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LAWRENCE OF ARABIA


Reviewed by: Christopher J. Jarmick
Genre: Drama
Video: Anamorphic 2.35:1 Widescreen
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital available for English version 2-channel Dolby Surround for all.
Language: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Subtitle: English (Captioned), French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai
Length: 227 minutes
Rating: PG
Release Date: 04/03/01
Studio: Columbia/Tristar
Commentary: No there is no commentary track.
Featurettes: Four Original Featurettes
Filmography/Biography: An extremely well produced hour long documentary.
Interviews: A Conversation with Steven Spielberg.
Trailers/TV Spots: There are three trailers on the disc. The original 1962 Lawrence of Arabia trailer which has been cleaned up but not digitally restored. There are also the original trailers of Bridge on the River Kwai and the non-Lean film Guns of Navarone.
Alternate/Deleted Scenes: None
Music Video: None
Others: see below for more info
Cast and Crew: Peter O'Toole; Omar Sharif; Sir Alec Guinness; Anthony Quinn; Jack Hawkins Jose Ferrer; Claude Rains; Anthony Quayle; Arthur Kennedy; Donald Wolfit
Screenplay by: Based on the writings of T.E. Lawrence Robert Bolt Michael Wilson (originally uncredited due to HUAC Blacklist
Produced by: Sam Spiegel Robert A. Harris (1989 reconstruction and restoration producer)
Directed By: David Lean
Music: Maurice Jarre
The Review: Lawrence of Arabia is a film that must be seen at least once on the biggest screen possible to completely appreciate . Some of David Lean's and Freddie Young's compositions are diminished even on a DVD as good as this one. A long extended sequence occurring in the dessert in the theater is a magnificent, exciting, exhilarating, and unforgettable experience, yet when viewed at home the same sequence might be seen as slow, and its beauty and excitement diminished.. The visual impact of a wind flowing, swirling and twisting across the baked sands of the desert, cannot be captured by mere words. Add Maurice Jarre's memorable, rousing orchestral score which mixes Middle Eastern elements into the music and the scene is elevated to an even higher impossible to describe plateau . Lawrence of Arabia is a film whose epic grandeur is not dated or campy and does not function merely as a visceral roller coaster ride to please the audience-- but rather the grandeur is just one element of a complex, layered and richly emotional cinematic masterpiece. The time is World War 1 and the British government must stop the Turks from gaining control of the Suez canal. The British believed the nomadic Bedouin tribes in the region could not possibly defend themselves or the Suez Canal against the Turks because they were fragmented and fought with old fashioned weaponry. They also could not be completely trusted. T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) however believed if the Bedouin tribes could be united, a great country with a powerful army might emerge as a result. His knowledge however was being squandered as his military assignment was in map-making. This changes when Dryden (Claude Rains), persuades Gen. Murray (Donald Wolfit) that Lawrence's knowledge of Arab tribes should be put to use within the British Arab Bureau. Lawrence however is terrible at playing politics, which gets him the appointment he actually wants... a mission to find Prince Feisel (Alec Guinness) . But Feisel is part of the Bedouin and they are nomads who travel throughout the large Arabian dessert. Lawrence teams up with a native guide, learns how to ride a camel and is off to find Feisel. Lawrence, however quickly finds himself immersed in a land of ancient tribal feuds. His guide is an enemy of Sherif Ali Ibn El Kharish (Omar Shariff in his first starring role). Lawrence then stumbles across the rigid brit Col Harry Brighton who orders Lawrence to keep quiet. Prince Feisel is not happy. The turks have defeated his men, they have powerful guns and can bomb Feisel's men ( who are used to fighting hand to hand and with swords) with bi-planes. Lawrence finds himself teamed with Sherif Ali on a suicide mission to over-throw a Turkish held port in Aqaba. The film is complex as several characters motives must be understood and manipulated by a central character, Lawrence, who remains enigmatic. Lawrence, is brash and egotistical, but is not a man of known or deep character. His morals and ethics seem to be in a state of flux. As he progresses through the film he is forced to do things that he does not understand, that are brutal beyond what he believed he was capable of, and which emotionally cripple and change him forever. This is not a film that has been overly simplified. This is an epic, but not one packed with action. It's also a tragedy of sorts which does not end with a victory but shows the effects or lack of effect that small victories can have on the fate of all involved in the conflict. As Lawrence changes, makes compromises, takes risks, makes questionable choices, we wind up caring for this man-even though we know little about who he really might be. We do understand the emotional and physical pain he endures on his quest. The film is based on T. E. Lawrence's own heroic, autobiographical account of his Arabian adventure, published in "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" (originally called Revolt in the Desert) as interpreted by first time screenwriter Robert Bolt working with an originally uncredited blacklisted writer Michael Wilson and director David Lean. The film originally 222 minutes long, was subsequently cut to 187 minutes and then magnificently restored to 217 minutes in 1989 by a team assembled by Robert Harris. Peter O'Toole in his first role creates a character based on a real life enigma who was often an unknown in real life even to those who knew him best. Sharif brings a real humanity and warmth to his role, and in small roles Anthony Quinn is mostly deliciously over-the top as Auda Abu Tayi the somewhat hostile leader of the Howeitat. Jack Hawkins as General Allenby sees Lawence's