Lawrence of Arabia (Single Disc)

This is the greatest movie I have ever seen. Not only is it superb filmmaking, but the film touches on a personal level I never expected to feel. David Lean's WW1 epic follows the both heroic and tragic military campaign of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole in an Oscar-nominated role). When we first see Lawrence interact with others, he comes off as a bumbling fool, but his encyclopedic knowledge of the world earns him his first significant mission --- find Arab Prince Feisal, and learn of the Arabs' intentions. Whatever he learns will help the British campaign function more effectively for their own purposes. However, after meeting Feisal and his Sherif Ali, Lawrence instead becomes the central figure in the campaign by uniting the Arabs against the Turkish Empire, rather than report back to his British superiors. Make no mistake - "Lawrence of Arabia" is NOT a war film. There is glory of combat here; the battle sequences are brief and not very well-choreographed. But that's because Lean doesn't want us to see Lawrence's aim-and-shoot techniques. No, instead Lean smartly stays on his facial expressions -- O'Toole's behavior tells the story better than a battle's body count. When an enemy fort is overtaken, the "battle" is simply a camera pan of horses charging in. We don't need to witness an elaborate sequence because we only need to know that the Arabs defeated the Turks. "Lawrence of Arabia" is almost 4 hours, but is stripped to its essentials like those who dwell in its deserts. The film features a wonderful cast of supporting characters. Alec Guinness reteams with David Lean to play Prince Feisal, a leader of patient wisdom and admiration for Lawrence's passion. Omar Sharif made a star-making American debut (and Oscar-nominated performance) as Sherif Ali, whose strong loyalty to Lawrence also brings him immense pain when his friend is also suffering. Lawrence and Ali are as equal as they are opposite; Sharif's chemistry with O'Toole is perfect. The most obvious acheivement of "Lawrence of Arabia" is the cinematography and Lean's direction. Orson Welles "Citizen Kane" is a brilliant piece of filmmaking, but Lean overshadows that classic with more color and vivid imagery. There are too many genius shots to praise. The mirage sequence is the most famous, in which Ali's figure begins as a speck, but then rides ever so closer on a camel with no music...but haunting silence! Or when Lawrence is just assigned his mission: he looks at a burning match, exhales so gently...and the camera quick-cuts to a beautiful sunset in the Arabian desert. We witness the harsh realities of desert warfare, but don't actually see much blood or corpses. Instead, stirring dialogue and tracking shots get a strong enough reaction that the guns and casualties don't really matter. The dialogue is sharp enough to rival "Casablanca" or "Pulp Fiction". Screenwriter Robert Bolt's dialogue is so truthful, poetic, and eloquent -- it's a thrill just to hear these characters 'speak'. The scenes involving strategy and tactics aren't glorious declarations of brilliance; instead, they're more like verbal chess matches between stubborn parties. For example: an Arab Bureau liaison, Dryden (Claude Rains at his smarmiest), is devilishly manipulative. However, Rains' tonation is neutral yet wicked. When a reporter asks Dryden what happened during a secret meeting, he casually replies "Oh...nothing...nothing at all." His lies are so obvious, telling us he intentionally rubs the secrecy in his adversaries' faces. Another remarkable acheivement is Maurice Jarre's music score. Simply put, it's amazing and legendary! Thankfully, the DVD keeps the 4 and 1/2 minute Overture, Intermission, and Exit Music. For those unfamiliar, when cinematic epics played in movie theatres, music was played before the movie began. It helped audiences settle in and get ready for the film to begin. There were no images on the screen, but the music just played. The filmmakers took great pride in the best presentation possible for a film that took about 2 years to make. "Lawrence of Arabia" is as much as pleasure to listen to as it to watch it. Another point on the main character - credit for the portrayal of T.E. Lawrence belongs equally to the entire production team. Bolt knew how to write him, Lean knew how to shoot him, Jarre knew what music to write for him, Anne Coates knew how to properly edit and pace his character, and O'Toole knew how the play him. This strong collaberation of artists results in a rarity: we, the audience, can relate to a historical figure who a total 'enigma'. As presented in the film, T.E. Lawrence was a man of dual-willed dilemmas. He keeps unfathomable promises, but lacks the heart to be satisfied. He's a central war figure who inspires many, but eventually rejects his talents. As I said earlier, the character is collaborative effore - I forgot to mention the supporting characters who give their take on this bizarre man. They, I believe, is the heart of the film. One of the opening scenes reveals differing opinions on Lawrence's legacy. A reporter calls him a "shameless exhibitionist", while a British soldier calls him "a very great man". But is there any truth is what any of these men say? And if so, do they have enough credibility to even have an opinion? T.E. Lawrence (according the film) never really knew who he was or what he really wanted. Because of that confusing shell, his outcast reputation strengthed his ego to accomplish daring feats like crossing an endless desert, but also deeply hurt those closest to him (and those who only wanted his talents). "Lawrence of Arabia" is a one-of-a-kind experience. It has powerful music, unforgettable camera shots, beautiful dialogue, jaw-dropping images, spectacular sequences, stellar acting, and historical significance! There will never be a greater cinema epic than "Lawrence of Arabia"... DVD NOTES There are two versions of this movie on DVD. 1) A One-Disc version that has no Special Features. That is worth a purchase alone, because you can watch the film in one sitting. 2) This Limited Edition DVD splits the movie into two halves. The video and audio quality appear to be the same, but the 2-Disc release has full-motion menus with music, whereas the other version only has freeze-frame menus. The second Disc includes an outstanding making-of documentary, some comments from Steven Spielberg on the restoration, and a few neat promotional materials. Seeing thses artists work themselves tirelessly for 2 years will only further your appreciation for this movie. Even if you don't share my praise for the film, you will admire the patience and hard work that everybody invested into it. This was not one man's vision; "Lawrence of Arabia" is collage of brilliant filmmakers and artists composing an unforgettable tale! I've often heard people say one film is their 'favorite', but then they say another is the 'greatest'. To me, my all-time favorite and standard of greatness are the same film. Watch this film immediately!

