Lawrence of Arabia (50th Anniversary Collector's Edition) (1962)

** UPDATED NOV-15-2012 **

An extraordinary film has now become an extraordinary Blu-ray. David Lean's 1961 desert epic film about the enigmatic British officer T.E. Lawrence and his successes and struggles in the Arab countries during the early 20th Century remains (sadly) as relevant as ever regarding the Western world's unending struggles in the Middle East regions. The Oscar-winning classic is also a landmark event in film history, as it set a very high standard in epic film-making, acting, and, for the making of this Blu-ray, in film restoration as well. Director Lean and then-unknown actor Peter O'Toole's contribution in this film remain influential in the five decades since the film's initial release. And if it had not been for the efforts of restorers Robert A. Harris and Jim Painten, who discovered the film's original negative inside crushed and rusting film cans in Columbia's vaults in the 1980s, and proceeded to restore it to its original glory, we would not have had the pleasure of holding this Blu-ray in our hands. This 2-disc Blu-ray exclusive (no corresponding DVD is available) and a 4-disc (3 Blu-rays plus CD soundtrack) box set are the result of multi-year efforts on the part of the best professionals in the film business.

The aforementioned restoration by Harris & Painten, completed in 1989 and yielding a 227-minute director's cut, was the basis of this Blu-ray release. The running time is sometimes erroneously printed as 217 minutes, but that is actually the shortened running time of the PAL version with the typical 4% speedup. The restored version has always run 227 minutes in a 24-frame-per-second presentation. Older DVD editions may show a 217-minute run time, but be assured that this Blu-ray is not gaining an extra 10 minutes.

With a great film restoration as the basis, a digital scan in 4K resolution of the negative, and the great capacity and superior video & audio specs of a Blu-ray disc, this Blu-ray is unsurprisingly the look and sound of perfect, to borrow an old phrase. The picture is across-the-board perfect. Colors, brightness, contrast, and the amount of details are presented in demo-perfect levels, making the gorgeous deep-focus photography by Freddie Young an absolute pleasure to look at. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless English track, also based on material gained from the 1989 restoration, in which the restorers went to such great lengths as having the actors re-record missing dialogs, is the best this movie has ever sounded on home video. Dolby Digital 5.1 French and Japanese tracks are also included. Subtitle options are English, French, Japanese, Arabic, and Dutch. Those who need a Spanish audio track would need to get the region-free UK Blu-ray to get it, as the US Blu-ray does not have it.

The term "4K scan" refers to the 4096 horizontal pixels, a scanning density that is believed to be required to capture all the details of a 35mm film frame. Since "Lawrence of Arabia" was filmed in 65mm, almost twice as wide as 35mm film, it is apt to call this an "8K scan". Hence, some publications refer to this as an 8K scan, although 4K is a correct term as well if you talk about scanning density.

All 227 minutes of the film were put on a single Region-free dual-layered Blu-ray disc, hence no disc break as in older DVD editions. The overture, intermission, and the exit music are all played to a black screen, as per director David Lean's original wish.

Regarding bonus features, the movie disc also contains a "picture-in-graphics track" that is vaguely similar to a DVD-ROM feature (remember PCFriendly?) of the 2001 DVD edition, in which the movie playback is accompanied by on-screen trivias, stills, and maps. But fresh material seems to be used for this Blu-ray. The interface could be a little unwieldly, as the screen is divided into four areas with smallish navigational controls.

A second Blu-ray disc contains more bonuses, which include all featurettes (but not the trailers) found on the 2001 DVD edition. A couple of surprises here. Two vintage shorts, "In Search for Lawrence" and "Romance of Arabia", which were presented in crappy black-and-white on the 2001 DVD, are in glorious color on the Blu-ray, and in nice 1080p HD to boot. A nice brand-new extra is a new 21-minute interview, in HD, of Peter O'Toole, accompanied by film clips and stills.

All other extras on the 2001 DVD are presented unchanged on the Blu-ray, except that all have English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai subtitles. These features include an hour-long making-of documentary, a Steven Spielberg interview, a newreel of the New York premiere, a montage of publicity material, and vintage shorts "The Camels Are Cast" and "Wind, Sand and Star".

** REVIEW OF 2001 2-DISC DVD EDITION BELOW, POSTED APR-06-2001 **

Apart from the slightly soft, washed-out picture quality during the opening credits of the movie, the DVD edition of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is superb. The movie itself is spread onto 2 discs, with the disc break occurs just before Intermission. The Overture, Intermission, and the exit music are all played to a black screen, as per director David Lean's original wish. The picture quality looks as fresh and clean as, quite frankly, any film made in the 90s. In the dramatic shot where Lawrence appears on the far horizon after he rescued his Arab companion, the higher picture resolution of DVD makes it possible for us to notice his tiny figure whereas on VHS tapes or laserdisc it is so small it is almost impossible to see. Anyone who is serious about watching this film should get this DVD instead of any other version in order to appreciate the opulent cinematography and majestic atmosphere of this epic.

