Lawrence of Arabia [DVD] [1989]

I'd decided to play the Blu-ray disc of Lawrence of Arabia this evening as a) there was nothing of interest to me on the box, and b) I had at last bought a bigger TV with far better picture quality, in HD. The transfer of this great film to Blu-ray is superb; above all else I have never seen the picture so sharp, so rich in detail, the colours bright but natural. There is a true feeling of depth to the picture. I can't judge the sound quality well as the TV really needs a sound bar, but that will have to wait.None of this would matter if the film itself were not a masterpiece. Everything comes together: script, direction, acting, cinematography, and - often not remarked on - editing. It's all done to the highest standards. The first fifteen minutes alone are a lesson in film-making. After an overture, played to a black screen, the opening credits are shown whilst we look vertically down on Lawrence preparing his motorbike in Dorset for the journey that will, in fact, be his last. In due course we flashback to Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) in Cairo at British Army HQ. His interview with General Murray (Donald Wolfit) as Mr Dryden (Claude Rains, again wonderful) recruits him for intelligence purposes, is hilarious. The General, a man of action, but clearly not of patience; Lawrence, the intellectual and apparently effete, by appearance perhaps better suited to the Pay Corps. But O'Toole brilliantly demonstrates that Lawrence knows exactly what he's doing, gently winding up the General who gladly lets him go off for a 'bit of fun' in the desert. Claude Rains remarks that it's known that Lawrence has a strange sense of 'fun', just as Lawrence blows out a lighted match. And at that moment we cut to a shot of the sun slowly rising over the desert at daybreak, all rich orange.I tend to run out of superlatives for this film. Freddie Young, the Director of Photography, and Anne Coates, the Film Editor, are as important to its success as the (all-male? I can't remember a single speaking part for a woman) actors. And quite possibly only David Lean could have driven this film through with such perfection.The strange bit is that when the film ended and I switched back to live television, there, on screen, was a clip from the very film I had just been watching.It was, of course, news that Peter O'Toole had sadly died, and this film was, without doubt, his finest hour.

got this for my Husband, He really likes this old film, he was so pleased

Approaching such a revered milestone of cinema, I was reluctant for two reasons: The first reason it's LONG - did I really want to give up that much time to watch an old film that might not live up to the hype? The second is that 'biographical' pieces can be dull, especially if produced in a more 'twee' era.I needn't have worried on either account. While I'll recommend that you save it for a Sunday or a Bank Holiday simply due to the size of the film, which comes with it's own Intermission break, this is no dry, fusty hero-worship piece.The Blu-Ray transfer is spectacular, and although you can tell it's an older film, it's very clear and amazingly good looking. The scenery photography on its own led to several jaw-drop moments of genuine, rare awe. But between that scenery there's a story.Lawrence isn't held up as a flawless hero but a playful, flawed egotist - one with great military guts and a mountain of determination and self belief - which bordered on the self-eulogising and nearly a messiah complex.The British are surprisingly portrayed the way that the CIA tend to be portrayed in modern movies; shifty types with a moral superiority complex who think the end justifies the means and aren't afraid of throwing their men to the wolves, but with the occasional touching moment of comradeship.The Arab characters also come off better than in many later films, being shown some degree of respect by the story as victims of cultural expectations and tradition as much as victims of exploitation by the Turks and the British. Alec Guinness gives a layered performance of Faisal, Omar Sharif fills his supporting role with fiery personality and pride, and O'Toole is mesmerising as the soldier who feels a fish out of water with his own people, but comes into his own in the desert.It's decently full of action and spectacle as well, from the striking attack upon Aqaba to saboteur attacks and the massacre of a convoy of Turkish foot-soldiers that the film is brave enough to paint as nothing but the results of blood-lust and Lawrence's temporarily unbalanced psyche - an unbalance that may be down to wartime sexual abuse that's heavily hinted at in a key scene.Overall, it's an astonishingly brave film - brave for its pacing which insists upon bouts of patience to soak up the astounding vistas and cultural moments in between the politics and violence, brave for casting two little known performers in lead roles, and brave for its controversial and fascinating plot details.This is certainly not the fuzzy, watered down museum piece you may have been taught to expect. A breathtaking piece of British cinema.