LAWRENCE OF ARABIA at NYC's Ziegfeld Theater in September! (1 Viewer)

[Peter Kline]

Evan.
A true movie lover are you. However, I can say that in 2 days I am flying to Los Angeles from Coral Springs, Florida to see a film on October 4. It is "This Is Cinerama" and ironically it has a direct connection to LOA. The movie was co-produced by Lowell Thomas who brought the exploits of T.E. Lawrence to the world. He makes on screen appearances throughout.
So, I have you beaten on the mileage! The whole trip will cost me nearly $1200. (OK, I'll be doing other things while in Los Angeles for a week).
Peter

 

[Evan Case]

One thing that really struck me on the big screen was the magnitude of Lawrence's Turk massacre.

On DVD, when Bentley first sees the field of dead Turks, the bodies are barely discernable because of both darkness and the small image size. On the big screen, however, the carnage is fully evident. Blood is everywhere--the sand is caked with it. Bodies are frozen in all manner of agonizing death.

Powerful stuff.

Evan

 

[Evan Case]

Peter,
I'd do just about anything to see a film in cinerama.
Paying $1200, alas, is currently not one of them. (Don't get me wrong, I would if I could--it's just that being a college student generally doesn't pay very well. :frowning
Yeah, the excuse I used was "visiting the parents."
Have a good trip.
Evan

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Seeing one of the greatest films of all-time in one of the greatest formats of all-time at one of the greatest theaters of all-time: Priceless

Nice post Evan. Glad that you had such a great experience!

I completely agree that the Turk massacre was much more gruesome in 70mm. It was much more profound.

Of course, pretty much every scene was more profound in 70mm!

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

We called up the Castro and found that they are showing LOA twice daily over the weekend. 2 PM showing is only $5. 7:30 PM showing is $8. What a deal. No advance purchase and the box office opens at 1 PM.

 

[Robert Harris]

Evan,

I would add to your list:

a thank you to Columbia for spending a small fortune on re-timing the printing negative, making prints at
$30,000 per, and to Columbia's Grover Crisp for repping the studio on all of the extremely tedious lab work.

Then of course Michael Schlesinger for placing it back into distribution.

RAH

 

[Chris Liberti]

Well I am going to be going to the 7:30 showing at the Castro on Sunday and will let everyone know what I think. Also is the screen in LA a curved Cinerama screen? If not Cinerama in Seatle is going to be showing This is Cinerama sometime soon.

 

[Peter Kline]

The Cinerma Dome in Hollywood is a curved screen just like the original one except it is not louvered. Any 70mm feature shown will have some horizontal distortion as well as missing image in the center top and bottom.

 

[Jerry Hostler]

Dennis and Chris,

Please let us know how the showing was at the Castro once you've been. I plan on catching it there next week and it will be my first time there.

I've only seen the movie once (the DVD) and can't wait to see it in 70mm. I'm pretty excited after seeing all the great comments in this post.

Jerry

 

[Jason_Els]

Just got back from a great lunch at Aquavit and LOA at the Ziegfeld.
......in a word...

WOW!
Worth every penny I spent today and then some. My only reservations are that the film didn't look any better than the DVD (color balance appeared to be off) and the surrounds weren't active as I had hoped.
Seeing LOA in 70mm only confirms my original thought that it's the one movie, more than any other, that requires an enormous screen. Sure 2001 or How the West Was Won are arguable candidates, but LOA has that sweeping epic power that the other two frankly lack. Big movies need big screens and this movie needs it all. I actually thought in the middle of the movie that the screen should be bigger still and the heat turned way up!
In 70mm the real star of the movie becomes apparent-- the desert itself. The desert and the theme romance Lawrence and his love of the land becomes our love for it. It is lulling, intriguing, endless, beautiful, and deadly. So much happens upstage that it's hard to appreciate LOA fully on a smaller screen. Omar Sharif's entrance first as a mirage, then as figure, then as a black rider with a rifle is one of the great entrances in movie history; a black whirlwind flying over the sand transformed into man and camel. The invasion of Aqaba and the departure for Damascus stand out as memorable scenes for their grandeur and power. They really give the viewer a tremendous sense of being there and for once I felt the power of those armies.
Yet I also noticed just how important the large screen is to framing the action. Lean always keeps the camera in the position of observer; in a place where a person could be seeing these events and taking part in them. Frequently he places important action upstage center while placing important characters downstage and to the left and right. I recall that when Lawrence returns to Cairo and "hosts" other officers at the club he looks up and around and we see all the other personnel looking down on him. Lean placed the camera from the POV of Lawrence himself, helping to isolate him even in his moment of triumph. There are many of these POV shots and I never would have noticed them on the smaller screen. Here they were obvious.
I'd also like to say that when Robert Harris' name appeared in the credits a surprising number of people in the audience cheered and applauded. I wouldn't be in the least surprised if other HTF members and other movie people were there. It was touching to see Mr. Harris receive such a warm display of thanks from such a finicky crowd as New Yorkers are wont to be.
It was, simply, the best movie experience I've had since Ghostbusters first came out (but for entirely different reasons).
Go see it if you can!

 

[Andrew_Sch]

I'd like to pose a question to everyone here in this thread:
What is your favorite scene in Lawrence of Arabia?

I'd especially be intrigued to know Mr. Harris' favorite scene, having such an intimate knowledge of the film.

Personally, my favorite is the scene when Lawrence returns from the suicidal rescue mission in the sun's anvil. When Ali approaches him, the two of them have this kind of regal aura about them that just dwarves everything else on the screen. Kind of like the elves in LOTR but they produce their own invisible white glow that viewers can still sense. Lawrence then rasps out my favorite line of the movie from his sun-scorched throat, "Nothing is written," before taking the longest, most welcome drink of water any man has ever taken.

