Review of Lawrence of Arabia (2 Disc Set)

Introduction

Sir David Lean’s 1962 classic is finally here on DVD. And boy, was it worth the wait.

An incredible biography of a legendary WWI hero, Lawrence of Arabia is a marvellously rich and sumptuous tour-de-force of beautiful cinematography partnered with a moving score, superb script and top-notch acting performances.

The film is set during the middle of WWI, around 1916, and centres on good old Colonial Blighty. The British are determined to keep the Suez Canal open, but have to deal with increasingly ferocious attacks from the German-backed Turks and, to a lesser degree, a multitude of apparently archaic and badly organised Bedouin tribes. But to our hero, T.E. Lawrence (played faultlessly by Peter O’Toole), it is these fanatical people that would eventually spurn his interest in the Arab world and give him the opportunity to leave behind his boring desk job in Cairo. His chance eventually comes when he is seconded to the British Arab Bureau (the British Civilian Intelligence section) on a temporary posting and given the seemingly straightforward mission to locate the mysterious Prince Feisal (played with aplomb by Sir Alec Guinness) and monitor the Prince’s movements and activities.

To help him navigate across the vast sandy wilderness, Lawrence teams up with friendly guide Tafas and perched precariously atop their camels, set about tracking the Prince and his Bedouin people. However, after a tragic incident with Sherif Ali ibn el-Kharish (Omar Sharif), Lawrence is forced to employ his trusty Army compass and plough on himself, eventually stumbling across the stiff-upper-lipped Colonel Harry Brighton (Anthony Quayle), the British advisor to the Prince.

It is not long after this initial meeting that Lawrence gets to meet Prince Feisal and, after long discussions, the way forward becomes clear. Basically, Lawrence (with the support of Feisal’s poorly armed and beleaguered people) plans to wage his own war against the Turks (this being totally against the advice of Colonel Brighton who wishes to retreat). His first offensive hinges on getting 50 warriors across the fearsome Nefud desert and into the Turkish held port of Aqaba…

The introduction above may be familiar to many of you who perhaps first saw this masterpiece in its original theatrical form in 1962 or in its re-released ‘Director’s Cut’ in 1989. But whether you’re revisiting this film as an old friend, or meeting Lawrence for the very first time, your jaw will hit the floor with a resounding thud as soon as disk 1 starts spinning in your DVD player…

Video

Initial impressions are important; particularly when one is reviewing several new DVD’s a week. And as such, the menu screen is the first taste the viewer has of a DVD’s quality before starting the film proper. I am therefore pleased to say that Lawrence of Arabia has some of the most beautiful designed menus I have ever seen. They ooze quality, with fiery explosions spewing across the screen, accompanied by the world famous score and superb background images. Each of the two disks has a similar menu screen, but with differences in the various extras on offer (more on these later).

Moving onto the film quality itself, this transfer was taken from the fully restored 1989 version of the film and is the full-length, uncut version running at just under 4 hours (the 1962 and later versions were severely cut to reduce the running time to a more punter-friendly 3 hours). The images look like they were filmed yesterday such is the sharpness and detail of the picture on offer here. The vast expanse of desert is captured in all its awesome beauty with the wind blowing up small sand clouds from the dunes.

The vivid colours of the desert (and its peoples) are displayed with a high degree of accuracy and detail. There is the occasional minor blemish visible (most probably transferred from the source print) but nothing to detract from the images on screen. I long to have had the chance to see this film on a 50 feet cinema screen, as film goers did in the 60’s and late 80’s. It really must’ve been quite an experience, giving the viewer the feeling that they were alongside Lawrence, wandering the great expanse of the desert.

Almost reference quality visuals then, and an amazing achievement for the restoration team and Sony’s DVD mastering centre. They must all be applauded for the work they have done on this title.

Audio

Re-mastered in DD5.1, the audio is clear and lucid with the marvellous score lilting over the fine visuals. There are some nice surround effects with crowd noise, explosions and gunfire and a very clear centre vocal channel. To hear the original score in its new digital form breathes new life into the film and adds greatly to the overall experience. A heady mix of British military pomp and Arabic influence, the Academy Award winning score by hitherto unknown Maurice Jarre is worthy of repeat listening on its own accord, and the original soundtrack album has remained one of the best selling film titles of all time

Features

With the majority of the extra features on disk 2, the overall collection is one of quality rather than quantity. Disk 1 is limited to some DVD-ROM extras – namely some behind-the-scenes photographs, a chapter guide, links to various Columbia websites and a lengthy bibliography of all-things Lawrence.

Disk 2 contains a thoroughly engrossing ‘Making Of’ documentary that shows some exclusive footage of Lawrence in production. Comprised of several sub-sections there are, amongst other things, scenes that show the principal actors working on-set with director Lean, detail on the costumes used, even a section on learning to ride a camel. There is a great deal of background information as to how Lawrence of Arabia came to be filmed and how the screenplay was constructed. For fans of director Lean or the film itself, this could be worth the cost of the DVD itself.

A fascinating extra is ‘A Journey with Lawrence’ that gives a narrated timeline spanning 2 years and detailing the route that was taken during his various campaigns, with the ability to click on a featured area to gain some extra insight into what happened there, when and why. This narrated information is added to by some photographs and written text.

A step back in time next with the original Theatrical Trailer, showing just how dirty the original 1962 release was and just how much must have gone into the 1989 restoration (and the subsequent re-mastering for this DVD set). What is most striking is the length of the trailer, running at over 5 minutes.

Up next is ‘A Conversation with Steven Spielberg’ that allows the great man to wax lyrical about how this film influenced his early filmmaking career and how moved he was when first seeing it as a young man. It makes enjoyable viewing, but is slightly lost amongst the other, higher quality extras included here and it is unfortunate that Spielberg has one of those slightly annoying, grating voices that tends to irritate after a while.

Also included are four short featurettes – ‘How Camels are Cast’, ‘In Search of Lawrence’, ‘Romance of Arabia’ and ‘The Making of a Classic’. All four are interesting in their own right and make enjoyable viewing.

Nostalgia freaks will love the footage of the ‘New York Premiere’ with some great black and white footage of the stars arriving for the opening night of Lawrence of Arabia. I just love the voiceovers on these old clips.

Next we have a feature on the various ‘Advertising Campaigns’ that ran during the 60’s (and later in the 80’s) to promote Lawrence. It shows how, over time, the portrayal of the film via advertising changed from being slightly dark and mysterious to a more exciting and adventurous look to suit the mood of the cinema-goer at that time. It contains some great advertising artwork and footage from around the world and is well narrated and executed.

And finally we have a detailed filmography showing the key players and filmmakers. For fans of Lean and his films, there is a good amount of information here.

Conclusion

As disk 1 ended and the moving score began to play once more, the word ‘Intermission’ flashed up on my TV. I tried to imagine being in the cinema at that time; parched dry from the scenes of arid desert and ready to leap up to get a cooling cola and hotdog. It is a known fact that cinemas had to buy in extra ice and cold drinks especially for showing this film, such was the convincing way that Lean shot this epic.

Lawrence may feel like a lumbering 4-hour behemoth, but I guarantee that not once will you look at your watch or wish for the end. Like the desert that features so heavily in this film, Lawrence of Arabia will mesmerise and tantalise, pulling you in and holding you under its spell.

For once the old cliché is true; they really don’t make them like this anymore.

Unmissable.