Lawrence of Arabia

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Summary: Lawrence of Arabia and Guinness, what else do you want?
Review: Simply one of the greatest films ever made, starring the greatest British actor of all time, Obi Wan Kenobi himself. See it or miss out on a grand adventure.

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Summary: Superbit makes all the difference
Review: This is the first Superbit DVD I ever bought. It's amazing, I still can not believe my eyes. I will not write about the movie itself, if you know your classics, then you will know what it is all about. This Superbit quality makes all the difference: sharp as a razorblade, perfect sound, this is the way a film should look like. Believe me, I used to be a projectionist. If you think 'normal' DVD's are great, you never saw a film in Superbit quality. Every movie should be available in Superbit.

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Summary: It doesn't get better than this!
Review: This spectacular DVD release of "Lawrence of Arabia" is the first edition to do true justice to this masterpiece of the cinema. Not only do we get the fully restored Director's Cut, complete with the full orchestral introduction & entre'act, letterboxed to view the full magnificence of the picture, the sound has been remastered wonderfully, & the picture itself is sharp, vivid & alive.

David Lean's remarkable film gamble starred two complete unknowns, Peter O'Toole as Lawrence, & Omar Sharif as Ali. His gamble payed off big; O'Toole inhabits the role of Lawrence so completely that he even resembles the "real" Lawrence quite closely. Sharif's Ali is introduced in one of cinema's most famous scenes, an endless long shot across the desert.

There are many fine reviews of this film, most of which are much better than I can write. This collection though, is worth mentioning. The additional features are excellent, although sometimes redundant; the archival "shorts" that were used as advertising in 1960/1 are extensively recycled through the hour long documentary on the restoration of "Lawrence of Arabia" Still, they are fun to watch. The documentary itself is quite good and very informative.

This film is one of the greatest ever made. This edition is the best yet. No home that owns a DVD player should be without "Lawrence of Arabia"!

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Summary: A DVD worth waiting for!!!!
Review: Well, for me "Lawrence of Arabia" is one of the greatest epic pictures out there and owning a home video version has been a quest all by itself. Finally, with this new super-bit DVD we seem to have reached Damascus or at least Aquaba.
I first saw the beautiful restoration work of Harris and Katz when a friend rented the 1988 VHS release, which is also the first time I saw wide-screen on a VHS as well and I liked it. I was one of the 1 percent of the population that ventured into high tech audio video with the Laserdisc accompanied by a surround sound receiver in the 90's. I got a used copy of the full-screen Laserdisc which featured the cut and unrestored version, but even that featured stereo sound and was mesmorizing. I than looked for the restored film and found Criterion had released two editions and Columbia Tri-star re-released it a couple of years later. I assumed the Tri-star release would be as good or better as the Criterion as newer releases of Lasers often had stronger colors and better transfers largely due to improvements in the medium. Actually, the Tri-Star disc had slightly weaker colors, but made for a satisfying viewing experience until one of the platers developed Laserdisc rot. By the time I looked for "Lawrence" on DVD the film had already had two releases and I decided to wait. I had heard that the Super-bit collection was a mixed bag and I noticed that some films that were not even billed as super-bit in fact had as high or even higher bit rate than some "Super-bit" releases. This time, with the help of Mr. Harris I think they got it right and from all the reviews here and my own experience I think this is the DVD to own if you treasure David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia". Enjoy the show and Thanks!

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Summary: One of the Greatest Films Ever
Review: It is difficult to describe one of the greatest films of all times. This film may even be the greatest film of all time. Such sweeping statements are difficult to defend because opinions are exactly that, opinions. Yet, this movie has much going for it that make it a must for any greatest films list, and makes the top of mine.

Let's begin with the peripherals. At a time when sets were common, this movie was filmed entirely on location. The desert scenes are all real. I believe the interiors were all real buildings, though I can not verify that. The music, most especially the theme, is unbelievable. The soaring violins are well matched to the expansive desert vistas, stretching away into infinity. The Arabian deserts are as immense as the American west. Also important were the costumes, which were highly detailed and seemingly quite authentic. Each and every aspect of this movie was so exceedingly well executed that it approaches perfection. In one of the DVD extras Peter O'Toole mentions that he was expecting to be filming this movie for five months, and instead ended up filming it for two years and three months, one indication of the care and complexity required to create this film.

