Amazon.com: There's no getting around a simple, basic truth: watching Lawrence of Arabia in any home-video format represents a compromise. There's no better way to appreciate this epic biographical adventure than to see it projected in 70 millimeter onto a huge theater screen. That caveat aside, David Lean's masterful "desert classic" is still enjoyable on the small screen, especially if viewed in widescreen format. (If your only option is to view a "pan & scan" version, it's best not to bother; this is a film for which the widescreen format is utterly mandatory.) Peter O'Toole gives a star-making performance as T.E. Lawrence, the eccentric British officer who united the desert tribes of Arabia against the Turks during World War I. Lean orchestrates sweeping battle sequences and breathtaking action, but the film is really about the adventures and trials that transform Lawrence into a legendary man of the desert. Lean traces this transformation on a vast canvas of awesome physicality; no other movie has captured the expanse of the desert with such scope and grandeur. Equally important is the psychology of Lawrence, who remains an enigma even as we grasp his identification with the desert. Perhaps the greatest triumph of this landmark film is that Lean has conveyed the romance, danger, and allure of the desert with such physical and emotional power. It's a film about a man who leads one life but is irresistibly drawn to another, where his greatness and mystery are allowed to flourish in equal measure. --Jeff Shannon
It SUCKS!!!!!!!!!! In the product description is said it has subtitles in spanish, due to the fact that my dad only speaks spanish I thought it would be a great gift for him and make him remember his days of youth, but its just a BIG LIE!!! the movie only has 2 languages: English and French. Now why didn't we returned it? We are too far away to start a process like that and my dad was too excited to take a look at the description that he just peeled off the wrap.
Lean is a painter This is the true story of a young British man whose arrogance defies everything and everyone. With the passion of a leader and the heart of a conflicted man, he is a speck in the vast desert, influencing cultures and tribes of the Middle East to unite as nations and of course give advantage to the British Empire. Lawrence Of Arabia is poetry on film, from one incredible scene to another. It defined the modern epic. It has a rare visual artistry and beauty that will never date itself. Lean is a painter and his canvas is the silver screen!
In all seriousness - the most overrated movie of all time I watched this movie because it's a classic and IMDB rates it #35 movie of all times.
This comment comes from someone with a long attention span, who actually enjoys long movies where there is character development (Gone with the Wind, for example) or an intricate plot (The Usual Suspects); from someone who is not an action flick junkie but appreciates film for the underlying philosophy (Memento, The Machinist, Vanilla Sky, Dark City) and the dialogue (Before Sunrise); from someone who recognizes beautiful cinematography (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Anna and the King), innovative editing (Run Lola Run) or non-linear storytelling (Memento).
In each of those aspects, Lawrence of Arabia plain sucked.
The movie is so painful to watch that it took me 5 hours to go through it, with breaks to save my sanity. Yet had I left the movie running, I wouldn't have missed anything. The plot is nothing to write home about, and the only worthwhile piece of the stilted dialogue is when Lawrence challenges the Arab notion of predestination with his willpower: "I shall be in Aqaba. That IS written. [pointing to forehead] In here". There you've just had all that's worth watching in this most protracted piece of utterly useless celluloid. Indeed, the only other memorable thing about it is its length. If you want to see a portrayal of a character's determination, watch Cool Hand Luke. Heck, you have to be even more determined to watch Lawrence of A Labia in its entirety.
Therefore, excuse the title of the review, but really, I challenge you to describe in clear, logical terms why Lawrence of Arabia has an 8.6 rating on IMDB and is #35 in the Top 250!
In the meantime, I will completely and irrevocably cease to use IMDB's ranking as a source of movie recommendations.
Lawrence of Arabia in Blu-Ray? I've been told over and over, that Sony is just about ready to release LOA... but, this has been going on for almost a year now. Does anybody have a clue as when (or, if) it will be coming out in Blu-Ray?
This movie is on a REAL short list for my all-time favorite film. Now that we have the chance to see it on a small screen, the way it was meant to be seen, what's holding up the process?
where's the blu ray edition? If any movie ever deserved to be on blu ray this is the one. It is a cinematic masterpiece. This two disc version has the best print around but it still needs a blu ray release. This great picture has it all and you have 382 other reviews to tell you that. The man the story is about proves that history is more fascinating than fiction and Lawrence was a great man indeed. He had his troubles just like the great actor who protrays him in this movie Peter O Toole , whose alcoholism robbed him of alot of his life by making it a giant haze. Thankfully he's still around to provide us with great performances like he did in "venus". Every scene in this movie is fantastic although they gloss over Lawrence of arabia's rape by the turkish troops. In middle eastern lands it is quite common for many men guards or others to rape male prisoners and that incident drove Lawrence over the edge leading to him to slaughter the turks in large numbers. Which marred the man's greatness to a degree, but in those days who could he talk to about it? In spite of that watching this movie is like watching perfection in cinematography and pacing. It just does everything right and the story is a important one
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