Cool News
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA restoration trailer hits!
Hey folks, Harry here... If there's a singular Blu-Ray of the highest possible anticipation in 2012, it is LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - considered by most as the greatest film of David Lean's career and in still others' estimation, the greatest movie ever made. Watching a 70mm print of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE SEEN. I've no doubt that the 4K print is going to be gorgeous. No doubt. But it will not be the amazement of a pristine 70MM projection. However, this trailer for the British limited theatrical release - ahead of the debut of the Blu-Ray is a way for audiences to take in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in a movie theater, with an audience enraptured by the brilliance of this story and film. As much as I love this film deeply... It is still DOCTOR ZHIVAGO that reigns supreme in Lean's oeuvre. But the beauty of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA's cinematography is one of the absolute marvels of the silver screen. Enjoy...
Readers Talkback
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...time
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Sept. 4, 2012, 4:27 p.m. CST
Refuse to watch the trailer on a small computer screen!
by RustyShakelfort
This film is why the inernet fails... that and cat videos
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Having said that, Doctor Zhivago is still amazing.
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Watched this on Blu for the first time recently. And I liked Prometheus too..
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Sept. 4, 2012, 4:31 p.m. CST
'It is still DOCTOR ZHIVAGO that reigns supreme in Lean's oeuvre'...
by workshed
...no way, Jose. That'd be 'Brief Encounter'.
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Or not yet in the States?
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Am I missing something?
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even though I typically enjoy classical Russian Literature and plays. It was easier to get through Potemkin and Nevsky, both of which can be a chore for some. Yet, I was immediately captivated by Lawrence of Arabia and have remain so, even though I've never felt particularly drawn to middle eastern history and culture. Child of the Cold War I guess.
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That is all.
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...on a 19-inch, 720p computer monitor!
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at the cremorne orpheum. Get on that shit while you can.
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Major restoration work was done on this film in 1990. I wonder what else they did for this rerelease other than probably a Dolby Digital remix? I remember being blown away when watching the 70mm restoration as a kid in 90. Great film. I'm looking forward to this.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 5:06 p.m. CST
SERIOUSLY HOW DID PEOPLE WATCH MOVIES LIKE THIS IN ONLY TWO DIMENSIONS???
by Simpsonian
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Sept. 4, 2012, 5:09 p.m. CST
It's a movie that starts great and gets awful as time goes by
by Ricardo
By the time it hits the 4 hour mark, you want it to end SO bad... Also, did you notice there was a fucking rape scene in this movie? I sure didn't, the first time I saw it.
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Zhivago is melodramatic soap-opera stuff. THIS is Lean's masterpiece. And having seen both the 70mm restoration, and the new 4k print, the 4k restoration (if seen in a 4k theater) is an order of magnitude more impressive than the original 70mm presentation. There is depth and detail there that no photochemical release print was ever going to be capable of reproducing.
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Agree that ZHIVAGO is a little bit too melodramatic - soap opera GONE WITH THE WIND style... For my money Lean's masterpiece is a smaller, more intimate, detailed, and studied film - GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Amazing film. As charming, witty, enjoyable and nuanced today as the day it was made. Perfection. If youre ever feeling jaded aboiut the current state of movies then watch GREAT EXPECTATIONS in a double bill with CITIZEN KANE to recharge your cineaste batteries right back up to the top!
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i guess we're all happy as fuck that its not in 3 fucking D. boohoo.
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In theory this is the best that standard-def DVD can possibly look.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 6:15 p.m. CST
So when the fuck does it hit theaters? There's no release date in the trailer.
by Trancer
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I LOVE this film, greatest accomplishment in Direction, Acting, Cinematography, Writing, and Musical score. I'd love to see this on an iMax screen! "Big things have small beginnings."
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I got to see this in 70mm glory back in the late '80s early '90s. I don't think I've ever been blown away by any other film more than this. I have to disagree, though. Lawrence of Arabia is much better than Doctor Zhivago.
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My dad took me to see this when I was 11 or 12 back in the 80's at the Cinesphere in Toronto (the "first!" permanent IMAX theatre) and it became my all-time favourite movie; consider by this time I had seen Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, which I love also. Seeing this made me realize, even at that age, how much this masterpiece influenced those two films, and as I became more interested in film, many others. I'd love to see one of the current crop of "great" and "talented" directors make a movie like this using the practical effects available at that time.
