A Few Words About While we wait for A few words about...™ Lawrence of Arabia -- in 4k/UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[owen35]

Andrew — Thanks for your kind words.
The "Caucasianizing" of the "dark head" poster, to which Andrew refers, was a desperate effort to prevent Lawrence from
being taken for a 'black'. This was done in early 1963 and resulted in a lame, short-lived version in which the face was
very 'white' and the lips were very thin. (See page 180 in our book)
All the 'head' posters were soon dumped though, in favor of a new, more militant image of Lawrence waving a curved sword —
which NEVER happens in the film!!! A point of interest — To create the 'sword' image, an artist took a still of TE initiating the charge
on the first dynamited train ("Come on, then!") and replaced his flare gun with the sword. This 'sword' image remained the principal
Lawrence artwork for several years.

I'll be honest, as long as they didn't use the 1988 image of Lawrence standing on that mound of sand, I would be a happy man. That image always struck me as too cartoonish and lacking any drama. Both the Canne's poster and the possible design for the deluxe box are already head and shoulders above that restoration image. (pun intended.)

 

[JParker]

Reply to JParker #1971:
Korda's book, IMHO, is wonderful. One of the very best bios out there.

The Michael Korda book is absolutely worth the read. Maybe I was reading into it however, particularly in the early part of the book, I felt that Mr. Korda was, if not paraphrasing the Lawrence script intentionally, paraphrasing it subconsciously. He says he is a fan of the film and I believe that has translated into his book. I took it everywhere with me for a long time and re-read sections I found it so engrossing. One can only say that for those with interest in TE Lawrence and the film it is a must read. Enjoy!

It's on its way, I'm looking forward to it. Thanks!
Link again is: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Hero-Michael-Korda/?isbn=9780061712616
And on the film connection and Korda, from The Telegraph review:

In footnotes, Korda signals his lifelong interest in Lawrence. Korda was himself up at Magdalen College, Oxford, where Lawrence had a demyship; and it was reading about Lawrence as a boy, plus hearing about him from his uncle Alexander Korda, that made Michael “decide to buy a motorbicycle and join the RAF”.
Alexander Korda, who called Lawrence “the nicest guy I never did business with”, initially bought the film rights to his story but sold them to Sam Spiegel, and so this biography is in some respects a project of reclamation.

 

[sharkshark]

Huh, curved sword...

 

[sharkshark]

This is a fun one (with curve) as well:

 

[Paul Rossen]

Andrew — Thanks for your kind words.
The "Caucasianizing" of the "dark head" poster, to which Andrew refers, was a desperate effort to prevent Lawrence from
being taken for a 'black'. This was done in early 1963 and resulted in a lame, short-lived version in which the face was
very 'white' and the lips were very thin. (See page 180 in our book)
All the 'head' posters were soon dumped though, in favor of a new, more militant image of Lawrence waving a curved sword —
which NEVER happens in the film!!! A point of interest — To create the 'sword' image, an artist took a still of TE initiating the charge
on the first dynamited train ("Come on, then!") and replaced his flare gun with the sword. This 'sword' image remained the principal
Lawrence artwork for several years.
In other news, I just today received my copy of the newish LoA complete musical score CD, and can report (as numerous others have
stated) that it's sensational! I believe that — unlike the original soundtrack recording — ALL the music from the film is there, and
in the right order, too. And the sound is impeccable. Order it.
Amazon has it in stock now (they don't always) — It's the 2010, 2-disc release, with the silhouetted camel rider against a yellow &
orange sky on the cover.

http://www.tadlowmusic.com/2010/11/lawrence-of-arabia/

 

[Vincent_P]

People are discussing them for precisely the reason you note.  In most cases, they play transparently, and always have.  There are five or six in the entire 217 minutes that some people may notice.
RAH

I only ever noticed them because I was looking for them, and they never, ever bothered me.
Vincent

 

[marsnkc]

Andrew — Thanks for your kind words.
The "Caucasianizing" of the "dark head" poster, to which Andrew refers, was a desperate effort to prevent Lawrence from
being taken for a 'black'. This was done in early 1963 and resulted in a lame, short-lived version in which the face was
very 'white' and the lips were very thin. (See page 180 in our book)
All the 'head' posters were soon dumped though, in favor of a new, more militant image of Lawrence waving a curved sword —
which NEVER happens in the film!!! A point of interest — To create the 'sword' image, an artist took a still of TE initiating the charge
on the first dynamited train ("Come on, then!") and replaced his flare gun with the sword. This 'sword' image remained the principal
Lawrence artwork for several years.
In other news, I just today received my copy of the newish LoA complete musical score CD, and can report (as numerous others have
stated) that it's sensational! I believe that — unlike the original soundtrack recording — ALL the music from the film is there, and
in the right order, too. And the sound is impeccable. Order it.
Amazon has it in stock now (they don't always) — It's the 2010, 2-disc release, with the silhouetted camel rider against a yellow &
orange sky on the cover.

http://www.tadlowmusic.com/2010/11/lawrence-of-arabia/

I thought the box set was supposed to include the soundtrack(?). If not I'll jump on this.
On more than one occasion
I've been known to misspell (see 'caucasion')
But thanks to our dear Mr. Raskin
I know better (without even askin')
But so many words (like 'Persuasion')
Have an 'O', not an 'A' (as in 'Asian')........

