Lawrence of Arabia 4K UHD (1962)

[bradnoyes]

The movie is filled with beautiful moments and I think there are some really great moments on the UHD, but I'll be damned if I'm ever going to watch it again.

[4kUltraBD]

EEk! All of the negative impressions of this one are scaring me. LOL!

This film is half the reason I want to get this box set, with Strangelove being the other half. However, both of these will be blind buys for me. It appears that perhaps it was a similar situation for others in this thread, and some aren't really enjoying the film.

For those that are thinking this was a tough watch: Is it due to the pacing, subject matter, over familiarity with the historical story (in other words, it felt like you knew too much going in), too much diversion from the book, historical inaccuracies...?

Genuinely curious here.

[PissedOffPeoN]

Well considering how old the film is we are just lucky it looks this good in 2020.

[Dailyan]

I wouldn't call LoA one of my favorite films but I when I watched it for the first time years ago I was pretty much sucked in for that three and a half hour runtime.

[Farerb]

I tried to watch it but got tired from all the walking in the desert in the first hour or so... I don't have a problem with long movies, I watched Gone with the Wind several times and Ben-Hur was fine as well, I think this one's pacing was just too slow for my taste I guess.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Bostonyte

Aliens, The Abyss, True Lies...what a plunge!

P.S. I enjoyed Titanic also.

I was less enamored with Titanic because the dramatic elements between Jack and Rose came across too much like a glorified Lifetime movie of the week, except for the sketch scene (my word, Kate was hot).



Then he really started hitting rock bottom as far as story and acting went. You could debate about the technical merits of Avatar, but egads! anything he has touched since has been an unmitigated disaster.

[Pieter V]

DISC INFO: 1

Disc Size: 83,712,537,928 bytes
Protection: AACS2
Extras: Ultra HD, BD-Java
BDInfo: 0.7.5.9 (

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name: 00001.MPLS
Length: 2:19:23.354 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 83,071,223,808 bytes
Total Bitrate: 79.46 Mbps

(*) Indicates included stream hidden by this playlist.

VIDEO:

Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-H HEVC Video 55479 kbps 2160p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 @ Level 5.1 @ High / 4:2:0 / 10 bits / 1000nits / HDR10 / BT.2020
* MPEG-H HEVC Video 2091 kbps (3.63%) 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 @ Level 5.1 @ High / 4:2:0 / 10 bits / 1000nits / Dolby Vision FEL / BT.2020

AUDIO:

Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Dolby TrueHD/Atmos Audio English 3348 kbps 7.1+11 objects / 48 kHz / 2708 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2159 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2159 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Czech 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
DTS-HD Master Audio German 2182 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2182 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Hungarian 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Italian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 2218 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2218 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Polish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Russian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
DTS-HD Master Audio Spanish 2167 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2167 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

SUBTITLES:

Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics English 20.234 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 18.469 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 20.241 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 18.474 kbps
Presentation Graphics Arabic 10.496 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 17.788 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 18.216 kbps
Presentation Graphics Czech 16.181 kbps
Presentation Graphics Danish 15.725 kbps
Presentation Graphics Dutch 16.924 kbps
Presentation Graphics Finnish 16.908 kbps
Presentation Graphics French 18.261 kbps
Presentation Graphics German 21.984 kbps
Presentation Graphics Greek 16.865 kbps
Presentation Graphics Hebrew 13.405 kbps
Presentation Graphics Hindi 14.741 kbps
Presentation Graphics Hungarian 15.187 kbps
Presentation Graphics Italian 16.729 kbps
Presentation Graphics Japanese 15.453 kbps
Presentation Graphics Korean 13.93 kbps
Presentation Graphics Norwegian 14.79 kbps
Presentation Graphics Polish 15.363 kbps
Presentation Graphics Portuguese 16.71 kbps
Presentation Graphics Portuguese 19.673 kbps
Presentation Graphics Romanian 17.613 kbps
Presentation Graphics Russian 19.736 kbps
Presentation Graphics Spanish 16.325 kbps
Presentation Graphics Spanish 16.21 kbps
Presentation Graphics Swedish 14.788 kbps
Presentation Graphics Thai 17.266 kbps
Presentation Graphics Turkish 16.605 kbps
Presentation Graphics Japanese 0.024 kbps

DISC INFO: 2

Disc Size: 53,163,946,459 bytes
Protection: AACS2
Extras: Ultra HD, BD-Java
BDInfo: 0.7.5.9

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name: 00001.MPLS
Length: 1:27:38.252 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 52,610,973,696 bytes
Total Bitrate: 80.04 Mbps

(*) Indicates included stream hidden by this playlist.

