Lawrence of Arabia 4K Blu-ray Review & Comments

Simon Crust

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Thank you Simon. I bet this would look sensational projected in a home cinema. I was lucky enough to watch LoA in 70mm a few years ago. It felt like a proper "event" cinema, akin to the roadshow theatrical releases of the past. Certainly got my money's worth with that runtime!

Yup - the picture quality section sounds very impressive. Can't wait to get this one day. Many thanks once again. :)
 
Thanks Simon - The trailer alone brings back so many memories of when I saw this in the cinema as a kid back in the 60s. Great to hear the UHD disc has maintained the quality and stature of the original film.
 
This set is a real gem, you can tell Sony has put in a lot of effort into the restoration and presentation of the films. Hopefully they will do a Classics Volume 2.
 
Epic! Epic! Epic! thank you Simon, as I thought you saved the best till last you tease :D ,Quite probably the best film ever made😍. I have the 50th anniversary bluray and that was a real treat and probably the best that it has been seen other than on it's initial release.

Now we have the superlative and definitive edition:thumbsup:, can hardly wait to get it but will have to wait until it is a stand alone release as other than Gandhi I am not really that bothered about the rest.

Thank you Simon for a great review:clap:
 
Despite being full of historical inaccuracies, this has got to be amongst my top favourite films ever.

I saw this

Note: Film is split into two discs, the break is during the film's ‘intermission’ but sadly it does not pause and allow you to enter the second disc to continue on uninterrupted, the first disc returns to menu with the second disc booting up normally to menu.

How does it do this - does it play the full intermission?

Cheers,

Nigel
 
OK first of all not a fan of this movie but this is not my rant. The picture quality is NOT a 10 why are all the reviews for this movie gushing about the picture quality?

What about the frozen grain in chapter 5, the HDR highlights several artifacts which is not on the Blu-ray. Columns of banding appear now and again. This was done from a scan many years ago if was done today what with more modern technology this would have been an improvement.

Only one person i have read who reviewed this on a popular forum by the name of Geoff D got this spot on, i think he appears on this forum now and again.

I do wonder if you are watching these discs or just skimming through at certain scenes and going yes perfect it's a 10. The picture is easily a 8 and no more and this is not because i do not like the movie, i did not like Gandhi but that is stunning and agree with the score of 10.

Watched on a Panasonic GZ950 65" and Oppo with Dolby Vision.
Gobsmacked by the rave reviews for this.

Geoff D where are you please back me up, before i get all the hate comments down below.
 
OK first of all not a fan of this movie but this is not my rant. The picture quality is NOT a 10 why are all the reviews for this movie gushing about the picture quality?

What about the frozen grain in chapter 5, the HDR highlights several artifacts which is not on the Blu-ray. Columns of banding appear now and again. This was done from a scan many years ago if was done today what with more modern technology this would have been an improvement.

Only one person i have read who reviewed this on a popular forum by the name of Geoff D got this spot on, i think he appears on this forum now and again.

I do wonder if you are watching these discs or just skimming through at certain scenes and going yes perfect it's a 10. The picture is easily a 8 and no more and this is not because i do not like the movie, i did not like Gandhi but that is stunning and agree with the score of 10.

Watched on a Panasonic GZ950 65" and Oppo with Dolby Vision.
Gobsmacked by the rave reviews for this.

Geoff D where are you please back me up, before i get all the hate comments down below.
I've seen those discussions too. However, its still a big upgrade on the reference blu-ray from what I've read there.
 
I have the 50th anniversary bluray and that was a real treat and probably the best that it has been seen other than on it's initial release.

Now we have the superlative and definitive edition:thumbsup:, can hardly wait to get it but will have to wait until it is a stand alone release as other than Gandhi I am not really that bothered about the rest.

I've seen those discussions too. However, its still a big upgrade on the reference blu-ray from what I've read there.

@Simon Crust Mr Crust, like @kbfern I'm very pleased indeed to have the previous 2012 50th Anniversary Blu-ray:
Lawrence of Arabia.jpg


which I bought on the strength of the Home Cinema Choice review "A sensational restoration" and "This staggering hi-def release" it concluded. Now, of course standards move on, which is a good thing. My question is Mr Crust, if this new 4K release is now judged overall at 10/10, set against it, what score out of 10 would you now give the previous 2012 Blu-ray, which was itself rated so highly when it was new, as @kbfern and @Jim Di Griz have noted?