Now we must pay our respects to T.E. Lawrence, known to most of the world as Lawrence of Arabia. But you don't need to visit London or the desert or Arabia to get a sense of T.E. Lawrence -- all you really need is a DVD player or, better still, movie theatre! David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia is simply one of the most extraordinary films ever made on the topic of human armed conflict. This film was released in 1962 and was awarded seven Oscar awards including best Director and Best Picture. The picture begins with Lawrence's senseless and premature death on a motorbike and then moves to his burial at St. Paul's in London. Here a visitor to London will find his tomb along with those of other champions of human liberty -- The Duke of Wellington and Lord Horatio Nelson to name but two. T.E. Lawrence was an Oxford-educated archaeologist (an assistant at the British Museum's excavation of Carchemish on the Euphrates) who was living in the Middle East at the outbreak of the First World War. He joined British intelligence and served in the Arab division. The Allies were frustrated by the appalling slaughter that was taking place in the trenches of the Western front. Millions of lives were lost for the sake of mere yards of territory. The Allies longed to come up with some kind a flanking strategy that could lead to victory. The decrepit Ottoman Empire ("the sick man of Europe") had allied itself with the Central Powers (Austria and Germany). Winston Churchill, who was the head of the Admiralty at the start of the Great War, won support for the Dardanelles campaign which attempted to knock the Turks out of the war. The French and British landings at Gallipoli proved to be a disaster and Churchill was forced to resign. The allies next strategic idea was to help stir up an Arab revolt against the Turks. They needed someone who was fluent in Arabic, who could cultivate and influence the Arabs in aid of Allied strategic objectives. They needed someone who could 'go native'. They found their man...T.E. Lawrence. Lawrence was a not merely a soldier, a master of espionage and a statesman -- he was a gifted poet. He starts his famous Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph: The Complete 1922 Text thus... "Some of the evil of my tale may have been inherent in our circumstances, For years we lived anyhow with one another in the naked desert, under the indifferent heaven. By day the hot sun fermented us; and we were dizzied by the beating wind. At night we were stained by dew, and shamed into pettiness by the innumerable silences of stars. We were a self-centered army without parade or gesture, devoted to freedom, the second of man's creeds, a purpose so ravenous that it devoured all out strength, a hope so transcendent that our earlier ambitions faded in its glare." The film Lawrence of Arabia simply could not be made by today's filmmakers. Steven Spielberg has estimated that his favorite film of all time would cost in the region of $285 million to produce today while the original production cost was $12 million. This film is too well-written, it has no digital special effects, the pacing is sluggish by contemporary standards and it has no love interest (nor a single spoken female line). It does feature a brilliantly costumed cast of thousands which included soldiers from the Royal Jordanian and Royal Moroccan armies. The clean but brutal desert itself is a major character in the film along with Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins and Alec Guinness. Lawrence of Arabia was, in a sense, the First World War prequel to David Lean's The Bridge On The River Kwai . It portrays the sacrifice of youth and innocence in the ravenous maw of institutionalized industrial warfare. It chronicles the outward ascent of Lawrence leading the Arabs to glorious victory over the Turks and his inner descent into near-madness and barbarism. The boyish scholarly Lawrence of the film's opening scenes will be corrupted by war and sadistic torture into becoming a bloody-minded warrior who screams out, "No Prisoners!" in his final attack. The tale of Lawrence mirrors one of the Great War's other warrior/writers -- Manfred Von Richthofen. In his book Der Rote Kampflieger, Von Richthofen starts out taking his dog up for joy rides in his plane and ends as a cold-blooded killer of allied pilots before meeting his own untimely end. The film's plot is a coming of age tale set in the Arabian desert. The film is simply a meditation on the transforming power of warfare. The purity of desert sand is mixed with the blood of hot youth. Consider the eloquence and profound truth of Prince Feisal's (Alec Guinness) speech uttered to a retreating Lawrence from the film's conclusion: "We drive bargains. Old men's work. Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men. Courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so. What I owe you is beyond evaluation." With so many films out there today that are a pure waste of time, why not take the time to see or revisit Lawrence of Arabia -- a timeless classic film made by a master craftsman with a stellar cast which continues to be reverberate to this day. If you love Lawrence of Arabia, you may also like America Invades: How We've Invaded or been Militarily Involved with almost Every Country on Earth by Kelly / Laycock Italy Invades