If you have yet to buy this movie, then please do two things. First, buy the two-disk DVD with the marvelous extras, because they are worth having. The black and white documentaries are short but interesting. The interviews provide insight into those involved with the film. Second, buy the biggest television set or monitor you possibly can, and be sure you watch this movie in wide screen format. You miss too much with full screen. In fact, the optimal way to watch this movie is to have a surround sound system and an HDTV set up for wide screen format.

The movie itself is a classic of classics, the story of an English map maker in service to his country. Bored by what he is doing, he wants to see some action. Soon he does, but the action in which he is involved changes him. The movie is about how T. E. Lawrence grows from an idealistic young man to a battle hardened man who discovers that he likes killing, and yet is repulsed by it. The movie also proclaims that T. E. Lawrence was one of the principals involved in Arab independence, and the movie is about some of the seminal moments in the uniting of many of the Arab tribes. The movie also provides as much imagery about Lawrence's psychology as it does about his actions, because his psychology, from being able to put out a match with his bare fingers to calling for the elimination of a fleeing column of Turkish troops with the taking of no prisoners, provides insights into the complex psyche of the person of T. E. Lawrence.

The battles are exquisitely executed. The fights are extremely well choreographed, and I admire the stamina and dedication of the hundreds of people involved in the creation of this movie as they created this movie in desert temperatures. Given the care that is taken with safety in modern films, I believe this movie would be extremely difficult to film in the same way today.

Ultimately, the art, the story, the locations, the music, the script, the costumes and the action all come together to create an incredibly compelling and realistic story of T. E. Lawrence. This movie is a must-have for a collector of great films.

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Summary: My favorite movie
Review: I hope this film is re-released in theatres some time; small screens just do not to justice to the Arabian scenery.

What can I say that the others have not?

Just spectactularly filmed and acted. Perfect

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Summary: Joan Crawford does Lawrence
Review: Great movie for all the guys who liked to lay out the toy soldiers, GI Joes, cowboys & indians & stage dining room floor battles when they were kids & they are legion, I know. Very rousing, stirring, but still a bit confusing if you're trying to follow political or military planning or history. Hope the Brits come up with a mini-series that sticks a bit closer to the 7 Pillars of Wisdom & gets someone a bit more to (down-) scale for TEL. Personally I find O'Toole's performance gooier with each viewing.

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Summary: Oh come on, you know it's good!
Review: There's no getting around a simple, basic truth: watching Lawrence of Arabia in any home-video format isn't doing the film any justice, but to see it projected in 70 millimeter onto a huge theater screen is the only way to give this film it's just rewards. David Lean's masterful "desert classic" is still enjoyable on the small screen. Peter O'Toole gives a star-making performance as T.E. Lawrence, the eccentric British officer who united the desert tribes of Arabia against the Turks during World War I. Lean orchestrates sweeping battle sequences and breathtaking action, but the film is really about the adventures and trials that transform Lawrence into a legendary man of the desert. Lean traces this transformation on a vast canvas of awesome physicality; no other movie has captured the expanse of the desert with such scope and grandeur. Equally important is the psychology of Lawrence, who remains an enigma even as we grasp his identification with the desert. Perhaps the greatest triumph of this landmark film is that Lean has conveyed the romance, danger, and allure of the desert with such physical and emotional power. It's a film about a man who leads one life but is irresistibly drawn to another, where his greatness and mystery are allowed to flourish in equal measure. As for the DVD tranfer, I'd have to say that I've only seen the DVD version of the film, so I can't make comparisons, but I think that the transfer is perfect. Great film, a definite must see!

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Summary: The Perfect Movie
Review: Lawrence Of Arabia is perhaps the most perfec t movie ever made. It is the best confluence of acting, writing, directing, cinematography, score and casting I have ever seen. The story is compelling, the score is magnificent and the scenery is breathtaking. I HIGHLY recommend this film.

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Summary: Love this movie but it's just a movie
Review: It's certainly not history and you shouldn't change your life after watching it, but the filming and score and acting are so indelible that it's easy to see why so many viewers are touched for years by this excellent motion picture. If you have to by a film for a gift or to watch on a slow evening, this is the one - if you don't already have Casablanca, of course.