VIDEO:

Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-H HEVC Video 55972 kbps 2160p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 @ Level 5.1 @ High / 4:2:0 / 10 bits / 1000nits / HDR10 / BT.2020
* MPEG-H HEVC Video 2091 kbps (3.60%) 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 @ Level 5.1 @ High / 4:2:0 / 10 bits / 1000nits / Dolby Vision FEL / BT.2020

AUDIO:

Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Dolby TrueHD/Atmos Audio English 3376 kbps 7.1+11 objects / 48 kHz / 2736 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2143 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2143 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Czech 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
DTS-HD Master Audio German 2166 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2166 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Hungarian 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Italian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 2181 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2181 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Polish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Russian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
DTS-HD Master Audio Spanish 2160 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2160 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

SUBTITLES:

Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics English 25.04 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 22.639 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 25.05 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 22.642 kbps
Presentation Graphics Arabic 12.505 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 20.693 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 21.405 kbps
Presentation Graphics Czech 19.703 kbps
Presentation Graphics Danish 19.253 kbps
Presentation Graphics Dutch 20.085 kbps
Presentation Graphics Finnish 20.689 kbps
Presentation Graphics French 22.724 kbps
Presentation Graphics German 27.121 kbps
Presentation Graphics Greek 20.272 kbps
Presentation Graphics Hebrew 16.403 kbps
Presentation Graphics Hindi 17.492 kbps
Presentation Graphics Hungarian 18.547 kbps
Presentation Graphics Italian 20.323 kbps
Presentation Graphics Japanese 18.8 kbps
Presentation Graphics Korean 16.259 kbps
Presentation Graphics Norwegian 17.693 kbps
Presentation Graphics Polish 19.004 kbps
Presentation Graphics Portuguese 20.475 kbps
Presentation Graphics Portuguese 23.949 kbps
Presentation Graphics Romanian 21.451 kbps
Presentation Graphics Russian 24.661 kbps
Presentation Graphics Spanish 20.023 kbps
Presentation Graphics Spanish 19.844 kbps
Presentation Graphics Swedish 17.788 kbps
Presentation Graphics Thai 21.901 kbps
Presentation Graphics Turkish 20.108 kbps
Presentation Graphics Japanese 0.052 kbps

[punisher]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

You don't own it on Digital. You're only leasing it.

Lossy Atmos

MEL Dolby Vision. The disc is supposed to be 12 bit FEL Dolby Vision.

Lower bitrate by a lot.

Yeah, I'll stick with the 4k discs thanks.

I agree I would rather have the set but I am not laying out 100+ for one movie. I look forward to it being a separate release... but for now don't knock it on Vudu... it's quite spectacular on my Oled.

[brian9229]

163 gb film, my word. No wonder.

[jh901]

Originally Posted by punisher

I agree I would rather have the set but I am not laying out 100+ for one movie. I look forward to it being a separate release... but for now don't knock it on Vudu... it's quite spectacular on my Oled.

Six 4K movies, from Sony no less, and a book. You also get standard blu-ray discs. Digital codes. All parts of the set can be sold in the classifieds or eBay.

[Bn43]

Originally Posted by jh901

Six 4K movies, from Sony no less, and a book. You also get standard blu-ray discs. Digital codes. All parts of the set can be sold in the classifieds or eBay.

I never sell anything on Ebay. It's not that easy. If you don't have a score, people will be hesitant to buy from you. I'm sure these titles can be had cheaper individually in a couple of months.

Why is Jerry Maquire in the collection? I'm reading TriStar Pictures is a sister company of Columbia.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Bn43

I never sell anything on Ebay. It's not that easy. If you don't have a score, people will be hesitant to buy from you. I'm sure these titles can be had cheaper individually in a couple of months.

Why is Jerry Maquire in the collection? I'm reading TriStar Pictures is a sister company of Columbia.

The book lays out their thinking as to the common theme throughout these six films and why they were chosen. It actually kinda makes sense.

TriStar is still Sony.

[Ramble Tamble-TAN]

Originally Posted by Rathbone

Yes, I know that ringing can be part of the source material but usually this happens in rather early color films due to the stock and photochemical process. Lawrence is from 1962 and 65mm, there should be no or minimal ringing. The ringing here reminds me of regular edge enhancement. Some desert shots (i.e. around 20:15 min. where Lawrence is riding thru the desert on the camel) look like people are acting in front of a rear projection screen (like cut out cardboard figures). I have a 120" PJ screen, it's quite obvious on this size. On my 55" OLED it's barely noticable though.

You could very well be right. It's not my particular prowess, but I remember reading that Sony has somewhat of a soft spot for adding artificial sharpening to a lot of their masters (both old and new).

[punisher]

Originally Posted by jh901

Six 4K movies, from Sony no less, and a book. You also get standard blu-ray discs. Digital codes. All parts of the set can be sold in the classifieds or eBay.

no thanks...