This review is for the brand new (as of 2/11/26) 4K release..... let me start by saying that I've owned at least 4 versions of this movie, going back close to 40 years; in addition, I've seen this movie at least 4 times in the theater, this is by far the best version I've yet seen! Just last summer (2005) I saw a rerelease of the film, likely in anticipation of the 4k release in local theaters, it looked great but held ZERO candles to the new 4K release delivered by Amazon today! First off, it goes without saying that this movie is BEYOND a five star film, the real question is.....is this new 4K version worth the money? Answer? Yes, it is! Have you ever imagined watching this movie and picking out the sparkle of a single grain of sand in a magnificent vista? Now you don't have to imagine, the transfer is that good; it is so good I would hazard the term stunning! This is super simple, this is the BEST release of one of the BEST films of all times, if you are a cineaste, this MUST be in your collection.

映像の美しさは逸品ですな！ これで何度でも飽きるまで見られます♫ でも飽きることはないと思います🎶

Se den här för att förstå en värld som inte finns längre.

La surprenante histoire d'un héros de guerre a la personnalité insaisissable.

Excellent film interprété magistralement. Seul dilemme c'est qu'au court du film, les dialogues sont une fois en anglais puis en français. Beau paysage et beau film. Je recommande vivement.

For this movie, it doesn't matter what I say about this one, it has all already been said. GREAT EPIC