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YES! Or were you being facetious?
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A lot of people never realized that ol Lawrence got bent over in the Turkish prison, and its what primarily drives him in the latter portion of the film and why he's so pissed off.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 6:26 p.m. CST
Harry is wrong on two counts....as he usually is
by Turd_Is_Floating_Underneath_The_Gravy
Doctor Zhivago is a decent film but it in no way reigns supreme in Lean's canon. Lawrence of Arabia is unquestionably several orders of magnitude above it. Secondly, this 4K transfer will puncture the great fiction about digital prints being inferior to celluloid ones, a party line that Knowles and all his fuzzy-headed nostalgic / luddite ilk perpetuate time and time again. This 4K restoration will undoubtedly be superior, and vastly more detailed, than the 70mm one. You can bet that Lean would even be shooting digital if he were making films today, too!
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Sept. 4, 2012, 6:28 p.m. CST
hehe lawrence got fucked up the ass by a turk..haha those turkish prisons
by Windowlicker74
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Sept. 4, 2012, 6:28 p.m. CST
hehe lawrence got fucked up the ass by a turk..haha those turkish prisons
by Windowlicker74
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Get this fucking talkback interface fixed. It is stretching out posts. Never have I encountered a more bug-prone, and sloppily maintained, site than AICN. There are porno sites more user friendly, and less intrusive, than this ill-tended shithole!
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Then comes Lawrence, and then Zhivago. Of course, Lawrence is the "best" film of the three, but Bridge is my favorite.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 6:49 p.m. CST
So is this like a spinoff of Prometheus like machete was to Grindhouse?
by UltraTron
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didnt you say that about Jaws?
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But Lawrence Of Arabia is better than both of 'em. I can't wait to see this on the big screen again.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 6:54 p.m. CST
I like Latino Reviews back and forth with Bay over his alien turtles movie.
by kindofabigdeal
Can't we all just chill?...
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Unless they're gonna do a theatrical re-release here in the states.
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and zombies.
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But Zhivago is severely underrated. Turd is right. I'm sure Lean would shoot in digital today. Knowing the problems they had with those huge 70mm cameras and sand and the film cans they had to keep iced to cool under the hot sun. It took him almost 2 years of his life to make this, he could have done it in a couple of months with digital (quicker setups, and no costly reshoots with video assist, instead of having the film sent to be developed and viewed to look for errors.).
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But now I shall!
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2001 and Ran--so quite possibly the greatest thing ever put on film.
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Then your in luck because the amazing Astor Theatre is showing this in full 4K from September 23-October 6.
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this is an 8k transfer like the one they pioneered with Baraka. The intermediate prints and 'digital prints' are being released at 4k.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 8:20 p.m. CST
For anyone who wants to know what an "epic" really is. See this movie.
by cgih8r
and you will see that Prometheus is in no way worthy of the same description. Talkin to you Ridley Scott!
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Not cool.
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I am so disappointed that we won't have the opportunity to see it in 70mm in the USA---it would be worth a drive of several hundred miles to see this (it wouldn't be the first time I drove a long ways for a 70mm film--was able to see THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK at a friend's big screen theatre with a small group of peeps and drove 150 miles one way...this was a week before it was released!). I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many 70mm films...2001,ALIEN, CE3K, STAR WARS, RAIDERS...and then some, and it TRULY makes a difference in your viewing experience. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA has everything going for it...the story, the environment, countless Arabian horses (ahem I digress!)--it looks great on our big screen HD with the upconverter on the Blu-Ray. But 70mm in an UBER big theatre would be absolutely incredible! Perhaps if enough interest it shown, a theatre chain might consider periodically showing some of the cinematic classics in 70mm.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 8:52 p.m. CST
Lawerence: I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.
by nametaken
reboot material.
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I carry twenty-three great wounds, all got in battle. Seventy-five men have I killed with my own hands in battle. I scatter, I burn my enemies' tents. I take away their flocks and herds. The Turks pay me a golden treasure, yet I am poor! Because *I* am a river to my people!
