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Summary: This is what movie making is all about
Review: I don't remember how many times I have seen this movie. The book, the characters, acting, camera work, art direction and music all comes together in a perfect symphony, watching this movie an unforgettable experience. This is what movie making is all about. The movie inspired me so much that I ended up studying Arabic language and living in the Middle East for three years.The scene Omar Sharif first appears obscured by mirage is no doubt one of the best scenes in the movie history.
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Summary: A River To The DVD Format
Review: Movie Summary: British officer T.E. Lawrence is balmy. He is sent out to be a military observer to Prince Feisal of Arabia in World War 1 and ends up leading the Arab revolt against the Turks. He does the impossible a few times along the way by uniting the warring Arab tribes and taking Aqaba. In the end he becomes a legend. My Opinion: Both the movie and the DVD are 5 stars. The story is so engaging that it was over far faster than it's 227 minutes would suggest. This is a movie that passes the test of time. It is a wonderful work of art. DVD Quality: This is an awesome two DVD set. It's wide screen anamorphic with a remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. There are way too many extras to list. What You Should Do: Buy this DVD. Rent it first if you have doubts, but you will not regret buying it. This is what DVD was meant to be.
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Summary: A must have to anyone who likes cinema
Review: The film (1962) is older than me (1964). I saw it once, when I was a little boy and there were movies with intermission. I believe most of you never went into sucha a session. Those days things were still done for the idea behind it, which was not necessarilly a commercial idea. It never came out of my mind. Lawrence of Arabia is the movie that best represents this obssession for doing it the way it should be done. Anyone on his/hers 25/30 years should at least watch this movie. There's no computer graphics, everything is REAL. Special Effects meant opening a hole in the sand, putting two guys inside to hold an actor who was supposed to die in a "moving sand". The rest is acting, writing, doing and doing it again until it felt perfect. Movies like this doesn't "happen" anymore. In my opinion, it is David Lean's best picture. Guess why Spielberg loves it. The DVD is up to the movie. Perfect image, good sound, thanks in part to Spielberg for the restoration. Many extras and making ofs to satisfy your curiosity and see the efforts done to produce such an amazing piece of entertainment for the eyes, the mind and the soul. Buy it with your eyes closed. They'll be pleased to not blink for about three hours.
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Summary: One of the greatest movies of all time
Review: Once in a great while, a movie will come along and change the way you interpret cinema. This is one of those movies. I think it is one of the five best cinematic achievements of all time, and I rank it up their with such heavy hitters as The Godfather, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, and The Bridge on the River Kwai. This movie is so grand and magnificant, and the DVD makes it all the more better. A widescreen version of the film remastered for picture quality, almost makes you want to cry when you find out it was made in 1962. Its that good. The sound is also great for all you people with surround, and a behind the scenes one hour documentery make this not only a great movie, but a great DVD. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys a good historical and very entertaining movie, and good features for afterwards. Winner of Best Picture, 1962. Starring Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Omar Shariff, Jack Hawkins, and Anthony Quinn.
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Summary: DVD transfer
Review: For the most part, the transfer was excellant. The wide angle shots in the desert showed vertical stripes in the blue sky that looked like the film was flickering by. Would have been nice if they had had a better print to transfer to DVD. The story itself is fascinating, Lawrence the man, the people involved, the local politics, the international politics.
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Summary: This is a FILM!
Review: I just finished watching this DVD and it's simply breath taking. This was the first time I had watched this film and I enjoyed it a lot. Lawrence is a very interesting character and I believe that this type of epic film did him justice. The cast was magnificent. Peter O'Toole was T.E. Lawrence and there was no question that he took the role very seriously. The film was photographed beautifully. The desert landscapes are unlike any others I've ever seen. This DVD gives you some great extras including a wonderful "Making Of" documentary that covers all the aspects of the production up to the opening. What I found most interesting is the short interview with Steven Spielberg about the film. This is obviously one of Spielberg's favorite films and it's really cool to see him gush over something he loves so much. I would like to see more directors on other DVDs explaining the films impact on them.
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Summary: Lawrence of Arabia: The Man, the Cast, The Story
Review: Of all historical/war films made in the 20th century, I believe this to be the best. T.E. Lawrence had been a favorite hero of mine long before the movie was made. I read the Seven Pillars of Wisdom as a teenager in Canada (c. 1949). The film is brilliantly cast and filmed in the desert locations. I can think of no one who could have looked the part (height aside) and played the roll of 'Aurence better than the wonderful Peter O'Toole. (To my knowledge, he has not made one bad, or poor, film during his career). And the other notable cast members were perfect in their roles. How David Lean (a superb director) was able to amass the Bedouin tribesmen as he did for this film I find quite amazing. (Perhaps they were members of the Jordanian army?). They added a high degree of realism to the story and the action scenes were extremely realistic. When one compares the film storyline to the actual events as they are recorded in Lawrence's books, and those of others, very little literary license was taken by the screenwriters and the director. The storyline followed the events as they happened with reasonable accuracy; better than most other films of that type. The producer(s) are to be commended for that. It is a wonderful film about a gifted yet tragic man, his associates and his enemies, which provides a fairly accurate picture of events which took place in the Middle East during the years 1914-1918. I doubt that such a film on the same subject could be produced again as was David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia". I watch this film many times during a given year - I never tire of it.