 

[Moe Dickstein]

I can't say that I'd call any of the LoA posters and art I've seen anything to get excited over, but the one I like best is actually the 80s restoration poster. Where was Saul Bass when he was needed...

 

[Lawrie Raskin]

Huh, curved sword...

Not only the "curved sword", but you'll also notice that the "dark head" still clings desperately for dear life.
It hasn't quite yet disappeared on this poster version, but it has undergone some 'Caucasianization'.

 

[Lawrie Raskin]

This is a fun one (with curve) as well:

And there's yet more poster "fun" on this one. You'll notice that at first it was still unclear as to whether Omar Sharif
should be considered one of the stars of the film. His picture is notably absent — as it also was on the "dark head" poster
(see posting #1991). It was later added (see posting # 2007).

 

[Lawrie Raskin]

I thought the box set was supposed to include the soundtrack(?). If not I'll jump on this.
On more than one occasion
I've been known to misspell (see 'caucasion')
But thanks to our dear Mr. Raskin
I know better (without even askin')
But so many words (like 'Persuasion')
Have an 'O', not an 'A' (as in 'Asian')........

Wow. Definitely the first time my name has ever been mentioned in a poem.
Thanks, Andrew. And congratulatians.

 

[McHugh]

As a life long collector of Lawrence of Arabia memorabilia I have the complete original lobby card set. I have dry mounted and framed a couple of them including this one which has the original dark head. I believe the dark head was intended to represent the mystery and contradictions of Lawrence of Arabia. I find it oddhttp://www.hometheaterforum.com/content/type/61/id/163981/width/350/height/700 that some people interpreted that it implied he was black.

 

[Robert Harris]

As a life long collector of Lawrence of Arabia memorabilia I have the complete original lobby card set. I have dry mounted and framed a couple of them including this one which has the original dark head. I believe the dark head was intended to represent the mystery and contradictions of Lawrence of Arabia. I find it oddhttp://www.hometheaterforum.com/content/type/61/id/163981/width/350/height/700 that some people interpreted that it implied he was black.

I believe your point re: the dark head is correct. Same situation with the final (obscured) image at the end of the film.
RAH

 

[JamesNelson]

...Same situation with the final (obscured) image at the end of the film.
RAH

What a brave stroke: to close an epic in such a fashion. One of the best, most fitting, endings of any film ever.

 

[AdrianTurner]

Here's a shot of the real TE Lawrence entering Damascus. His face is slightly obscured and I have always felt the driver bears an uncanny resemblance to Peter O'Toole!!! I lifted the shot from Phillip Knightley and Colin Simpson's controversial 1969 biography The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia.

 

[Paul Rossen]

I thought the box set was supposed to include the soundtrack(?). If not I'll jump on this.
On more than one occasion
I've been known to misspell (see 'caucasion')
But thanks to our dear Mr. Raskin
I know better (without even askin')
But so many words (like 'Persuasion')
Have an 'O', not an 'A' (as in 'Asian')........

The Tadlow version is a new recording of the complete score. The upcoming Box set apparently has a cd of selections from the original soundtrack recording from 1962...

 

[ilconsigliere]

I have been reading some of the other forums from Mr. Harris. I can't understand how a 1962 movie like Lawrence, was in such a bad shape, while older movies like To Catch a Thief (just to mention one), did not need such extensive restorations (if any at all). Was it because of the multiple cuts for the different length versions? I don't think that even Ben Hur needed so much surgery.
By the way, I have the newly restored Ben Hur, and if Lawrence looks like that one, we are in for a visual treat.

 

[Michel_Hafner]

Michel Hafner mentions how new digitally interpolated frames would be "seamless" when viewed in motion at 24 FPS.

They might be very seamless when stepping too. Depends on the motion and the amount of fiddling you are prepared to do. Maybe I'll find some time and make a version for me from the BD that has the frames fixed as I have the tools to do so for the image part. The sound might derail me though...

 

[Michel_Hafner]

The film did not always have them, and we removed them to the best of our abilities at the time. DL would have like them out, if possible.

So the first release showed no visible cracks back then and it got worse year by year thereafter? How could you reduce them during the first restoration? Wet gate?

 

[Moe Dickstein]

I have been reading some of the other forums from Mr. Harris. I can't understand how a 1962 movie like Lawrence, was in such a bad shape, while older movies like To Catch a Thief (just to mention one), did not need such extensive restorations (if any at all). Was it because of the multiple cuts for the different length versions? I don't think that even Ben Hur needed so much surgery.

If I may be so bold as to attempt an answer - the age of the film is but one factor in the need for restoration/reconstruction. More important is what film stock was used to shoot the film (Is it stable or prone to problems like fading), what format the film was shot on, how the materials were cared for/stored, and was the film altered or re-edited after release.
As you mention, yes something like To Catch A Theif wasn't recut the way Lawrence was so you don't have to go looking for missing pieces, which of course makes things simpler. Format is a factor here, Lawrence is large format (65/70mm) whereas Thief is VistaVision (35mm shot sideways ala IMAX) and so both present unique challenges.
But if the film/negative itself hasn't had problems, then all it takes is some phone calls to have a proper element to make a Blu-Ray from. That's why some of the older films that were shot in three strip can be easier to get on Blu-Ray than early one strip films that were shot on problematic stocks, even though they are newer.