Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #402 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-04-09
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, German, Hindi, Portuguese, Turkish, Danish, Icelandic, Bulgarian, Swedish, Hungarian, Polish, Dutch, Arabic, Finnish, Czech, Greek
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 218 minutes

Amazon.co.uk 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

Video Description
DVD Special Features

A Making Of Documentary
The Original Theatrical Trailer
A Conversation with Steven Spielberg
Footage from the New York Premier -
Plus 5 other Featurettes, Maps, Text and Photos
DVD Rom - Archives of Arabia
Filmographies from the cast and crew

Synopsis
David Lean's masterpiece--perhaps the greatest of screen epics--stars Peter O'Toole in one of the most electrifying debuts in film history. The film is less an ordinary adventure than an experience that leaves an overwhelming sense of the struggle between two powerful forces: the Arabian deserts, immense, intractable, ever-shifting, punishing; and T.E. Lawrence, humble as a monk, flamboyant as a rock star, protean, polymathic, heroic, enigmatic, mad. While working on the staff of British Intelligence in Cairo in 1916, Lawrence's fluency in Arabic earns him a post on a mission sent to establish contact with Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness), leader of the Arab revolt and ally of the British against the German-sponsored Turks in WWI. Impressed by Lawrence's knowledge of their culture, the prince allows the young officer to join his staff, and Lawrence quickly earns the Arabs' respect after he executes acts of extraordinary heroism. As the Englishman's genius for guerrilla warfare becomes evident, he assumes the role of de facto leader of the Arab revolt, uniting the heretofore warring tribes into a devastatingly effective weapon. But the chaos of war also unleashes the repressed officer's powerful need for self-abasement and mortification of the flesh. A visionary work that unfolds one indelible image after another, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA fuses the conflict of man against man, man against nature, and man against himself into a sublime poem of force. The film features a literate script by Robert Bolt and an outstanding cast, which also includes Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, Arthur Kennedy, Anthony Quinn, Jose Ferrer, and Omar Sharif in his unforgettable desert-crossing debut.

Customer Reviews

"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 one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and most of his films have some of the best cinematography you have ever seen taking advantage of the landscape. In Lawrence of Arabia there is a breathtaking shots of the desert; the musical score is also amazing by Maurice Jarre (See The English Patient for Jarre's son OST). The best thing about Lawrence of Arabia is the fact that it is flawless; everything from the performances to the script are excellent and is based on a true story although I'm not sure if it is accurate.


The film is about T.E. Lawrence brilliantly played by Peter O'Toole (unknown Irish actor) who is a young lieutenant in the British army in Cairo during World War One, he is assigned to help the Arabs fight the Turks in Arabia and becomes successful at uniting the waring tribes of Sherif Ali played by Omar Sharif in a role that made him a star and Auda Abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn), together they end up capturing the city of Aquaba and destroying the Turk strong hold.

Allenby: "What in hell do you want, Lawrence?"

Lawrence: "I've told you -- I just want my ration of common humanity."

There is no way that enough could be said about this film, in fact Steven Spielberg called it a "miracle of a movie." This is the definitive classic film from a transitional time just before salacious movies became the norm. It is to director David Lean's credit that he chose patently unknown actors (at the time) for his key roles that truly made this film soar. The fact that they performed so exceptionally is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of those actors.


The contributions of "Lawrence of Arabia" to future films are seen to this day in the cinematographic techniques and similar shots in recent films. Compared to Lawrence's books, the film, by virtue of its medium can never capture the Shakespearean quality language that T.E. Lawrence possessed. If any book parallels the film it would be Lowell Thomas's 1925 book, "With Lawrence in Arabia," that recounts the journalist's experience as an "imbedded" reporter with Lawrence. Thomas is often credited with spreading the stories of Lawrence's Arabian exploits that made him so popular in the west.

Murray: (Lawrence has just given a rather awful salute) "If you're insubordinate of me, Lawrence, I shall put you under arrest!"

Lawrence: "It's my manner, sir."

Murray: "Your what?"

Lawrence: "My manner, sir. It looks insubordinate, but it isn't really."

Murray: "I can't make out whether you are bloody bad-mannered or just half-witted!"

Lawrence: "I have the same problem, sir."

The desert scenes are beautifully shot, the glowing shots almost familiar because we've seen similar movie shots like these, but they were after this film was made--it clearly inspired many imitators. You can almost feel the desert heat and dirt. The film also offers prescient insights into today's sectarian violence where religious and tribal loyalties and feuds are seemngly more important to many Arab leaders than are national agendas or progress for all their people. The history within the film is mostly accurate and there is no neat wrap-up at the end, no ponderous speeches, no stirring conclusion. I waited too long to see this film but now I know why it is a classic. This is the wide-screen edition, which is essential to appreciating the cinematography.

Lawrence: "I killed two people. I mean, two Arabs. One was a boy. That was...yesterday. I led him into a quicksand. The other was a man. That was...well...before Aqaba, anyway. I had to execute him with my pistol, and there was something about it that I didn't like."

Allenby: "Well, naturally."

Lawrence: "No, something else."

Allenby: "I see. Well, that's alright, let it be a warning."

Lawrence: "No...something else."

Allenby: "What then?"

Lawrence: "I enjoyed it."

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 considerable amount of work. If you are looking for the historical aspect of the story then reading the "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" would be better for you.

Overall, considering when the movie was made and the director's work in that movie it truly is a great moive, one that I have watched over and over and over again and probably will even more.

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.