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Summary: A classic masterpiece
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was incredibly well-written, directed and acted. The audio and video of the DVD were superb. Many reviewers of this film saw Lawrence as a hero. I, however, did not. To me, Lawrence underwent a drastic change from the beginning of the film to the end. In the beginning, Lawrence was a kind-hearted man with one purpose, to unite the Arabs. For example, he took the two kids under his wing when they wanted to be his servant. He went back into the desert to find the one nearly-dead Arab. By the end of the film, Lawrence still wanted to unite the Arabs, but he was starting to get confused. He said he enjoyed killing the murderous Arab. He ordered the Arabs to attack the Turks in the middle of the desert before they went onto Damascus, taking "no prisoners." You could see the confusion in his eyes as he continued to shoot the Turks even after his gun jammed. He was filled with so much anger and hatred that even Sherif Ali knew Lawrence had changed. By the end, Lawrence did unite the Arabs but was not a hero; rather, Lawrence became a confused leader who did not really know himself.
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Summary: Sheer brilliance - at every level!
Review: Since previous reviewers have covered the DVD-specific aspects of this item pretty thoroughly I hope you'll understand why I'm reviewing the film contents rather than the physical presentation. T.E. Lawrence was, in several senses, a bastard.
He was the illegitimate son of a well-to-do Englishman who contributed financially to Lawrence's upbringing - but never had the faintest intention of formally recognising their relationship.
This, at time when class and parentage were key pillars of a totally hypocritical social system, goes a long way to explaining Lawrence's ambiguous feelings about his own identity (he used several different names at one time or another), even down to his *allegedly* waivering sexuality. It may also help to explain why Lawrence was so drawn to the vast emptiness of the Arabian desert, despite his upbringing in England's "green and pleasant land". In England, Lawrence had little option but to be whatever society made of him. In Arabia he was able to be whatever he cared to make of himself. (Which was no doubt why he had already spent quite some time in the Middle East before WW1 started - mainly on archaeological activities.)
Thus the word play between Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) "It is written..." and Lawrence (O'Toole) "Nothing is written unless I write it" has a significance far beyond Lawrence's sheer determination to return into the searing heat on 'The Anvil' to rescue Gasim (though there was indeed a real-life incident on which the episode was based). The subsequent episode in which Lawrence executes Gasim is not only about the metaphysical consideration of whether you can buck your fate. It also refers us back to this question of just how far a man can truly control his own destiny in the face of social pressures.
I personally believe that this brilliantly understated 'sub-text' is one of the primary reasons why the film has remained so successful for so long. A second, though less subtle, sub plot is linked to the nature of British Imperialism. When this film was made, most people living in Britain still remembered at least a part of the age of the great British Empire. At the same time, however, with lands and colonies being stripped away at an ever-increasing rate, we were already entering the unknown 'territory' of post-Colonialism. In part this meant a lingering pride in our previous power - when "half the world was coloured red" - but also a growing belief, in some quarters, that our main contribution to the countries we'd ruled had been to rip them off for as much of their wealth as we could lay our little hands on. In Victorian times we had justified our behaviour by elevating Darwinism - and particularly "the Survival of the Fittest" - to the level of both scientific and moral absolutes, thus excusing virtually any amount of disrespect to the natives of those countries we ruled over. With this idea in mind it is interesting to watch the interplay between the quintessential 'white man', Lawrence (even down to the colour of his robes) and the Arab 'hordes'. Note, for example, Lawrence's several announcements that the Arabs shall have this or that because *he* will give it to them. In reality, of course, it was Lawrence who was utterly dependent for his success.
This contrast of Arab and Westerner hits home hardest, I think, in the scenes in Damascus, both in the Arab Parliament and in the Turkish hospital. But it is not entirely one-sided. In the final scene in Allenby's office we find the General, the Machiavellian civil servant 'Mr' Dryden (brilliantly portrayed by Claude Raines) and King Feisal (Alec Guinness) in conference. It is they who will discuss and determine the future of Arabia, whilst Lawrence is 'bumped up' to Colonel - and shipped home to England (where he can no longer cause any problems). By the way, although, in the film, Lawrence's funeral follows straight on from his return from Egypt, there was in reality a gap of approx. 18 years between the two events, during which he tried hard to escape from his fame by joining the RAF (1922) as J H Ross, a mechanic, then the Tank Corps (1923) as T E Shaw, and back to the RAF in 1925. By the time of his fatal accident he had retired to a country cottage in Dorset. As a Brit. I find the film endlessly enthralling, and David Lean's direction is as profound and intelligent as you will find in ANY film from any country at any time. I wonder how it looks to non-Brits 8¬)
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Summary: Great Movie, Great DVD
Review: This is an epic classic that everyone should watch at least once. I bought this DVD and I have been very impressed with its features. Gone are the days when movies had such superb acting such as this.
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