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LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Four short featurettes from the film's original release are also included on the DVD. Wind, Sand and Star: The Making of a Classic, Maan, Jordan: The Camels Are Cast, In Search of Lawrence and Romance of Arabia are all 1960's puff pieces designed to stir up interest in the epic film, but are fun to watch now because they have become a bit creaky. Newsreel footage from New York premiere is also present on the DVD, as is a theatrical trailer, bonus trailers, an animated gallery of advertising materials and talent files. Both disc one and disc two offer a number of DVD-ROM supplements that include Archives of Arabia and the Journey With Lawrence interactive map. Both of these features are excellent and worth checking out for those with a properly equipped computer. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is truly one of the greatest motion pictures of all time. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment has produced a winning DVD presentation of the film that film buffs will most assuredly want in their possession. Absolutely recommended to them and anyone else building a DVD collection of classic films. |
This DVD review 
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DVD
reviews are Copyright © 2001 THE CINEMA LASER and may not be copied
or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. |
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Having
been fortunate enough to see director David Lean's epic LAWRENCE OF
ARABIA ($40) in New York's Ziegfield Theater after it's restoration,
I know that the film historians and critics are absolutely right about
this amazing motion picture. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is undeniably one
of the greatest films ever made. There is something about seeing LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA on the big screen that convinces one that there is indeed
a power and a majesty, which certifies filmmaking as a genuine art form.
One would never think that a movie containing vast amounts of sand, hundreds
of camels and no women could be something truly great, but LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA has the key ingredients required for greatness- a script
with well-defined characters, actors who bring those characters to life
and a director who can tell a story with a series of superb visuals. These
are three areas where LAWRENCE OF ARABIA truly excels.
Set
primarily during the First World War, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA dramatizes
the life of British officer T.E. Lawrence, beautifully played by Peter
O'Toole in his screen debut. Bored by his usual duties, Lawrence gladly
accepts a special diplomatic assignment offered to him by Mr. Dryden (Claude
Rains) of the Arab Bureau. Lawrence is sent out into the desert to confer
with Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness) and assess the progress of the Arab
revolt against the Turks. Quickly becoming more than a mere observer,
Lawrence's assessment of the situation entails leading the Arab forces
across the uncrossable Nafud Desert and attacking the Turk stronghold
in the port of Aqaba, from the side from which no one should be able to
launch such an attack. Of course, Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) considers Lawrence's
plan to be a fool's errand, but goes along because if the plan were successful,
it would turn the tide in the war in North Africa. During his time in
the desert, Lawrence accomplishes much more than simple military victories-
Lawrence finds his greatest success with his ability to unite the rival
Arab factions, who would just as soon make war on one another, as they
would the Turks. Certainly, this simple plot summary doesn't do justice
to LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, but I'd rather just whet one's appetite
for this marvelous film, instead of giving away the entire thing.
Every
frame of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is magnificent to behold thanks to
Freddie Young's amazing cinematography and the restoration done by Robert
A. Harris. I also have to commend the work of Anne V. Coates because LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA could quite possibly be one of the most beautifully edited
film of all time. There is something truly powerful about the way that
certain shots come together in the film. Of course, there aren't enough
accolades that one could heap upon director David Lean, it is his vision
that we see up on the screen and it is truly awe inspiring. The first
rate cast of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA also includes Anthony Quinn, Jack
Hawkins, José Ferrer, Anthony Quayle and Arthur Kennedy.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made LAWRENCE OF ARABIA available
on DVD in a wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback
on 16:9 displays. The new transfer frames the film quite close to its
2.20:1 theatrical aspect ratio and looks mighty impressive. In general,
the transfer provides a sharp finely detailed image that should be exceedingly
pleasing to those with large displays. Of course, after seeing LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA in 70mm, viewing it on a smaller monitor doesn't have the
same impact. For this reason, epic films like LAWRENCE OF ARABIA,
CLEOPATRA and BEN HUR should be re-issued theatrically every
few years. Colors are vividly rendered on the DVD, but I seem to remember
that the hues present in the theatrical print offered a bit more oomph
and depth. Still, this remains a truly excellent home presentation of
the film. Additionally, flesh tones are always appealing and stand out
quite well against the desert backgrounds. There are no signs of chromatic
distortion or bleeding anywhere in the image. Blacks are solid, plus the
picture delivers a good level of shadow detail, as well as marvelous contrast
and depth. The restored film elements are impressive, with the only overt
flaws being individual missing frames that occur a few times during the
presentation. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is presented on two dual layered
DVD, with the break between discs coming logically at the intermission.
Neither disc shows any signs of digital compression artifacts.
The
Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack is a very good representation of
the film's restored soundtrack. I don't think that LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
has sounded quite so good in the home venue as it does here, and the track
certainly comes close to recreating the cavernous sound that I remember
from the theatrical presentation. The inherent frequency limitations that
one associates with forty-year-old audio recordings do remind one of the
film's age, but the soundtrack is still quite good and helps to make the
breathtaking visuals even more involving. It is in Maurice Jarre's classic
score where the age of the recordings are most noticeable, but the music
still holds its own, sounding very respectable at modestly loud listening
levels. As for the bass channel, it is more than adequate to the task,
but one isn't going to find anything ground shaking on this track. The
forward soundstage has very good channel separation, which is utilized
for directional sound effects, as well as creating a stereo image for
the film's score. Dialogue is cleanly reproduced and maintains full intelligibility
throughout. Voices do sound a bit flat at times, but this it due to age
of the recordings and that fact that that they are being reproduced at
a level of resolution beyond the wildest dreams of 1962 sound engineers.
The surround channels do provide some interesting effects during the course
of the film, but are not at the level of activity that one finds in a
modern soundtrack. An English Dolby Surround soundtrack is also encoded
onto the DVD, as are French, Spanish, and Portuguese language tracks.
Subtitles are provided in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese,
Korean, and Thai.
Full
motion video, animation and sound all serve to enhance the interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features. Supplements are also accessible through the menus
and are contained on disc two. The Making of Lawrence of Arabia
is a very enjoyable documentary that runs slightly over an hour. Covering
the production and the film's subsequent restoration, the documentary
will appeal to fans, as well as those experiencing LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
for the very first time. A Conversation with Steven Spielberg
features the director talking about his involvement with the restoration
of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, as well as having the opportunity to talk
about how the film affected him, plus his meetings with David Lean, whom
Spielberg obviously idolized.
