Heads up to everyone out there: Lawrence of Arabia, in its new digital restoration, is playing for one night only in participating theatres across the country, tomorrow night. Looks like they are mainly doing 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. shows. Here is the information. If you put in your zip code, you can find a theatre near you (hopefully) that will be playing this masterpiece.
I have seen the film, clearly, but I have always had a sense that I haven’t really seen it, or properly experienced it, because I have only seen it on my television. It seems meant for the big screen.
I will be attending at one of the theatres in New York and I can’t wait.
Thank you so much to Glenn Kenny for alerting me to this event.
As an old-timey film guy, I’m torn on digital presentations, but yes, go see it on the big screen. It is so delicious.
Mark – then i am sure you have been following the NYFF debacle, with the canceled screening, etc.?
Yes, I can’t wait to see it – those camels racing across the desert, the famous cut of the match to the desert – ahhh, can’t wait!
Yeah, I read about that NYFF thing. That projectionist must have been shitting bricks.
Of course, film has it’s own set of problems. Years ago, I ran Rescue Dawn to a packed house at the Milwaukee Film Festival and the dipshit who built the print had spliced in reel two flipped. I shit enough bricks to build a small backyard barbecue that day.
Scary!!! You should compile stories of your Tales As a Projectionist (have you already done so?)
Funnily enough, Mark – speaking of Bogdanovich: when we went to see They All Laughed last week- they actually had to stop the film halfway through because accidentally they had been sent two of the FIRST reels and none of the second – so a harried and panicked person was in a cab “at this moment” rushing the second reel to the theatre. It was all very exciting. He got there – and it all felt quite old-school (but your point is well taken: many people shitting bricks!)
At least in that case, it was a shipping error, and probably not a projectionist error. Had a similar situation once when we had a midnight showing of Gremlins with a brand new, never-before-projected print, fresh from the lab. It turns out that they had somehow printed reel two with the audio from reel four. Luckily, the audience was mainly drunk college kids who didn’t really care.
Just saw this on Glenn’s site last night. I have never seen Lawrence on the big screen, and the whole family is going. I’m very excited.
Yay!
An overwhelming testament to restoration. Thirty years ago even the Columbia Pictures vault copy had turned to a consistently faded pink. Its glories are all MORE glorious than words or DVD can convey when screened BIG, WIDE and in STEREOPHONIC sound!!!
Kent – yeah, that’s what P. Bogdanovich was saying about the restored Last Picture Show – no more deterioration, it looks better than it looked originally!
I. CAN’T. WAIT.
Sounds wonderful…great article in this past weekends WSJ about the film and how Leans past as an editor really comes through…even though it’s a long film it’s actually economical.
Ooh, I missed that article – will have to go check it out. Interesting point about the editor. If you think about it, Lawrence of Arabia probably has the most famous “cut” of all time – from the lit match to the Arabian desert – which still stuns in its innovation and boldness – and it works on a small screen – no problem – but I can’t wait to see it on the big screen!
I have a notion that no screen exists in the world big enough for this movie.
Hah! You’re good kid….article went into detail about that very cut.
Ha! I’m wicked smaht!