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Sept. 4, 2012, 9:42 p.m. CST
This is one of the best movies ever made!!! I can't wait to see this in the theater
by Professor_Bedlam
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obvious troll is obvious. and not a good american
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Since Star Wars has been invoked: ANH = Bridge on the River Kwai ESB = Lawrence of Arabia ROtJ = Zhivago Go with Bridge for a straight forward flick Go with Lawrence for a deeper film Go with Zhivago for a significantly weaker film
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Love it when a TB'er calls someone out for being wrong and they are demonstrably moronic. Let me simplify, "turd". 4K has less resolution than film. (Its not an apples to apples comparison, but the detail afforded by film--35mm and higher-- is greater than 4K resolution). And, even if your patently false premise was true, you're still an idiot. If 4K had more resolution, how could it ever show MORE detail than the supposedly inferior format? By definition, once an image is captured, its max detail is in its original resolution. Also, hooray for the studios doing something right for a change. Jaws, Raiders, and Lawrence of Arabia in theaters this year? Hell yeah classic rereleases.
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At the scale of major Hollywood filmmaking, shooting on film and shooting digital is not a vast difference in budget. Not yet. The post production workflow for digital is just as complicated as it is for film, and the on-set work flow is actually more cumbersome for digital. A digital crew frequently has more people than the same film would shooting on film. Also, I guarantee that a Red Camera would curl itself into a ball sucking its thumb after about ten seconds of the conditions you described. Again, digital cameras are frequently just as touchy, if not more so, than their celluloid counterparts.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 10:20 p.m. CST
I already got to see part of this movie on the big screen this year...in PROMETHIUS. :D
by DementedCaver
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I'd love it if somebody upconverted LoA to 3D.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 11:37 p.m. CST
4K restoration = 2K DCP. And being photpgraphed on 65mm, this should have had an 8K restoration. Probably cost-prohibitive.
by justmyluck
IMAX introducing 4K projectors only this year. You would think that Harry's publishing articles on IMAX and restorations would actually result in some technical grasp of what he's pimping.
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Sept. 4, 2012, 11:39 p.m. CST
@mullymt: FYI — The clip of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA that *David* is watching in PROMETHEUS was post-converted to 3-D.
by justmyluck
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Sept. 5, 2012, 12:17 a.m. CST
I'm effing pissed this won't be playing theatrically in the United States. This film is easily a top ten best ever for me. Love it.
by RedJester
Love Doctor Zhivago as well, but I don't think it holds a candle to Lawrence. There's just zero comparison in my mind. Both were great for their time, but Lawrence holds up far better.
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Cinematic perfection! It's infinitely better than some of the wank we are fed today. Craftsmanship and quality; which is sadly benign in todays epic offerings. You could say that, "The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy", or, "There Will Be Blood" - two very diverse set of films, or four, if you're counting "Rings" in a singular context - are comparitive in scope. Oh and, 3-D is an absolute fucking fad. It was nice when it started Mr. Cameron, but now it's some tacky, cheesy, two-bit gimmick. Thank christ! Mr. Nolan is the only one with common sense.
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Sept. 5, 2012, 1:55 a.m. CST
Michael Fassbender for Lawrence in the (unnecesary) reboot.
by jake the muss
That is all.
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Fact!
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Sept. 5, 2012, 3:09 a.m. CST
Just keep on repeating like a mantra THERE IS NO CGI, THERE IS NO CGI
by melonman
So many sequences are just jaw-dropping, and they really, really don't make 'em like this anymore…
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It amazes me how so many people praise it yet so few mention just how fucking DARK the movie is... I guess if it's IDEAS and not people's eyes being ripped out it doesn't count? It's one of the great psychological explorations ever put to film. It's also arguably the greatest technical achievement ever put to film. It's my personal favorite film along with Unforgiven, A Clockwork Orange, Blade Runner and The Big Lebowski. And yes... I would watch it in 3D. After all, the best part of Prometheus was the part with Lawrence in it.
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Sept. 5, 2012, 5:15 a.m. CST
I forgot that BARAKA had an 8K restoration for Blu-ray — over three years ago — so, yeah, Sony should have gone all the way.
by justmyluck
That BARAKA Blu-ray is like watching LIEMAX at home.
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Seeing this in 70mm at the AFI Silver five years in a row. How I miss DC in August!
