two. But the clarity of the anamorphic widescreen picture and Dolby 5.1 soundtrack justify the decision not to cram the whole thing onto one side of a disc. The movie has never looked nor sounded better than here: the desert landscapes are incredibly detailed, with the tiny nomadic figures in the far distance clearly visible on the small screen; the remastered soundtrack, too, is a joy. Thanks are due to Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg who supervised (and financed) the restoration of the picture in 1989; on disc two Spielberg chats about why David Lean is his favourite director, and why Lawrence had such a profound influence on him both as a child and as a filmmaker (he regularly re-watches the movie before starting any new project). Other features include an excellent and exhaustive "making-of" documentary with contributions from surviving cast and crew (an avuncular Omar Sharif is particularly entertaining as he reminisces about meeting the hawk-like Lean for the first time), some contemporary featurettes designed to promote the movie and a DVD-ROM facility. The extra features are good--especially the documentary--but the breathtaking quality of both anamorphic picture and digital sound are what make this DVD package a triumph. --Mark Walker

Lawrence of Arabia is a film split over two discs due to the length. Which is fine, I don't mind switching between discs halfway through the film. Particularly as this film was made with a intermission half way through. So when do you get prompted to change over the discs? 10 minutes BEFORE the intermission!
Columbia-Tristar clearly have donkeys working in their superbit DVD department if this is the kind of idiotic decision they make when mastering a film on a format DESIGNED for people who are 'Film buffs'.

What a wasted opportunity as the film looks and sounds absolutely fabulous in this format, but it is all spoilt by some fools stupid decision on where to place the disc changeover. Why not the Intermission? Is it THAT DIFFICULT?

Rant over.

Once again, don't buy this. Maybe they'll re-release it and do it properly


Stunning!   June 13, 2001
33 out of 34 found this review helpful

I can never understand why people buyy certain titles on DVD when video is adequate. Exercise videos spring to mind! But the masterpiece that is Lawrence of Arabia is one of those films that really benefits from digital technology. Painstakingly restored, the stunning scenery, sensitive soundtrack and sheer self-indulgence of the director overwhelm the viewer into thinking that 4 hours is not long enough! It takes over 2 minutes for Omar Sharif to ride up on his camel, during which time only two or three words are spoken and the camera hardly moves. If this kind of film were made today it would be slashed into a 90 minute action movie. Buy it. It will never be matched.


Why don't they make them like this anymore!   December 24, 2002
26 out of 26 found this review helpful

From the success of Bridge over the river Kwai, David Lean settled on the story of Colonel T.E Lawrence or Ned to his family and friends, with which to once again captivate and entrance his cinematic public. Perhaps Mr Lean did not anticipate the size of the task that awaited him as if had it might have put him off.
It was a risk for Mr Lean and his backers, after all this was a story that was surrounded in mystery, controversy and conflicting testimony, with the enigmatic Lawrence at its centre. The times had moved on and audiences were demanding big names and new cinema, David Lean had the big names(Alec Guiness, Jack Hawkins & Anthony Quinn) but the two central characters (Lawrence and Ali) were played by two relatively unkown actors, Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, a big gamble for any director with such a fantastic story to tell.

For the British in the first half of the century, the story of T.E Lawrence was a romanticised narrative, far departed from the hellish western front. He became much more than an intelligence officer in the British Army, he himself knew the power of propoganda and so did his political and military masters, not to mention the editors of papers back in England and the USA, for which Lawrence was a much needed "breath of fresh air" for the depreseive trench warfare reading of the first world war.

David Lean's film while not strictly historicaly accurate (depending upon which version of Lawrence's life you believe) is a master piece of cinema. The cinematography is ground breaking and the scale of production magnificent. This means that it feels "real" for the audience. No computer graphics here, so when you see the hundreds of arabs charging into Aqaba with sabres raised, those ARE real actors all charging hell for leather into a town (constructed entirely by Lean's team, another fantastic acheivment). This size of staging has to be admired and works beautifully in the film.

Perhaps the fascinating thing about Lean's film is that it does paint a balanced picture of Lawrence. Despite the conflicting testimony of his life and actions by many biographers and Lawrence himself, Lean rightly decided to air those darker sides of Lawrence's war time life along side his projected golden media image. This is summed up beautifully at the start of the film when a British hack asks an American journalist (who had met Lawrence during the Arabian campaign) for a few words after the remberence service for Lawrence at St Pauls. The American journalist gives only complimentary rhetoric (on the record) and then when the hack moves off delivers a cutting slur against Lawrence's character. Perhaps this is why the film works so well, it does not paint Lawrence as a "superman" who is above all vices and cleaner than clean, something American cinema did so well and continues too. Lean presents Lawrence as a great man, nevertheless a man with demons who had a darker side, it shows how he was used to achieve those ends decided by his superiors as much as he used others to get what he wanted.

Peter O'Toole is a genius in the role, the cast as a whole all perform so well that you forget that they are actors and they become the characters they potray, this is surely what every actor and director hope to achieve but rarely do they. Lean and Co have created more than a film, its a ripping yarn, a master class in acting, directing, production, editing and casting. This reviewer recommends Lawrence Of Arabia with no reserevations.


The Desert Has Never Looked so Beautiful   June 18, 2002
E. A. Redfearn (Middlesbrough)
19 out of 23 found this review helpful

A film like this one deserves to be seen on DVD for it is quite simply stunning. Normally, on Video, the intense heat which the desert generates can cause background scenes to look fuzzy, but not here, for its simply wonderful. Moreover, the sound for a 40 years old film is very good too. A remarkable schievement by all those connected with the film, it has certainly stood its test of time. Of course, the film is not entirely historically accurate, the motor cycle accident which led to Lawrence's death in May 1935 didnt quite happen like that, but it doesnt really matter for what is more important, it tries to explain the complexity of Lawrence's character and his relationships with the Arabs and the British during World War One. Peter O'Toole played a wonderful part despite the fact that he was at least 5 inches taller than the real Lawrence. A great movie and a must see on DVD especially if you have a home cinema set up. Dont forget to switch off the central heating and keep cool drinks handy when you watch the film by the way.


Magnificent!   June 4, 2004
Doktor Futtocks
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

This is presented in the way that the original cinema-goers would have seen it. The music starts with a blank screen, like an overture before the curtain goes up (must fit some red velvet and gold braid to my TV!) and the original intermission marks the end of disc 1.
O'Toole and Sharif are devastatingly handsome, but even they struggle against the scene-stealing desert. If only IMAX existed when David Lean was making this masterpiece.
My only disappointment was the sound quality; the music especially sounded compressed and congested between the loudspeakers.
So that's 5 stars for the vision and 3 stars for the sound, averaging out at 4 overall.