 

[Holadem]

I'd like to pose a question to everyone here in this thread:
What is your favorite scene in Lawrence of Arabia?

Couldn't make it to the city this weekend, but I will reply anyway .
The Boat in the dunes.
--
Holadem

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Very difficult question! I love both of the scenes mentioned above. The scene Andrew mentioned is a very important scene in the movie, as it is the first great accomplishment by Lawrence that eventually leads to the believe by some (including Lawrence?) that he is not "just an ordinary man", but, perhaps, a God. Later in the movie, Ali says something to the effect that "it is not written until you write it"!

I also love the shot of Lawrence blowing out the match and the quick cut to the overwhelmingly beautiful sunrise on the desert!

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

The boat (in the canal) seen through the dunes, and then David Lean on a motocycle yelling the most important question of the film, "who are you?"

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

FYI,

Tonight (9/29) is the last night that Lawrence will be showing at the Dome. It will be inside at one of the big Arclight screens (they're great, trust me) for some time, however. I passed up seeing Lawrence last night to see the 65mm 2001 at the Egyptian and, passing by Arclight, found out that even though "This Is Cinerama" doesn't start until next Friday, "Lawrence" is still moving from the Dome. I plan on seeing it tomorrow night regardless.

 

[Adam_S]

it moved from the actual dome! damn I'm going to see it on the third, it will still play in 70 mm though correct?

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Well I just got back from the 2 PM showing at The Castro. This has got to be some kind of deal. Only $5 for the afternoon showing. The projectionist was great - clear sharp focus throughout. And the audience was quiet. You could have heard a pin drop on the quiet places. This has got to be the best deal in a 70mm showing of LOA. This was my best experience in a public theater in the last ten years.
I guess the last time I saw LOA in 70mm was when it first showed in 1961, so I can't dip into my memory - I was only 8 year old then. But now I see what this color balance problem everyone is yammering on about. The DVD clearly has a pink-peach color to the desert. The 70mm print showed the desert as more a dirt-brown color.
The Castro's sound left something to be desired at loud volumes. When the music got loud, it got distorted. My HT sounds better. But during really quiet passages, what I heard today was a revelation. For example, in the early map room scene, you could hear conversations on the street outside. Similarly, in the scene when Lawrence rides into the camp with Gassim, before he shows up you can hear the chatter of the men in the camp. I'd never heard either before. It certainly helps to have a quiet audience!!!
I am amazed that The Castro didn't advertise this. Here it was on the only weekend it was showing LOA, and the theater was only half-full. My friend and I got there early and were able to snag seats in our choice of location: dead center and in the 12th row. We could even walk up and down the aisles to determine which row would fill our eyeballs best.

 

[Jerry Hostler]

Thanks for your review of the Castro showing, Dennis. I'm heading over there Wednesday night. Can't wait
Jerry

 

[PaulaJ]

>>I'd like to pose a question to everyone here in this thread:
>>What is your favorite scene in Lawrence of Arabia?
Hmmm. Ummmm. I think I have a different one for every day of the month.
I'll say that today's favorite is the magical moment when Lawrence reaches the pinnacle of his myth: when he slowly twirls around on top of the train car and then walks across its roof to the cheers of the Arab tribesmen. I just love the way the camera looks up at Lawrence and the way he turns around, displaying himself, and the way the light shines through his robes, as if he weren't really there. He's almost like a ghost. He's in silhouette and we can't even see his face. He is everything and nothing all at once.
Tomorrow's favorite is probably the entie sequence when Lawrence returns to Cairo for the first time. It may not be consciously planned by Lawrence but it's high drama of the most theatrical sort. And I love the way he flees at the end, like an actor overwhelmed by his adoring fans.
There is a constant contrast/comparison between the Arabs and the British officers that makes me think that they are not as different as they think they are. And in the end Lawrence is not at home with either.

 

[Woo Jae]

Feel bad that I haven't chimed in on this board (for those who are curious, I frequent the Advanced Anime Discussion Thread 2).

I still have a bit of trouble summing up the experience at the Ziegfield theater. Although I have the DVD, I have not had the patience to see it any more than the first 30 minutes (too busy with anime or Japanese animation and video games, I suppose :b). So this was my first real viewing of this old but still relevant classic. And it was magnificent - superlative - but most of all, a bit overwhelming.

I was most impressed by both the dialogue and the superb character acting that I have had the pleasure to see on the big or small screen. Alec Guiness (who I only knew best from the pop culture phenomenon "Star Wars") was superb in make up as Prince Feisal and the consummate diplomat - "You are but a general. I am to be a KING." (bad paraphrase... forgive me).. Anthony Quinn was also superlative as the blood thirsty and greedy nomad selling his tribe to the highest bidder. Peter O'Toole was simply brilliant - his transformation from a eager young officer to a grizzled burned out husk of a human being was never as so effective as in this film. Claude Rains as always steals the scenes that he starred in...

I will have to revisit my DVD (albeit a poorer quality than the print I saw) for the details but this was a movie that will forever remain in high regard in my mind and heart. Its relevance and universality will always remain since humans will always be in conflict with each other.

Favorite scene? Well there were so many - the ones that were mentioned by fellow HTFers all stood out, but a memorable moment was the moment Feisal "recruited" Lawrence to his cause... grizzled politician who entrusts a naive young soldier with visions of glory - only through a gesture, a look...

Powerful stuff...