Lawrence of Arabia 50th Anniversary Blu Ray Review

Lawrence of Arabia: 50th Ceremony Express Edition Blu-ray Review

By Ian White

My Mother Mated with a Scorpion...

The Film

I remember the first time I looked upon the Arabian Peninsula while standing on the western edge of the Red Sea in Egypt. Information technology was everything that my tainted brain imagined it would be; yet information technology wasn't my Yeshiva education, numerous trips to State of israel, or degree in Near Eastern Studies that shaped my impression. Rather, information technology was movie that I had viewed numerous times every bit a child and young adult that would create the imagery that was now unfolding in front end of me.

My inner nerd likes to boast that Star Wars was the moving-picture show that turned me into a picture nut merely the truth is that the award belongs solely to Lawrence of Arabia. David Lean's 4-hour ballsy depicting the Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire during WW1 (taken from both historical records and T.E. Lawrence'due south autobiographical7 Pillars of Wisdom) was not only topical in 1962 after two Arab-Israeli wars but was cinematic brilliance on par with Gone with the Current of air and The Ten Commandments.

The film does take some serious liberties with the historical events of the menstruation, but Lawrence did exist and did participate in the revolt; his contribution was quite important equally was his relationship with Emir Faisal who was the son of Sherif Hussein of Mecca.  Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) gets caught up in the cyclone that is the defection and ends up existence used by both masters; the English generals in Cairo, and Faisal.

A stellar supporting cast including Omar Sharif, Alec Guiness, and Anthony Quinn turn this historical drama and chance into ane of the most honey films of all-time.

The Picture

If you don't use a projector and screen in your domicile theater, this film will make you desire to own one. At that place are certain films that just don't interpret as well on the small screen and this is one of them. The cinematography begs for something 100"+ in two.35:ane and with the lights really low. For the Blu-ray release, Sony restored and remastered the pic at 4K and it clearly shows that this wasn't a rush job. With the exception of some less than perfect moments during the opening sequence, this transfer is a reference disc on every level. The color is perfectly saturated; the sky and desert sand look so natural you could swear y'all were standing on a dune somewhere near Mt. Sinai.

The picture is crisp with the right amount of grain to keep the movie firmly planted in 1962. If you sentinel a film enough times, you notice things in the image that carp/please you at the same fourth dimension. My married woman begs to differ (She falls alseep every time we watch it), but I have watched this film more than sixty times and there is no comparison betwixt the Blu-ray transfer and any previous dwelling house video version of the picture. It's like comparing a photo of a plate of hummus with tehina in a buffet in Jerusalem, and the real experience.

Black levels are spot on and the level of shadow detail is just fantastic. You can come across so much more than detail on this release than on the DVD and it was four hours of pure joy to lookout man this again.

The Sound

Have you always watched a film and been unable to stop humming its theme vocal? Not every film score is Oscar-worthy, simply Maurice Jarre won this category walking away in 1963. I would venture that I first watched Lawrence of Arabia when I was nine and on a 28" screen, just information technology was the music that made the strongest impression on me at the time. Among other memorable musical moments such as the "Majestic March" from The Empire Strikes Dorsum, the overture to The Ten Commandments, and the Jaws theme, I can non think of another score that has consumed me as much every bit the music in this thou film. It is everything that virtually modern film scores are not; royal, overwhelming, and every bit important to the film equally the script and cinematography.

To sentry Lawrence of Arabia in DTS-Hard disk drive Master Sound 5.1 at home probably doesn't come up shut to watching the moving-picture show in an enormous theater; I would sell my kids to encounter (and hear) this film remastered in Dolby Atmos, simply it does not disappoint either. The film begs to be enjoyed at above average listening levels for the sole reason that the music demands it. The symphonic ability of the score is breathtaking on the environs release and you lot feel yourself walking with Lawrence beyond the Arabian Peninsula; swirling sandstorms, gunfire, and crystal clear dialogue.

The low end doesn't go the strongest conditioning but that isn't where the magic in the score resides. The environment channels are used adequately to convey the blowing sand and recreate the illusion of countless desert and to that cease, the mix works perfectly. This is not the The Expendables 2 with 11 channels of gunfire and explosions; it is a symphony based in the hot sands of the desert and in the streets of Cairo and Damascus.