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Anyone know when this will be showing in London?? I can't find any info online.
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Sept. 5, 2012, 8:54 a.m. CST
battybrain, you have the nerve to call me an idiot when your own post is full of misinformation?
by Turd_Is_Floating_Underneath_The_Gravy
35mm, or film in general, save the IMAX format, does NOT contain more detail than 4K resolution. 2K, yes, but not 4K, which we are dealing with here. This is another lie that the film purists continually foist upon the masses. 35mm is, in fact, considerably less in resolution despite what film luddites will tell you. Once 8K is introduced it will equal even the traditional IMAX film format for clarity. An image is not locked at its original resolution 'by definition' either. Once converted to a digital intermediate, the original negative can be upscaled. Good grief, man, do your research, and educate yourself in the basics of digital film formats.
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Sept. 5, 2012, 8:59 a.m. CST
The only problem, however, is that the layman will not see the 4K format
by Turd_Is_Floating_Underneath_The_Gravy
As someone pointed out above, most of these digital prints are downgraded to 2K because most theaters are too cheap to upgrade to the superior projection method.
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The first half of Lawrence is perfect. The second half is surprisingly dark, not nearly as satisfying as the first half, but nonetheless brilliant. Lawrence > Zhivago
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Sept. 5, 2012, 9:11 a.m. CST
Saw Lawrence once at the Cinerama Dome (pre Arclight) in 70mm and
by Brian Hopper
it damn near reduced me to a quivering wasted piece of jelly. All those pristine desert shots that are so PERFECT they seem like they must be CGI, but aren't. Truly awe-inspiring.
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Sept. 5, 2012, 9:35 a.m. CST
It's sad that "Lawrence Of Arabia" has been co-ed by people who want to pretent they have taste in films.
by albert comin
Most common tactic from people who love bad movies and want to look legit in their lack of taste is to say "I love Lawrence Of Arabia, so my opinion of my favorite bad movie is valid". And if not "Lawrence of Arabia", then it's "The Godfather". Example: i love Tranformers and my opinion is valid because i also love "Lawrence Of Arabia". It's weird few people call upon this fallacy. I'm so tired of this fallacious tactic. To the point it's now hard for me to see the difference between those who truly love this movie and those who just use it's prestige to uphold bad movies and their bad taste in cinema. So sad.
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I live in L.A. and may have the opportunity to choose between 70 MM and 4K. Harry wrote, "I've no doubt that the 4K print is going to be gorgeous...but it will not be the amazement of a pristine 70MM projection." entropy_tango wrote, "Having seen both the 70mm restoration, and the new 4k print, the 4k restoration (if seen in a 4k theater) is an order of magnitude more impressive than the original 70mm presentation. There is depth and detail there that no photochemical release print was ever going to be capable of reproducing." Started to research the issue, and here's what I've found (so far...): http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=next_topic;f=16;t=000859;go=older
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But only because the 65mm stock of that time is not as good as the 65mm stock of today. Reports from industry people who recently had a chance to compare them in the same theater/same screen report 70mm sound seemed better, but that the 4k projection was noticeably superior to the 70mm. That being said, it's also been noted that Samsara, which was shot with modern 65mm stock, has aliasing issue at 4k because it cannot handle the extreme detail inherent to the negative. The director made a decision not to filter the image for 4k projection and that has resulted in all sort of problems.
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2001:A Space Odyssey Tree Of Life (almost went with Thin Red Line) Lawrence of Arabia There Will Be Blood Rear Window Eternal Sunshine (almost went with Synecdoche, NY)
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Today's self absorbed generation who's attention span is measured in mega bites won't sit still for this movie. Hell, they can't stay off the cell phone for more than 5 minutes! let alone 4 hours.
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Sept. 5, 2012, 11:08 a.m. CST
Having seen this for the first time only a few months ago...
by Bill C.
...and admittedly going "Damn, why haven't you watched this before now?", I would love to see it on the big screen just once. Can someone hook me up with a fake passport in time to get a flight to London next week?
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Sept. 5, 2012, 11:11 a.m. CST
Scirocco, a good test regarding those pretenders is to hold a movie night with (in this case) Lawrence, and see just how well your wannabe cinephile friend truly knows the film.
by RedJester
Of course, if he is a no-show to his "favorite movie ever" or isn't interested in viewing it with his "peers", that's a dead giveaway as well.