potential and barely hesitates to ruthlessly make use of it. Jose Ferrer is Turkish Bey, a sadistic torturer who gains a respect for Lawrence as he forever changes the young idealist and Arthur Kennedy is reporter Jackson Bentley, who creates a war-time hero of Lawrence. Alec Guinness as Prince Feisal perfectly portrays the once proud nomadic monarch, now suffering for his people envisioning a bleak future. His initial meeting with O'Toole's Lawrence is a brilliantly constructed scene. Although his military superior considers him a disloyal "traitor," young Lawrence sympathizes with Feisal's views and is allowed to speak his personal opinions in "Feisal's tent . Lawrence tells Feisal the following: " The desert is an ocean in which no oar is dipped. And on this ocean, the Bedouin go where they please and strike where they please. This is the way the Bedouin has always fought. You are famed throughout the world for fighting in this way and this is the way you should fight now." Which leads to this exchange. . . Feisal: Colonel Brighton means to put my men under European officers, does he not? Lawrence: In effect my lord, yes. Feisal: And I must do it because the Turks have European guns. But I fear to do it. Upon my soul I do. The English have a great hunger for desolate places. I fear they hunger for Arabia. Lawrence: Then you must deny it to them. Feisal: You are an Englishman. Are you not loyal to England? Lawrence: To England, and to other things. Feisal: To England and Arabia both? And is that possible? (He walks up close and looks into Lawrence's eyes.) I think you are another of these desert-loving English...No Arab loves the desert. We love water and green trees, there is nothing in the desert. No man needs nothing. Or is it that you think we are something you can play with because we are a little people? A silly people, greedy, barbarous, and cruel? What do you know, Lieutenant. In the Arab city of Cordova,there were two miles of public lighting in the streets when London was a village... Lawrence: Yes, you were great. Feisal: ..nine centuries ago... Lawrence: Time to be great again, my Lord. Feisal: ...which is why my father made this war upon the Turks. My father, Mr. Lawrence, not the English. Now my father is old. And I, I long for the vanished gardens of Cordova. However, before the gardens must come fighting. To be great again, it seems that we need the English or... Lawrence: ...or?... Feisal: ...what no man can provide, Mr. Lawrence. We need a miracle! We follow Lawrence's footprints on the wind sweeping sand of the desert as he wanders through the night and into the morning light, he contemplates whether he will be the miraculous savior of the Arabs. I can not imagine a scene like this appearing in a film made today. A scene that offers a complexity of issues, traditions, politics and nuances. It is punctuated not with an argument, not with a guns a-blazin' and not with a quick cut to a riveting action scene but to a scene where Lawrence walks into the desert. The audience is allowed to contemplate and think about what has just been transpired. Michael Wilson and Robert Bolt have written several memorable masterful scenes throughout the film. Director Lean oversees brilliant performances which encompass a wide variety of styles and they work in compliment and contrast to one another seamlessly. This is as vibrant and passionate a film as you'll likely ever encounter. James Cameron with his crowd pleasing Titanic barely hinted at the type of grandeur and sweep Lean accomplished with Lawrence-a film which refused to cater to audience expectations. As the film becomes darker and more enigmatic in its final hour, the audience comes to realize this film is much more authentic and emotionally truthful than any other high profile Hollywood epic of its era. Visually and emotionally the film is the equal to Dreyers' Passion of Joan of Arc and Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. JUST FOR FUN: See if you can spot David Lean (on a motorcyle), and screenwriter Robert Bolt as an officer smoking a pipe looking at Lawrence.
Image and Sound Lawrence of Arabia was meticulously restored and the original negatives which were irreparably damaged were brought back to life by a team of skilled technicians under film restorer Robert Harris. . The project was financed by people such as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and David Lean himself. After several years the results were exhibited theatrically in 1989. There was a faithful reproduction of this restoration released on the now out of print Laserdisc released as part of The Criterion Collection. This Columbia/Tristar's DVD is an improvement over the Laserdisc release. The colors for the most part are so rich, it does not look like any DVD release of an early 60's film you have ever seen before. The color saturation is sharp and focused, vivid and bright. It isn't perfect however. At times images against the desert sky are outlined with some edge enhancement. The contrasts are stark and a few times you might notice the stark contrasts results in some white vertical bands appearing in the center of the screen. I don't recall these appearing on projected restored film (which I last saw in a special showing at Seattle's Cinerama Theatre in 2000). Every once in a while a red looks slightly orange. There are some shots of the desert night shot which appear slightly grayish and washed out. Admittedly these are nit-picks but considering the perfectionism with which the film was restored I would have hoped the same type of perfectionism would have extended into the new digital transfer. The Dolby Digital 5:1 contains no hiss and attention to sound design means the rear speakers are used effectively in presenting sound effects and Maurice Jarres splendid musical score. The film has never sounded this good before. It also seems the various foreign language Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks in French, Spanish and Portugese have been well integrated into the over-all sound design of the film. The presentation is not as full as the 5.1 version but is clear and free of distortion.