The Extras

I could compose a thesis on the film cheers to the plethora of bonus cloth included in this collector's edition and I would suggest that it is mandatory viewing for anyone who loves the film. Non all of the content is newestward with some repetition of the original documentary films such as Wind, Sand and Star: The Making of a Archetype, simply the hours of content is worth your viewing time.

One of the all-time moments has to be an exclusive interview with Peter O'Toole (who recently turned fourscore), who still has his wits about him and remembers so much about his role almost 50 years to the date subsequently its release.

There is a never-earlier-released deleted scene on disc 3, along with comprehensive interviews and documentaries which are exclusive to the Blu-ray gift-set release. If you are a student of the much troubled Middle East (B.A., Nigh Eastern Affairs...guilty every bit charged), the historical pieces from the flow will ignite new debates and take you glued to the photos and movies.

The coffee tabular array book with a forward from Steven Spielberg has so many rare photographs, it may exist worth the price of the set alone. The sets come with an authentic 70mm film frame and a new version of the picture'southward soundtrack with never-before-released tracks.

I don't retrieve. Did my Star Wars set come with whatsoever of this great stuff? Don't reply that.

Last Thoughts

Every at present and then a moving picture gets released on Blu-ray and anybody rushes to purchase information technology; fifty-fifty though the overall product is ultimately disappointing. Yeah, I'g pointing my finger at the Star Wars box set. Everyone has i motion picture that they would take with them on that deserted isle and for me it has e'er been Lawrence of Arabia. There are few films similar it and it'southward hundred-to-one that Hollywood could ever muster enough courage to make films similar this again. Films that are actually nigh something and certainly larger than life. Betwixt the near perfect 4K transfer and unrivalved collection of bonus materials; including a gorgeous book and bonus CD, this may be one of the best Blu-ray discs ever released. Just how good? Information technology mated with a scorpion. 2012 Blu-ray disc of the year.

Product Details:

• Manager: David Lean
• Actors: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guiness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Jack Hawkins, Jose Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains, Arthur Kennedy
• Video Codec: MPEG-AVC
• Video Resolution: 1080p/24
• Aspect Ratio: 2.20:one (Original Aspect Ratio was ii.19:one)
• Audio Codec: English: DTS-HD Master Sound 5.1 (48kHz, 16-scrap), French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Japanese, Arabic, Dutch
• Rating: PG
• Studio: Sony/Columbia Pictures
• Region: Region A
• Number of Discs: 4 (3 BD, 1 CD)
• Running Fourth dimension: 227 minutes
• Blu-ray Release Appointment: Nov 13, 2012
• MSRP: $95.99
• Extras:
  • Limited Edition Collector'due south Packaging
  • 88-page Coffee Table Book
  • Individually Numbered 70mm Mounted Film Frame
  • Secrets of Arabia Picture-in-Graphics (BD Exclusive)
  • Peter O'Toole Revisits Lawrence of Arabia
  • The Making of Lawrence of Arabia
  • A Conversation with Steven Spielberg
  • Maan, Hashemite kingdom of jordan: The Camels Are Cast Featurette
  • In Search of Lawrence
  • Romance of Arabia
  • Wind, Sand and Star: The Making of a Classic (1970)
  • Newsreel Footage of the New York Premiere
  • Theatrical Advertising Campaigns
  • Never-Before-Released Deleted Scene with Introduction by Anne V. Coates
  • The Lure of the Desert: Martin Scorsese on Lawrence of Arabia
  • Lawrence at 50: A Classic Restored
  • In Love with the Desert
  • Rex Hussein Visits Lawrence of Arabia Set
  • Wind, Sand and Star (Original 1963 version)
  • Archival Interviews with William Friedkin, Sydney Pollack, and Steven Spielberg
  • Trailers and TV Spots
  • Soundtrack CD: 2 Previously unreleased tracks and complete original score

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Source: https://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/Lawrence-of-Arabia-50th-Anniversary-Limited-Edition-Blu-ray.shtml

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