Although
it occupies the number 5 position on the AFI list of the 100
Greatest American Movies Of All Time, every time I watch LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA, I become more and more convinced that David Lean’s
masterpiece should occupy the top spot. Without question, LAWRENCE OF
ARABIA, the multi Academy Award winning Best Picture of 1962, is a
completely captivating and completely mesmerizing motion picture, thanks
largely to Lean’s monumental vision that earned him the Academy Award
for Best Director. Additionally, every frame of this film is a majestic
work of art thanks to Freddie Young’s glorious Oscar winning
cinematography, plus Academy Award winner Anne V. Coates has so
beautifully assembled LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, that her work may be the
finest editing job in the history of the cinema. Of course, there is also
Maurice Jarre’s haunting Academy Award winning score, which sticks in
the viewer’s mind long after the film has ended.
Set
during WWI, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA recounts a portion of the military
career of one T.E. Lawrence (in a superb portrayal by Peter O'Toole), a
seemingly non-descript British officer, who is bored by his duties in the
military headquarters in Cairo. However, Lawrence’s knowledge of the
desert, the Arab people and their customs has caught the attention of Mr.
Dryden (Claude Rains) of the Arab Bureau, who sends the young officer out
on a special diplomatic assignment to confer with Prince Feisal (Alec
Guinness) and assess their efforts against the Turks, as well as their
intentions for the region. Lawrence’s diplomatic mission quickly becomes
something much more, as his assessment of the situation entails him
leading a small band of Prince Feisal’s army across the supposedly
uncrossable Nafud Desert, thus allowing them to attack the unfortified
side of Turk stronghold in the port of Aqaba- the side from which no one
should be able to launch such an attack.
Sherif
Ali (Omar Sharif) considers Lawrence's plan to cross Nafud Desert to be a
fool's errand, but goes along because should they survive, the taking of
Aqaba would help to turn the tide in the war against the Turks. While the
taking of Aqaba is a monumental achievement, Lawrence finds his greatest
challenge during his time in the desert to be uniting the various Arab
tribes, who would just as soon make war on each other, as they would the
Turks. This brief introduction to the plot barely scratches the surface of
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, but those who have never seen this complex film
really need to experience it first hand and not through a review. The
absolutely outstanding cast of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA also features
Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, José Ferrer, Anthony Quayle and Arthur
Kennedy.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made their Superbit DVD edition of LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA available in a 2.20:1 wide screen presentation that has been
enhanced for 16:9 displays. For the Superbit release, Robert A. Harris,
who undertook the complete restoration of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, was
consulted on the final color corrections applied to Columbia’s high
definition master of the film, which was then down converted to create a
new DVD master. This new master is more in keeping with David Lean’s
intentions for the movie’s look, and I must say, this presentation
offers a more film like appearance than the previous DVD master. The image
seems sharper and definition the definition better on this incarnation,
plus on my big screen display, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA looks a lot more
like the restored print I saw at New York’s Ziegfeld Theater.
Colors
are very rich in appearance and incredibly vibrant. In fact, the desert
sequences almost seem to pulse from the heat of the yellow sun beating
down on the golden sands. The stark blues of the desert skies are
effectively rendered and contrast nicely against the warmer tones of the
desert landscapes. Gone is the slightly red tinge applied to the color
correction of the previous incarnation of the film, which affected
everything, including the blueness of the skies. Flesh tones can run a
little warm, due to the fact that just about every character is dark
skinned or sporting a desert sun induced tan. Blacks appear absolutely
perfect, as do the whites. Contrast is truly excellent, as is the level of
shadow detail running through this forty-plus-year-old large format film.
The restored film element used for the transfer has some minor blemishes
and other visible anomalies, but is otherwise in excellent condition. This
being the Superbit title, the increased bit rate of the process keeps
digital compression artifacts well concealed. However, the necessities of
the Superbit process do move the film’s intermission point about
twenty-seven minutes into the second disc, instead of the end of the
first.
LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA comes with 5.1 channel soundtracks in the varieties of Dolby
Digital and DTS. For this release, the original six track masters created
for the film’s 1988 restoration are used as the source for the digital
soundtracks. Right away I have to say that this is an astonishingly good
vintage soundtrack, with plenty of power and presence. It may not be up
there with today’s jaw dropping fully digital track, but man, LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA does indeed sound great on this Superbit release. The track
has that cavernous quality that I remember from its engagement at the
Ziegfeld, with plenty of ambient sound and musical fill going to the rear
channels. Additionally, sound effects are exceedingly well deployed in the
surround channels.
The
forward soundstage has a very broad and spacious quality, which not only
enhances the sound effect, but Maurice Jarre’s music. There are some
limitations in the overall fidelity of these vintage recordings, which
does affect the music somewhat, but the overall quality is still
impressive. The bass channel is solid and does get a few licks in during
the course of the film, but isn’t anywhere near to modern levels.
Dialogue is always completely understandable, although anything looped in
postproduction is somewhat obvious. As for the differences between Dolby
Digital and DTS, there are fairly inconsequential, due to the age and
overall fidelity of the forty-year-old recordings. DTS offers a bit more
musicality and spaciousness, but probably not enough for average listeners
to notice. Subtitles are provided on the DVD in English, Spanish, French,
Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai. No supplements are provided on this
Superbit title, since all of the storage space on the DVD has been
allotted to the bit rate for both the video and audio.
LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA is truly one of the greatest, if not the greatest motion
pictures of all time. The Superbit DVD is as close as anyone will get to
seeing a restored print of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA this side of high
definition. If seeing and hearing the absolute finest edition of LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA is important to you, then this is a must own DVD. Absolutely
recommended.