The Extras No there is no commentary track. It would have been truly icing on the cake to have surviving cast and crew members be a part of a running commentary. Peter O'Toole, Omar Shariff and Anthony Quinn should have been pressed to do a commentary. It's unfortunate too that the man behind the meticulous 1980's restoration of this film Robert A. Harris, was not part of a either a special commentary or a special feature on this disc. It is through his efforts and dogged perfectionism the film was restored at all. It's successful restoration led to restorations of Spartacus, Grand Illusion, Star Wars, Touch of Evil, The Third Man among others.An extremely well produced hour long documentary was made in 1989 for the restoration and re-release of the film. It is filled with wonderful interview excerpts with Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole (too briefly), Anthony Quinn, David Lean, and several crew members who were alive in 1989. There is some truly fascinating footage from the films' locations and sets and some delightful stories about the making of the film, trivia, etc. This is one of the most entertaining and informative documentaries on film-making you'll ever see.Four Original Featurettes: are brief shorts that were made to run in movie theaters. The first three: Maan Jordan: the Camels Are Cast (2:00 minutes); In Search of Lawrence (5:00 minutes) and Romance of Arabia (4:38 minutes) are in black and white and were shown before the film initial release in December 0f 1962. The fourth called Wind Sand and Star: The Making of a Classics was apparently made from the films re-release in the early 1970's ( there is no copyright dates or info about when it was made or distributed). It is in color and runs 4 minutes and 33 seconds. They are pre- HBO behind the scenes featurettes and a bit cruder and far cornier than current making of shorts. The featurettes show lots of sign of wear and tear and have not been meticulous restored. They are however great fun. Talent, Trailers, and New York Premiere features a one minute clip from a movie theater newsreel of several stars attending the New York Premier of the film with narration. A 4 minute and 51 second featurette entitled "Advertising Campaigns" offers a fascinating llok on how the film was initially marketed and presented to the public. Through stills, production shots, posters and more we follow how the film met with resistance from theater owners (because of its length, and how it was eventually promoted as an action film in it's various re-releases. It covers the marketing of the film from 1962 through it's spectacular 1989 restoration and re-release. A Conversation with Steven Spielberg lets the director explain his fascination with the movie which has been an ongoing source of inspiration to him. Dressed in a very casual brown t-shirt, Spielberg explains he first saw the film in Phoenix Arizona when he was in highschool. He tells us he often screens the film before working on his own so that he can learn from it. He's clearly enamored with the memory of meeting David Lean during the 1989 restoration of the film. The featurette is 8 minutes and 40 seconds in length.As part of the collectors package the text of the original 1962 Souvenir Booklet is re-produced in a small booklet. It's an interesting read with many historical facts about T.E. Lawrence. There are several DVD-ROM features on the disk. On Disc One: Journey with Lawrence: Interactive Map of the Middle East, which is a a map and timeline that features historical dates that include T.E. Lawrence contributions to the Arab revolt during their war against the Turks. The map is interactive and when you click on a date the map will change, when you zoom in you get finer details of cities and places Lawrence traveled. It's a well done interactive history lesson. Archives of Arabia, Historic Photographs -Part 1. As you view the film you can go to behind the scenes stills and read interesting trivia about the film. You computer screen will have the movie, photograph and text on it at the same time. It's a wonderful way to be completely absorbed in the making of a film. This feature is continued on the second disc). On Disc 2: You'll find the Archives of Arabia/Behind the Scenes Part 2. (This feature coincides with the film which is split onto two discs . It ends on Disc one at the intermission.) There is information on the Advertising campaigns for the film. Expanded Talent files and a very useful bibliography feature which allows you to browse through many book titles devoted to T.E. Lawrence and to the production of the film. There is also a help link feature and links to the Sony Pictures and Columbia/Tristar websites. This disk is packed with quality extras which examine in depth many aspects of not only making the original film but also it's arduous and meticulous restoration in the 1980's. Understanding the difficulties the film-makers encountered while making the film only increases one's appreciation of the results of everyone efforts. The conversation with Spielberg was more interesting than I was expecting and give us additional insight into the important influence of Lean's masterpiece. The nostalgic featurettes and brief premiere footage are great fun for any film buff. The DVD-ROM features will satisfy those with historical interests in the material.
Commentary None
Final Words: This 2 disk collection retails at just under $40 bucks and will most likely cost you at least $30. That's the price of ten rentals. So is it worth it? Absolutely. The film is a masterpiece and among the finest films ever made. It is one that remains enjoyable upon repeated viewings. Never before has it been possible to view this magnificent masterpiece of a film in such a beautiful form before. There are hours of supplemental material to enjoy which enhance one's appreciation and understanding of the film. This is a desert island/ bomb shelter DVD. In other words it is among the very finest DVD that has ever been released. Add it to your collection as soon as possible. Christopher Jarmick,is the author of The Glass Coccon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller. For information on Author readings/signings or availability of special autographed editions of the novel email: glasscocoon@hotmail for details. Original portions of this review Copyright© Christopher J. Jarmick 2001. The above work is protected by international copyright law.


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 May 29, 2001