And as other people have said, I'll wait until this new 4K disc is available as a single release before buying it, even if the whole box set were reduced to the price of a single 4K disc. I don't have much spare space on my shelves!
 
Geoff D used to post on avf fairly frequently and I have not seen him for a long while. What forum does he post on now and under what name please. I used to like to read his postings they were always informative. Send me a pm if you don't want to post on the thread.:)
 
If you love the film, if it’s a 8/9/10 does it really matter, an 8 can still be a decent upgrade compared to the blu.
I’m not a massive fan of the actual film (I do like it) but will still purchase as the cinematography is simply stunning and I want to see it in the best format available.
 
@Simon Crust Mr Crust, like @kbfern I'm very pleased indeed to have the previous 2012 50th Anniversary Blu-ray:
View attachment 1347920

which I bought on the strength of the Home Cinema Choice review "A sensational restoration" and "This staggering hi-def release" it concluded. Now, of course standards move on, which is a good thing. My question is Mr Crust, if this new 4K release is now judged overall at 10/10, set against it, what score out of 10 would you now give the previous 2012 Blu-ray, which was itself rated so highly when it was new, as @kbfern and @Jim Di Griz have noted?

And as other people have said, I'll wait until this new 4K disc is available as a single release before buying it, even if the whole box set were reduced to the price of a single 4K disc. I don't have much spare space on my shelves!
Reference for a blu-ray...which won't be as good as this 4K I would think.
 
@steviedr and @Jim Di Griz Oh sure, the previous almost reference Blu-ray won't be as good as this new unmissable 4K disc, which is 10/10. And my intention to buy the 4K disc won't be affected. I'm just curious how Mr Crust would rate the old disc against the new.
 
What I think is beyond debate, is the sheer amount of effort Sony have put into this set, even going so far as to split Lawrence of Arabia and Gandhi over two discs each. No expense has been spared. Sony deserve a truckload of praise and goodwill - I hope this classics set sells like the clappers. Contrast this with Disney, seemingly content with cramming a 3-hour box office juggernaut like Avengers Endgame onto a BD-66 and now pretty much giving up on the UHD format, and it kind of makes you want to weep or throw something.
 
@amita True, but what would garner even more praise to Sony would be if the discs were available individually. Lawrence of Arabia is the only one in the six-film collection that I would want.
 
What I think is beyond debate, is the sheer amount of effort Sony have put into this set, even going so far as to split Lawrence of Arabia and Gandhi over two discs each. No expense has been spared. Sony deserve a truckload of praise and goodwill - I hope this classics set sells like the clappers. Contrast this with Disney, seemingly content with cramming a 3-hour box office juggernaut like Avengers Endgame onto a BD-66 and now pretty much giving up on the UHD format, and it kind of makes you want to weep or throw something.

I agree with you Sony made a huge effort more then any other studio. Why did they use a very old scan for Lawrence and add HDR which is what caused the grain structure to freeze in columns e.t.c. A new scan could have solved these issues, clearly made the effort with the rest of the set but dropped the ball on the biggest classic (the overall general public opinion but not me)
 
I’d like 2 out of the set, but the set is selling well (which is great), can’t get it in the UK (or US from what I’ve seen) eBay including delivery from the US for individuals are about £35 each...
 
Geoff D used to post on avf fairly frequently and I have not seen him for a long while. What forum does he post on now and under what name please. I used to like to read his postings they were always informative. Send me a pm if you don't want to post on the thread.:)

Not sure if its the same person but there is someone that goes by that handle and posts regularly on the blu-ray.com forums. You will probably notice his posts on the UHD threads.
 
I’ll be waiting for the individual release. The other films are not nearly so interesting, but the big thing is this box is not shaped to fit on the shelving with standard cases. It is happening too often, and has affected my buying decision more than once.
 
It does look great, very colourful, almost too much so when you consider real desert life. But is it "the most spectacular picture the format has ever produced"? On my TV in HDR it looks like a well restored older film. But then I thought it might look better on a cinema sized screen. So I gave it a quick look (in SDR) and it looked like a well restored older film.
 
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