Lawrence of Arabia (Single Disc Edition)

Owned this as video. Wanted the clearer Def of DVD.This a pic that is a classic, I watch and re-watch from time to time. No devotee of really great films should be without...

The Columbia Classics Collector's Edition of "Lawrence of Arabia" is the best version on DVD.

I just discovered this film a few years ago, when the Superbit version was out of print and the Limited Edition was not only expensive, but was infamous for its inaccurate colors. I bought the single disc DVD, and was very pleased with it. However, it had no extra features.

Using various website reviews and side-by-side image comparisons, I have come to the conclusion that the Superbit version had the best picture quality (sound quality, I gather, is the same for all versions). The Columbia Classics version has very similar (if not equal) picture quality to the Superbit version. It also contains all of the same extras in the Limited Edition version, minus the replica booklet and DVD-Rom (the Superbit version had no extras, and neither does the single disc version). Therefore, the Columbia Classics version is best overall.

The only complaints that I have with this Columbia Classics version are that it uses false marketing to suggest that it is "Newly Restored and Remastered" (which it isn't, it's the same as the Superbit version) and one fault in the picture quality (the same for all versions, edge enhancement/ haloing around people.) These faults are minor, and this is still the best DVD version. However, I still detract 1/2 of a star for this.

This winner of 7 Academy Award including 1962 Best Picture is magnificent. The scenery breath taking,Peter O'Tool along with Omar Sharif Jack Hawkins,Jose Ferrer and Claude Rains together with all of the wonderful actors makes "Laqwrence of Arabia"one DVD worthy of a place of honor in our DVD collection

I find it amazing this movie was ever made. A three-and-a-half hour epic about a strange, masochistic, messianic, probably gay, possibly mentally disturbed British military officer having an identity crisis while going native & riding a camel back and forth in the desert in the wrong theater of a major war. I wonder how David Lean pitched this thing to Columbia Studios in the first place.

There is not one word of dialogue spoken by any female in the entire movie. The movie was made by a major American studio but is a decidedly British movie made by a bunch of Brits about a bunch Brits and Arabs in North Africa. The only American character is unnecessary, poorly written and poorly acted, almost as if on purpose. Certainly David Lean had a certain cache thanks to the success of The Bridge on the River Kwai and he used at least a few important actors in co-starring roles. However, his two main characters were played by two nearly unknown actors, Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif. Both made their careers with their performances in this movie.

The script is a fictionalization of Lawrence's memoir, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, in which he gives his side of the story of his involvement in the North African theater in WW1. His account has been summed up by many historical scholars & contemporaries as debatable at best and simply a pack of lies at worst. In other words, a fictionalization of an unreliable source. As the title makes clear, the movie is about T. E. Lawrence in Arabia and not so much about the Arab revolt against Turkey.

O'Toole had very little screen acting experience when he starred in this movie. He had been a stage actor for some time & had appeared in a few movies. His performance as Lawrence is routinely cited as one of the greatest performances in any movie ever and often as the greatest performance in any English speaking movie. Not a bad day's work, eh? His blue eyes, reedlike frame and not particularly handsome but interesting face are arresting. O'Toole owns the screen and scenes not featuring him are noticable by his absence. He lost the Academy Award to Gregory Peck's model father in To Kill a Mockingbird. David Lean, the music and the Cinematography won. So did the sound, art direction, and the editing. The whole shebang won the best picture award. Omar Sharif was nominated and so was the screenplay. The script is astonishingly intelligent and thoughtful for a Hollywood movie.

If the movie suffers at all, it is from uninteresting and poorly delineated minor characters. Lawrence of Arabia concerns itself almost exclusively with a few major characters and lets the rest fight for the scraps. Fortunately, O'Toole, Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quayle, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness, Jose Ferrer and Claude Rains deliver excellent performances.

The cinematography is stunning. The desert is the other major character besides Lawrence. It's vastness, beauty, danger and mystery are every bit as fascinating as the title character. The desert is a vast wasteland and a home to millions. A primordial landscape only somewhat tamed by a primordial people.

An epic that sprawls over thousands of miles of desert and features a cast of thousands, Lawrence of Arabia ultimately boils down to a fascinating character study and beautiful cinematography.

There are actually 4 versions of this movie on DVD:

1. Bare bones single disc version (don't bother; I agree with reviewer)
2. 2-disc limited edition (which has lots of extras but the film quality is not the best of the versions out there) - 2001 release
3. 2-disc superbit edition (which doesn't have the extras but the film quality is superior to the limited edition) - 2003 release (out of print but can get on amazon marketplace or ebay)
4. 2-disc collector's edition (which has the extras and the superbit version of the film which is an excellent version also) - 2008 release

Hope that helps.
PS - I would only recommend #3 or #4 as the film quality is better on these version than #1 or #2.