The disc has over 100 minutes of old and new documentaries and news footage about the making of the film, plus two well-designed DVD-ROM features (for Windows PC only): a interactive map showing the various journeys undertaken by the real T.E. Lawrence, and a "split-screen" feature that simultaneously plays the movie and shows you text of behind-of-scene information of the particular chapter of the movie that is playing. Since the DVD lacks a second audio commentary, being able to watch the film while reading facts about it is not a bad substitute.

The included "booklet" is a reproduction of the 1961 program given to theater goers, we are told. A nice touch: the disc case resembles Lawrence's diary in the movie.

It is unsurprising to me that some people find Lawrence of Arabia boring. If you have the attention span of a hummingbird, this is not a film you will enjoy. It has no car chases, no bikini-clad supermodels, and nary a kung-fu move to be seen. Instead, all it offers is tortured respect for everything it touches. Lawrence of Arabia is a film that elevated the art of cinematic storytelling to new heights, and it shows. It is the journey, not the destination, that the viewer should focus on. In order to enjoy this film, you must make a commitment to watch it. Get comfortable, have something to drink on hand (you'll know why about halfway through), turn off the phone, and put the remote under a pillow. I've seen a lot of films, and some I've liked to varying degrees, and others I've simply been satisfied that Hollywood didn't butcher the underlying work or premise too badly in pursuit of the lowest common denominator. Lawrence of Arabia is different. It is one of those truly rare films that makes you feel grateful for having seen it, for the efforts of all those involved to craft, create, and perserve over the years just so you might have the chance to see it. It is such a fine film that its merits are obvious, and negative statements about it tend to simply reflect back on the critic.

Why? Many reasons. The actors are likewise gifted with rare talent, and superbly cast. The settings and scenes are invariably breathtaking. The plot is engrossing and entertaining without ever becoming heavy-handed. Film students will while away hours discussing everything from the Christ imagery to the undercurrents of homoeroticism, but they do that with every film. I suggest you simply kick back and enjoy an excellent, time-honored epic about a stranger in a strange land. It is a harrowing, draining journey, but one you will not regret.

Buy Lawrence of Arabia (50th Anniversary Collector's Edition) (1962) Now

Dear Amazon,

Please stop posting reviews for films that are, essentially, written for another version of the DVD's (and cd's) and not the one posted.

There are several DVD versions of Lawrence of Arabia. They all differ wildly from each other in picture and sound quality.

How do you expect us to chose which is best for us if you post the same review from the 2001 version over and over and over again?

"Best dvd version yet."

Yeah, right in 2001 that may have been true. But Amazon, you've posted this review for every version of this DVD even though the review was for a DVD originally released in 2001!

Lawrence of Arabia has been remastered twice since then, and the subsquent versions are very, very different.

Please stop this and take some responsibility and post reviews ONLY for their specific versions or at least specify that the review was written for another version.

Read Best Reviews of Lawrence of Arabia (50th Anniversary Collector's Edition) (1962) Here

For me this epic film is tied with "A Bridge On The River Kwai" as the best movie ever made. This film had everything & more. The peerless acting of Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Jack Hawkins, & Anthony Quinn were perfectly cast for their respective roles. Fine cinematography, direction, action, suspense, special effects, & musical score made this a mammoth production that took two years to complete.

Set in world war one in the turbulent middle east, T.E.Lawrence attempts to unite the Arabs to overthrow their Ottoman Turkish rulers. He starts as a mapmaker for British intelligence in Cairo. From the very first frames you can feel the extraordinary WILL of this man. He burns himself with matches saying to his comrade "the trick is not to mind that it hurts." He is sent to spy on King Feisal{Alec Guinness}, but he soon finds that he identifies more with the arabs than with his fellow Brit's. His brutal journey to the king under the scorching desert Sun alone is worth four stars. He develops an unexpected & intruiging relationship with an arab chieftain Sherif Ali{Omar Sharif}, that moves the film ever forward. Without orders he crosses the desert to lead a motley group of fifty men joining Auda Abu Tayi{Anthony Quinn}, to attack the Turks at Aqaba. With the victory comes his fame as US reporter Jackson Bentley{Arthur Kennedy}, brings the story to the media's attention. He moves from one gruelling adventure to another showing an indomitable will that encourages his men to fight above what they thought their own abilities were. Lawrence Of Arabia is an epic that celebrates the empty silence of the arabian desert. the vast clips across the glowing desert show a tiny rider approaching, mesmerizing sunsets, battles, & camp details make this a masterpiece. Peter O'Toole gave the greatest performance ever in this film. I'm not saying that Gregory Peck did not deserve the Oscar for "To Kill A Mockingbird," just that O'Toole deserved it a little more. The former still has never won the Oscar, which for me is an unpardonable sin!

Want Lawrence of Arabia (50th Anniversary Collector's Edition) (1962) Discount?

There are actually 4 versions of this movie on DVD:

1. Bare bones single disc version (don't bother; I agree with reviewer)

2. 2-disc limited edition (which has lots of extras but the film quality is not the best of the versions out there) 2001 release

3. 2-disc superbit edition (which doesn't have the extras but the film quality is superior to the limited edition) 2003 release (out of print but can get on amazon marketplace or ebay)

4. 2-disc collector's edition (which has the extras and the superbit version of the film which is an excellent version also) 2008 release

Hope that helps.

PS I would only recommend #3 or #4 as the film quality is better on these version than #1 or #2.

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