Although
it occupies the number 5 position on the AFI list of the 100
Greatest American Movies Of All Time, every time I watch LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA, I become more and more convinced that David Lean’s
masterpiece should occupy the top spot. Without question, LAWRENCE OF
ARABIA, the multi Academy Award winning Best Picture of 1962, is a
completely captivating and completely mesmerizing motion picture, thanks
largely to Lean’s monumental vision that earned him the Academy Award
for Best Director. Additionally, every frame of this film is a majestic
work of art thanks to Freddie Young’s glorious Oscar winning
cinematography, plus Academy Award winner Anne V. Coates has so
beautifully assembled LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, that her work may be the
finest editing job in the history of the cinema. Of course, there is also
Maurice Jarre’s haunting Academy Award winning score, which sticks in
the viewer’s mind long after the film has ended.
Set
during WWI, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA recounts a portion of the military
career of one T.E. Lawrence (in a superb portrayal by Peter O'Toole), a
seemingly non-descript British officer, who is bored by his duties in the
military headquarters in Cairo. However, Lawrence’s knowledge of the
desert, the Arab people and their customs has caught the attention of Mr.
Dryden (Claude Rains) of the Arab Bureau, who sends the young officer out
on a special diplomatic assignment to confer with Prince Feisal (Alec
Guinness) and assess their efforts against the Turks, as well as their
intentions for the region. Lawrence’s diplomatic mission quickly becomes
something much more, as his assessment of the situation entails him
leading a small band of Prince Feisal’s army across the supposedly
uncrossable Nafud Desert, thus allowing them to attack the unfortified
side of Turk stronghold in the port of Aqaba- the side from which no one
should be able to launch such an attack.
Sherif
Ali (Omar Sharif) considers Lawrence's plan to cross Nafud Desert to be a
fool's errand, but goes along because should they survive, the taking of
Aqaba would help to turn the tide in the war against the Turks. While the
taking of Aqaba is a monumental achievement, Lawrence finds his greatest
challenge during his time in the desert to be uniting the various Arab
tribes, who would just as soon make war on each other, as they would the
Turks. This brief introduction to the plot barely scratches the surface of
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, but those who have never seen this complex film
really need to experience it first hand and not through a review. The
absolutely outstanding cast of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA also features
Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, José Ferrer, Anthony Quayle and Arthur
Kennedy.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made their Superbit DVD edition of LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA available in a 2.20:1 wide screen presentation that has been
enhanced for 16:9 displays. For the Superbit release, Robert A. Harris,
who undertook the complete restoration of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, was
consulted on the final color corrections applied to Columbia’s high
definition master of the film, which was then down converted to create a
new DVD master. This new master is more in keeping with David Lean’s
intentions for the movie’s look, and I must say, this presentation
offers a more film like appearance than the previous DVD master. The image
seems sharper and definition the definition better on this incarnation,
plus on my big screen display, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA looks a lot more
like the restored print I saw at New York’s Ziegfeld Theater.
Colors
are very rich in appearance and incredibly vibrant. In fact, the desert
sequences almost seem to pulse from the heat of the yellow sun beating
down on the golden sands. The stark blues of the desert skies are
effectively rendered and contrast nicely against the warmer tones of the
desert landscapes. Gone is the slightly red tinge applied to the color
correction of the previous incarnation of the film, which affected
everything, including the blueness of the skies. Flesh tones can run a
little warm, due to the fact that just about every character is dark
skinned or sporting a desert sun induced tan. Blacks appear absolutely
perfect, as do the whites. Contrast is truly excellent, as is the level of
shadow detail running through this forty-plus-year-old large format film.
The restored film element used for the transfer has some minor blemishes
and other visible anomalies, but is otherwise in excellent condition. This
being the Superbit title, the increased bit rate of the process keeps
digital compression artifacts well concealed. However, the necessities of
the Superbit process do move the film’s intermission point about
twenty-seven minutes into the second disc, instead of the end of the
first.
LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA comes with 5.1 channel soundtracks in the varieties of Dolby
Digital and DTS. For this release, the original six track masters created
for the film’s 1988 restoration are used as the source for the digital
soundtracks. Right away I have to say that this is an astonishingly good
vintage soundtrack, with plenty of power and presence. It may not be up
there with today’s jaw dropping fully digital track, but man, LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA does indeed sound great on this Superbit release. The track
has that cavernous quality that I remember from its engagement at the
Ziegfeld, with plenty of ambient sound and musical fill going to the rear
channels. Additionally, sound effects are exceedingly well deployed in the
surround channels.
The
forward soundstage has a very broad and spacious quality, which not only
enhances the sound effect, but Maurice Jarre’s music. There are some
limitations in the overall fidelity of these vintage recordings, which
does affect the music somewhat, but the overall quality is still
impressive. The bass channel is solid and does get a few licks in during
the course of the film, but isn’t anywhere near to modern levels.
Dialogue is always completely understandable, although anything looped in
postproduction is somewhat obvious. As for the differences between Dolby
Digital and DTS, there are fairly inconsequential, due to the age and
overall fidelity of the forty-year-old recordings. DTS offers a bit more
musicality and spaciousness, but probably not enough for average listeners
to notice. Subtitles are provided on the DVD in English, Spanish, French,
Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai. No supplements are provided on this
Superbit title, since all of the storage space on the DVD has been
allotted to the bit rate for both the video and audio.
LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA is truly one of the greatest, if not the greatest motion
pictures of all time. The Superbit DVD is as close as anyone will get to
seeing a restored print of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA this side of high
definition. If seeing and hearing the absolute finest edition of LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA is important to you, then this is a must own DVD. Absolutely
recommended.
