In association with

Lawrence of Arabia - Two Disc Set [1962]
from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
starring Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Omar Sharif
directed by David Lean

Features:

• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

In 1962 Lawrence of Arabia scooped another seven Oscars for David Lean and crew after his previous epic, The Bridge on the River Kwai, had performed exactly the same feat a few years earlier. Supported in this Great War desert adventure by a superb cast including Alex Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole gives a complex, star-making performance as the enigmatic TE Lawrence. The magnificent action and vast desert panoramas were captured in luminous 70mm by Cinematographer Freddie Young, here beginning a partnership with Lean that continued through Dr Zhivago (1965) and Ryan's Daughter (1970). Yet what made the film truly outstanding was Robert (A Man For All Seasons) Bolt's literate screenplay, marking the beginning of yet another ongoing collaboration with Lean. The final partnership established was between director and French composer Maurice Jarre, who won one of the Oscars and scored all Lean's remaining films, up to and including A Passage to India in 1984. Fully restored in 1989, this complete version of Lean's masterpiece remains one of cinema's all-time classic visions. --Gary S Dalkin

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

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• "Miracle of a movie" Steven Spielberg
  When Omar Shariff enters as a speck on the horizon it takes him five minutes to reach the foreground. Letting a match burn down to his fingers, Peter o'Toole explains, "the secret is not to mind it hurting."
  Every frame of this movie, the greatest ever, stays in your mind's eye.
  What can I say about this 7 Oscar winner of 1962 that the other reviewers haven't said already? This is a wonderful film and a great epic that was directed by David Lean (Ryan's Daughter, Brief Encounter), he is probably... more info

• Accurate yet....
  Truly a magnificent movie! The director is a genius and it is even more evident when you see the documentary in the second disc which explains how the movie was made. The most facinating thing in the movie in my opinion is the immaculate accurancy and authenticity of the waredrobe.. especially the Arabian wardrobe... recreating that wardrobe even back then was no easy feat as most items have almost faded away from existance.
  However, the historical accuracy and value of the movie could benefit from a... more info

• Good Transfer?
  Every DVD version of this extraordinary film that I have seen or owned has had a slight 'flicker' problem running through the whole running time. I've seen the Superbit version, the original issue and an another version and all had this flicker. Can anyone enlighten me if they've finally made this go away? And before anyone asks, I have multiple DVD players and TVs and they all did it on each machine.

• fantastic timeless entertainment
  Cant think of many (if any) movies that can make the desert a nice place to be, but the sunrise shots really caught my eye and certainly appealed to me. yes its an old film, of which I am actually glad they kept the intermission in the dvd release for the reason of listening to glorious piece of music that identifies the film instantly. This film certainly deserved the praise its received. timeless entertainment for the family.

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