Lawrence of Arabia | | Cast : | Peter O'Toole | | Director : | David Lean | | Studio : | Columbia Tri-Star | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 1962 | | DVD Released Date : | April 03, 2001 | | Language : | Unknown (Dubbed), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed), English (Original Language), Thai (Subtitled), Chinese (Subtitled), Korean (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 29, 2005 | | Summary | The Masterpiece of Cinema! | Content
 | This is the greatest movie I have ever seen. It's not only well-filmed, but it touches on a personal level I never expected to feel. David Lean's epic follows the both heroic and tragic military campaign of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole in an Oscar-nominated role). He begins as a sort of bumbling fool, but his encyclopedic knowledge of the world earns him a chance to find Prince Feisal, and learn of the Arabs' intentions so that the British campaign will function more effectively. After meeting Feisal and Sherif Ali, Lawrence becomes the central figure in the Arabian campaign by uniting the Arabs and leading them to overthrowing the Turkish Empire.
Make no mistake - this is NOT a war film. The glory of combat has no place in this stunning acheivement of a movie. The battle sequences are brief and not very well-choreographed, but that's because Lean wants us to see the hesitation of Lawrence's face, not the technique in which he aims and pulls the trigger.
There is a wonderful cast of supporting characters. Alec Guinness reteams with Lean to play Prince Feisal, a man of patient wisdom and admiration for the passion of Lawrence. Omar Sharif made a star-making American debut (and Oscar-nominated performance) as Sherif Ali, who feels a strong loyalty to Lawrence but feels immense pain when his friend is also suffering.
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 film 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 granted a chance to locate Prince Feisal in hopes of learning more about the Arabs' intentions, he looks at a match, exhales so gently, and the camera switches to a beautiful sunset in the Arabian desert. Lean focuses on the harsh realities of desert warfare, but not on the blood and corpses. Instead, stirring dialogue and tracking shots get a strong enough reaction that the guns and casualties don't really matter.
The dialogue is so eloquent and poetic, yet reveals so much truth and delivers a soft punch to the viewer's heart that it's quietly inspiring. For example, Feisal and Lawrence share a few minutes inside Feisal's tent, where Lawrence tries to convince the Prince to unite the Arabs and take arms.
LAWRENCE: "You were great, once."
FEISAL: "Four hundred years ago."
LAWRENCE: "It's time to be great again."
It's hard to share my enthusiasm when simply reading the quotes, but hearing the voices of actors like Guinness, O'Toole, and Sharif deliver this dialogue is simply riveting.
Also, Maurice Jarre's score is amazing! The Overture, in which the screen is all-black for 4 and 1/2 minutes is an experience unto itself! The music is captivating, and enriches the movie even more!
Seeing O'Toole show Lawrence's dilemma of dual wills is brilliant. He's capable of carrying out what he preaches, but lacks the heart to be satisfied. He's a central character and inspires many, but he eventually does not want his gift.
There are two versions of this movie on DVD.
The first is a 1-Disc treatment that is all-movie and has no Special Features. That is worth a purchase alone.
The 2-Disc DVD splits the movie into two halves. But the second Disc brings with it a wonderful selection of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with the filmmakers and even Steven Spielberg, and other nice extras. Seeing the filmmakers work themselves tirelessly for 2 years will only further your appreciation for this movie. Even if you don't share my praise for it, you will admire the patience and hard work that everybody invested into this movie.
"Lawrence of Arabia" is pure greatness! Watch this film immediately! |
| Rating | | | Date | July 28, 2005 | | Summary | "The Trick Is Not Caring That It Hurts." | Content
| Of all the movies that really don't need another review, this one probably heads the list. However since 'Lawrence of Arabia' is one of my all-time top ten films I wanted to add my two cents anyway.
Seldom in cinematic history has there ever been so grand a tale told as the story of T. E. Lawrence and his miraculous accomplishments in the deserts of Arabia. A man of truly mythic proportions whose interior vision was so powerful it forever changed the course of world politics. By an act of pure, concentrated willpower ("Nothing is written unless I write it") Lawrence defied all the odds and experts, uniting the ever-feuding semitic tribes of the Middle East under one flag in a battle for Arab independence. This was a daring project to commit to film and it paid of, becoming one of the most honored and studied films of all-time.
Columbia pulled out all the stops in bringing this true life adventure to the screen. Nothing but the best was required. Director David Lean, complimented by one of the most skilled casts ever assembled; Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, Arthur Kennedy, Jack Hawkins and Jose Ferrer brought the story to life as nobody else could. Coupled with Maurice Jarre's epic soundtrack, we have been graced with as perfect a film as you will ever see. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 19, 2005 | | Summary | Sand never looked so sexy! | Content
| A great film that shows the world one of the real odd birds that the British Military puts out every once in a while. Men like Gordan, Wingate & Clive who you don't really know where to place them. But none the less they are very valuable men to have around in a tight place. This film takes the story of Lawrence as he goes from a raw junior Officer to Desert Legend. While it could of been very easy to make it one of those Ripping Good storys about one of the lads winning the war by themself in Arabia. The story resists this impluse and so makes itself a legend in itself. I can not praise this film too highly! |
| Rating | | | Date | June 25, 2005 | | Summary | The movie is long but well worth your time. | Content
| Lawrence of Arabia is an incredibly rich and challenging movie to watch and devour. It has breathtaking cinematography, convincing actors, as well as a well-developed theme in story. Filmed in some of the most exotic Middle East locations (the locations appear almost as though no one travels through them), the film is about Lawrence's effort to help the Arabs (many of whom are played by non-Arabs) obtain self-determination from the Turks.
Although the movie is quite long -- four hours (I was unable to watch the entire movie in one sitting), it is certainly well worth watching. You will feel as though you have gone through history, visited these incredible sites (without having to go through the pain of visiting them), and have come back with a lot of insights into human nature. This is a high quality film.
Michael |
| Rating | | | Date | May 11, 2005 | | Summary | Impressive Movie Restored on DVD | Content
| I will not dwell on the movie per se since this is well covered by the other 300 reviewers and the spotlight reviews. Obviously it is one of the best movies ever made, and it is truly impressive in every aspect, but there are a few points worth noting with this DVD set.
The DVD brings the viewer the original movie with updated voice overs by O'Toole that have been done more recently to restore the sound quality of the film. After its first release almost 40 years ago, the original 4 hour long movie had two major edits to reduce the size and parts were lost or destroyed - the audio but not the picture was partially lost. This is all restored here back to something close to or even better than the original.
This is one of the most comprehensive movie DVDs ever released with subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Thai, Chinese, multiple audio tracks, extras that include "Wind, Sand and Star: The Making of a Classic," "Maan, Jordan: The Camels Are Cast," "In Search of Lawrence" and "Romance of Arabia" plus "The Making of Lawrence of Arabia" plus trailers and much more.
There is a special section on DVD ROM: Journey with Lawrence: Map of Arabia & Military Strategy and Archives of Arabia: Historic Photographs
This is a beautiful movie and an impressive DVD that I bought on Amazon.com and highly recommend.
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