[captainsolo]

I'm trying to wait patiently for individual releases but this just whets my appetite too much..
What's posted so far does seem to indicate that this merely gives a better rendering of what the source 4K looks like and removes the constraints of the old BD release thus giving far more nuance in color and depth but not the night and day dramatic difference we all inherently expect with each successive release. I don't know about claims of digital artifacts or the grain structure. The best evidence to compare against would be if Sony released a beautiful new scan of LORD JIM which Freddie Young shot in Super Panavision 70 shortly thereafter also with O'Toole....but that's only on DVD.

Could a newer mastering process expressly done for this release have yielded better results? Possibly.

Originally Posted by Bn43

Since it's a 2012 scan, is Bridge on the River Kwai still the best David Lean scan?

It's definitely the most updated and important one since it fixes the ratio issues and restores proper early Cinemascope mumps. I do wish they would present the original mono mix sometime. The 5.1 is reputedly a second go round at trying to replicate the original 4 track mix which IIRC the surround was lost.

Zhivago is an older scan as is Ryan's Daughter and RD is still exclusive to DVD. Passage to India should likely be another candidate for a new 4K scan and treatment.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by JimDiGriz

Blimey Geoff, LoA is just so far ahead of Titanic its not even funny. The only good thing about Titanic is the end!

I did find all the excitement about LoA a little amusing though. I know its not a film for everyone but its status seems to make people want it despite the fact they may not actually like the film that much...or have even watched it before .

The Criterion threads are usually the place for this sort of thing mind. People don't usually admit the truth there mind...

I mentioned the T word in case anyone thought I couldn't handle a movie that was more than five minutes long. But Lawrence left me cold, it really did. Of course it's beautifully shot, superbly acted and wonderfully scored, but by the end of the movie I felt like all of Lawrence's peers at the funeral at the start of the film: I saw his deeds but I'm no closer to understanding the man. Maybe that wasn't the point, as Lawrence himself attests when his superior says that he can't make out whether he's "bloody bad-mannered or just half-witted" and out comes the reply that sums up the film for me: "I have the same problem, sir".

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I mentioned the T word in case anyone thought I couldn't handle a movie that was more than five minutes long. But Lawrence left me cold, it really did. Of course it's beautifully shot, superbly acted and wonderfully scored, but by the end of the movie I felt like all of Lawrence's peers at the funeral at the start of the film: I saw his deeds but I'm no closer to understanding the man. Maybe that wasn't the point, as Lawrence himself attests when his superior says that he can't make out whether he's "bloody bad-mannered or just half-witted" and out comes the reply that sums up the film for me: "I have the same problem, sir".

It's not the destination that matters here, it's the journey, and oh what a journey it was! The theme of the film is: WHO ARE YOU? in the grand scheme of things, and did you count for something.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by captainsolo

I'm trying to wait patiently for individual releases but this just whets my appetite too much..
What's posted so far does seem to indicate that this merely gives a better rendering of what the source 4K looks like and removes the constraints of the old BD release thus giving far more nuance in color and depth but not the night and day dramatic difference we all inherently expect with each successive release. I don't know about claims of digital artifacts or the grain structure. The best evidence to compare against would be if Sony released a beautiful new scan of LORD JIM which Freddie Young shot in Super Panavision 70 shortly thereafter also with O'Toole....but that's only on DVD.

Could a newer mastering process expressly done for this release have yielded better results? Possibly.


It's definitely the most updated and important one since it fixes the ratio issues and restores proper early Cinemascope mumps. I do wish they would present the original mono mix sometime. The 5.1 is reputedly a second go round at trying to replicate the original 4 track mix which IIRC the surround was lost.

Zhivago is an older scan as is Ryan's Daughter and RD is still exclusive to DVD. Passage to India should likely be another candidate for a new 4K scan and treatment.

Remember this film has gone through several restorations from many different sources. It’s not going to look like a film that was shot yesterday.

[zen007]

LoA can be a slow burn but it is still one of the greatest films ever made. Since it is being watched at home, it can be seen in 2 or 3 parts like a short TV series.

Per David Lean, one way to make an impact on the audience is to have a sequence where nothing much is happening before going into an impactful/interesting sequence. For e.g. before Omar Sharif enters the frame, you see Lawrence and his guide going through the motions - traveling, conducting small talk, eating, and so on, then all of a sudden the intensity of the scene changes with the guide dropping the waterbag into the well when he catches the silhouette of Sharif.

One of my key concerns is that people who are not fully aware of what films like LoA and Gandhi represent acquiring the set because of how the packaging is and the perceived quality of the transfers. The target audience of such films is relatively limited, unlike an Indiana Jones.

[benhoppel]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I mentioned the T word in case anyone thought I couldn't handle a movie that was more than five minutes long. But Lawrence left me cold, it really did. Of course it's beautifully shot, superbly acted and wonderfully scored, ".

and with a fantastic script and great editing by Anne Coates/David Lean.