Review of 2012 2-disc Blu-ray edition 2001 2-disc DVD edition
** UPDATED NOV-15-2012 **
An extraordinary film has now become an extraordinary Blu-ray. David Lean's 1962 desert epic film about the enigmatic British officer T.E. Lawrence and his successes and struggles in the Arab countries during the early 20th Century remains (sadly) as relevant as ever regarding the Western world's unending struggles in the Middle East regions. The Oscar-winning classic is also a landmark event in film history, as it set a very high standard in epic film-making, acting, and, for the making of this Blu-ray, in film restoration as well. Director Lean and then-unknown actor Peter O'Toole's contribution in this film remain influential in the five decades since the film's initial release. And if it had not been for the efforts of restorers Robert A. Harris and Jim Painten, who discovered the film's original negative inside crushed and rusting film cans in Columbia's vaults in the 1980s, and proceeded to restore it to its original glory, we would not...
The desert is a sea in which no oar is dipped.
It is unsurprising to me that some people find Lawrence of Arabia boring. If you have the attention span of a hummingbird, this is not a film you will enjoy. It has no car chases, no bikini-clad supermodels, and nary a kung-fu move to be seen. Instead, all it offers is tortured respect for everything it touches. Lawrence of Arabia is a film that elevated the art of cinematic storytelling to new heights, and it shows. It is the journey, not the destination, that the viewer should focus on. In order to enjoy this film, you must make a commitment to watch it. Get comfortable, have something to drink on hand (you'll know why about halfway through), turn off the phone, and put the remote under a pillow. I've seen a lot of films, and some I've liked to varying degrees, and others I've simply been satisfied that Hollywood didn't butcher the underlying work or premise too badly in pursuit of the lowest common denominator. Lawrence of Arabia is different. It is one of those truly...
Amazon posting INCORRECT reviews - not for this version.
Dear Amazon,
Please stop posting reviews for films that are, essentially, written for another version of the DVD's (and cd's) and not the one posted.
There are several DVD versions of Lawrence of Arabia. They all differ wildly from each other in picture and sound quality.
How do you expect us to chose which is best for us if you post the same review from the 2001 version over and over and over again?
"Best dvd version yet."
Yeah, right - in 2001 that may have been true. But Amazon, you've posted this review for every version of this DVD even though the review was for a DVD originally released in 2001!
Lawrence of Arabia has been remastered twice since then, and the subsquent versions are very, very different.
Please stop this and take some responsibility and post reviews ONLY for their specific versions - or at least specify that the review was written for another version.
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