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redjesters top six, what no love for POLICE ACADEMY?
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I said this idiotic statement was the idea of up-resing an image. What you are talking about is akin to saying you'd take 1080p and convert it to 2K or 4K. Can't be done. Youre limited by the innate limitations of the recording medium. Thinking anything else on that matter is both factually and logically backwards. And, as I mentioned, it's not really apples to apples. That said, I have done research, and the independent reviews (ie, not from camera companies) have all put 35mm slightly ahead of 4k resolution. That puts 70mm way ahead. The "Luddites" you refer to would be the ASC cinematographers who test these things for a living. Precious few of them even have an option to shoot film any more, but they do know far more than either of us about the subject. http://www.cinematography.net/edited-pages/Lines_Per_Millimeter_Of_Resolution_Of_RedOne_Camera.htm My first post was overly combative in tone. For that I apologize. But the facts are he facts.
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Whatever. Those are the films that have moved me/inspired me most in my life. Deal with it.
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Apparently the 8K scan revealed some fine concentric rings on the neg, due to the intense heat in the desert apparently. Software being used to remove the "imperfection"
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Sept. 5, 2012, 3:55 p.m. CST
About 3 month ago, by hance i rewatched "Lawrence Of Arabia"
by albert comin
I was vising a friend, and he was having trouble with some shelves,and the other friend was handy with that stuff, and 3 guys would be a crowd, so i took my leave and checked the blu-ray library that friend had, and found Lawrence Of Arabia. I decided to check it out just to see how it looked on HiDef. And what was just supposed to be five minutes to check the quality, i stayed for the whole movie. i just couldn't stoped watching, i was mesmerized. Nearly 4 hours later, i had rewatched pure cinematic magic. And my friends were still hanging shelves.
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hope u didnt get fucked up the ass by an arab - must have hurt ur feelings playa
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and i think john williams purloined a few musical motifs from the score of LOA
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ya john williams stole a few themes for star wars episode IV, from LOA
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years ago in a old renovated theater in Detroit. It included the long intermission as well. I remember how in awe I was at the cinematography on the big screen. I also remember I drank waaaaaaay too many Cokes due to thirst. This is definitely a movie worthy of restoration. Well, after all the Alvin and the Chipmunk movies and every Vin Diesel movie... :)
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... at the AMC Lennox in Columbus, OH.
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I've seen this film in 70mm multiple times and it seems I keep discovering things in it that I didn't notice before. At the last screening, I noticed that just after Omar Sharif says "God be with you English!", Sharif rides off, we only see the sky, and then the camera pans down and we see O'Toole in the distance riding on his camel. I think it's possible that this was done in one take, without a cut. Anyone else think so? Another was when Anthony Quayle emerges out of a shadow way off in the distance to join up with O'Toole at their first meeting. He had always appeared to me to be walking out but I realize now that he's actually on his camel. This may not be noticed unless you see it on the big screen. Anyone else discover cool things they hadn't noticed before on multiple viewings of LOA?
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The last time I saw LOA (in 70mm), I noticed that right after Sharif says goodbye to O'Toole at the well, we see a blank sky and then the camera pans down to see O'Toole riding on his camel in the distance. It occurred to me that it's possible this was done without a cut. A really clever thing by Lean if so. Another thing I noticed was when Anthony Quayle (Colonel Brighton) emerges out of the shadow in the distance, he is on his camel and not just walking out as I had previously thought. Anyone else discover interesting things only after seeing LOA more than once?
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1) Alien 2) Aliens 3) Aliens 4) Alien 5) Aliens 6) Alien
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1) The Karate Kid 2) The Karate Kid, Part II 3) Whaaaa (aka: The Karate Kid, Part III) 4) The Next Karate Kid (the one with Hilary Swank replacing Ralph Macchio) 5) Police Academy (tied with) Leonard Part 6 6) The Karate Kid remake with Jaden Smith
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Sept. 6, 2012, 8:47 a.m. CST
I got goosebumps just watching the trailer. One of the most magical films that takes the viewer on a ride into an incredible world
by speed
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