|   Lawrence of Arabia DVD | KevB
May 7, 2001 5:09 PM | | I couldn't wait to get this on DVD and for the most part the transfer is glorious. BUT, on my copy on some of the desert scenes there is like a rolling vertical line that appears that is noticeable on the wide shots (ie esp some of those initial desert scenes). I didn't notice this on the laserdisc. Anyone have this on DVD and if so, did your copy have this problem? I don't know if its the DVD or the film transfer. |
| re: Lawrence of Arabia DVD | Daigoro
May 7, 2001 8:39 PM | | I was wondering this myself. There are several areas on the Criterion CAV Laser Disc that I used to have where you can see defects on the film. But it does seem to me that there are more of these weird vertical streaks on the DVD than the LD. OTOH, this DVD is absolutely incredible looking--defects aside. Probably the best looking disc I've ever seen. The colors are so rich, you almost feel like you're there. I suspect that you notice the flaws more because of the higher resolution of DVD over LD. |
| re: Lawrence of Arabia DVD | Fishstink
May 8, 2001 6:56 AM | | I watched this movie on my system and did not see these lines at all. I think it may be my dvd player is so good. It's a pioneer dvd 626 which is not progressive scan. But, it does allow me to adjust gamma and chroma etc. I have yet to see pixelation one also. |
| re: Lawrence of Arabia DVD | Daigoro
May 8, 2001 9:19 AM | | I have a Pioneer DVL-909 which is a pretty good player. I don't get any pixelization, just some weird flashes in some of the desert scenes. |
| re: Lawrence of Arabia DVD | KevB
May 8, 2001 10:03 AM | | I have a Sony S7700 which was the reference standard a year or two ago, so I don't think its the player. Plus, I haven't noticed the problem on other dvds. If you are seeing the same vertical bars that must mean its the transfer to DVD which must have occurred in the remastering process. But with all the attention to the quality otherwise, I am amazed this was allowed to slip through. Its just darn distracting during some of those wide shots (esp noticeable in the scene where Omar Sharif comes riding toward his well from a distance and shoots Lawrence's guide as he approaches).
I am being picky of course because this is probably my favorite movie of all time. Anyone who loves movies and does not have this on DVD or laser is really depriving themselves. It MUST be viewed widescreen. I would literally be unable to watch this on a pan and scan tape. |
| Don't adjust your set - it's the original film... | JazzHead
May 8, 2001 10:58 AM | | From Robert Harris, who restored the picture, as reported to Jeff McNeal on thebigpicture.com:
"The vertical bars (stripes) have always been on the film in certain camera rolls which were damaged by the desert heat. What you're seeing are sections of cracked emulsion on the original negative, which under magnification looks like a cracked and dried river bed, yielding white on the print. It is actually a positive note to the definition and resolution of Sony's transfer that this all shows up as it does."
Sounds like you couldn't see it on the old laser disc because the transfer wasn't as sharp. The problems with the film melting and warping are alluded to in the DVD documentary as well.
peace,
jh. |
| Hmmm, that's interesting | KevB
May 8, 2001 12:49 PM | | At least I know it wasn't my copy or my player. Don't you think they could have repaired that when they restored it? I haven't gone through the documentary yet so I'll have to check that out. |
| Hmmm, that's interesting | JazzHead
May 8, 2001 2:27 PM | | It is curious. Knowing how painstaking Harris is with his work, I'm guessing there was a pretty good reason why they didn't repair it - perhaps he addressed that issue in another interview. Can't see that it would be that they didn't want to tamper with the original, because they dubbed in chunks of dialogue for restored scenes in which the audio track had been lost. Lean apparently also made some changes in the editing that he wanted to do for the initial 1962 release, but was not able to do in the rush to get the picture out.
Still, it's nitpicking - it's a glorious transfer of one of the greats.
peace,
pj3. |
| re: Lawrence of Arabia DVD | unleasHell
May 9, 2001 4:30 PM | | KevB (or Jazz) can you give me the time of these anomolies (ie 1:45:16) into the movie. I want to check my copy when I get it. I just ordered it two days ago from TWEC, $24.40 total (including tax and shipping). |
| 1:02:24 into the film, a minute or so into chapter 18 ... | JazzHead
May 10, 2001 9:46 AM | | ... that's the one pointed out by the Big Picture reviewer. I wasn't watching the picture quality closely enough to notice - guess I was too deep into the story to critique disc anamolies.
peace,
jh. |
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