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- Feb 8, 1999
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- Real Name
- Robert Harris
The new 4k release of David Lean's epic, Lawrence of Arabia, has seen four versions, and a myriad of home video itinerations, going back to praxinoscope days.
Now released in the new Columbia six film boxed set, it has seemingly reached home video nirvana.
Everything that one might wish for is here.
The film has been split across two discs, for maximum data throughput;
Dolby Atmos has been added for a bit of height, which works nicely;
Color, black levels, shadow detail and general densities all work nicely;
Grain structure is superb;
Image stability is perfect.
For those unaccustomed to the film, be aware that it's four hours long, has no women with speaking roles, spends hours watching men cross deserts on camels, and has no musical numbers.
It's all about this slightly looney Brit who seems to enjoy pain, and takes pleasure in burning himself with matches.
It was originally released in December of 1962 at 232 minutes inclusive of music. In January, twenty minutes was removed, making certain sequences a bit incoherent, and in 1970, supposedly only for American TV, it was shorn of another fifteen minutes, leading to a wonderful article in the New York Times, entitled Look What They've Done to Lawrence of Arabia Now.
Most people seemed to enjoy the 202 minute cut (212 with music), until a slightly looney American became involved and put back most of the pieces that had been cut, finally ending up with a Director's Cut at 227 minutes with music.
Those elements were digitized in 2012 by Columbia's Grover Crisp, leading to what we have today.
A tiny silver disc, weighing probably less than an ounce, instead of the earlier necessary 70mm print, that weighed in at closer to 750 pounds on 13 reels.
The miracle, if you will, has been accomplished. This tiny disc can be run on a 4k player, and with enough illumination, can easily fill a screen 35-40 feet wide.
So how does it look on a 65" OLED?
Pretty good.
If you're running on an OLED, please do check settings, as certain levels between HDR and DV may not coincide. Just saying.
Projectors will still have their HDR problems. JVCs seem to handle it better than Sony units, but the larger the image, the better.
Audio now has the addition of Dolby Atmos, giving us a bit of extra excitement.
Not bad, really...
After you receive a copy, and watch a few moments, you might consider a delicate bow to the west toward Grover Crisp and his team at Columbia.
Not bad at all.
Oh, one more thing. The film comes with digital codes so that it can finally be seen as the filmmakers intended.
On one's iPhone.
4k Image – 5 - OLED Panel
4k Image - 4.5 - Projection
Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Upgrade from Blu-ray - Don't even ask
Very Highly Recommended
RAH
Now released in the new Columbia six film boxed set, it has seemingly reached home video nirvana.
Everything that one might wish for is here.
The film has been split across two discs, for maximum data throughput;
Dolby Atmos has been added for a bit of height, which works nicely;
Color, black levels, shadow detail and general densities all work nicely;
Grain structure is superb;
Image stability is perfect.
For those unaccustomed to the film, be aware that it's four hours long, has no women with speaking roles, spends hours watching men cross deserts on camels, and has no musical numbers.
It's all about this slightly looney Brit who seems to enjoy pain, and takes pleasure in burning himself with matches.
It was originally released in December of 1962 at 232 minutes inclusive of music. In January, twenty minutes was removed, making certain sequences a bit incoherent, and in 1970, supposedly only for American TV, it was shorn of another fifteen minutes, leading to a wonderful article in the New York Times, entitled Look What They've Done to Lawrence of Arabia Now.
Most people seemed to enjoy the 202 minute cut (212 with music), until a slightly looney American became involved and put back most of the pieces that had been cut, finally ending up with a Director's Cut at 227 minutes with music.
Those elements were digitized in 2012 by Columbia's Grover Crisp, leading to what we have today.
A tiny silver disc, weighing probably less than an ounce, instead of the earlier necessary 70mm print, that weighed in at closer to 750 pounds on 13 reels.
The miracle, if you will, has been accomplished. This tiny disc can be run on a 4k player, and with enough illumination, can easily fill a screen 35-40 feet wide.
So how does it look on a 65" OLED?
Pretty good.
If you're running on an OLED, please do check settings, as certain levels between HDR and DV may not coincide. Just saying.
Projectors will still have their HDR problems. JVCs seem to handle it better than Sony units, but the larger the image, the better.
Audio now has the addition of Dolby Atmos, giving us a bit of extra excitement.
Not bad, really...
After you receive a copy, and watch a few moments, you might consider a delicate bow to the west toward Grover Crisp and his team at Columbia.
Not bad at all.
Oh, one more thing. The film comes with digital codes so that it can finally be seen as the filmmakers intended.
On one's iPhone.
4k Image – 5 - OLED Panel
4k Image - 4.5 - Projection
Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Upgrade from Blu-ray - Don't even ask
Very Highly Recommended
RAH
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