Amazon.com essential video
There's no getting around a simple, basic truth: watching Lawrence of Arabia in any home-video format represents a compromise. There's no better way to appreciate this epic biographical adventure than to see it projected in 70 millimeter onto a huge theater screen. That caveat aside, David Lean's masterful "desert classic" is still enjoyable on the small screen, especially if viewed in widescreen format. (If your only option is to view a "pan & scan" version, it's best not to bother; this is a film for which the widescreen format is utterly mandatory.) Peter O'Toole gives a star-making performance as T.E. Lawrence, the eccentric British officer who united the desert tribes of Arabia against the Turks during World War I. Lean orchestrates sweeping battle sequences and breathtaking action, but the film is really about the adventures and trials that transform Lawrence into a legendary man of the desert. Lean traces this transformation on a vast canvas of awesome physicality; no other movie has captured the expanse of the desert with such scope and grandeur. Equally important is the psychology of Lawrence, who remains an enigma even as we grasp his identification with the desert. Perhaps the greatest triumph of this landmark film is that Lean has conveyed the romance, danger, and allure of the desert with such physical and emotional power. It's a film about a man who leads one life but is irresistibly drawn to another, where his greatness and mystery are allowed to flourish in equal measure. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

DVD features
Lawrence of Arabia raises the bar on Superbit DVDs by not only using the much-publicized higher bit rate, but also offering a brand-new transfer by restoration expert Robert Harris, who worked on the film's restoration for theatrical release in the late 1980s. The original two-DVD set was very well done, but the Superbit has a clear advantage in its sharper picture, richer colors, and correction of some minor flaws. The audio track has more punch as well, though it's still limited by its source material. On the downside, the higher bit rate means the film had to be more evenly divided between its two discs, so the first disc ends abruptly in the middle of the Sinai Desert rather than 27 minutes later at the intermission, which is where the original set had its break. You also lose a variety of interesting supplements. Still, with its sprawling desert vistas and Peter O'Toole's blue eyes, Lawrence of Arabia is nothing if not a magnificent visual spectacle, so it makes sense to see it in the best-looking format possible. --David Horiuchi

Description
The Superbit titles utilize a special high bit rate digital encoding process which optimizes video quality while offering a choice of both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. These titles have been produced by a team of Sony Pictures Digital Studios video, sound and mastering engineers and comes housed in a special package complete with a 4 page booklet that contains technical information on the Superbit process. By reallocating space on the disc normally used for value-added content, Superbit DVDs can be encoded at double their normal bit rate while maintaining full compatibility with the DVD video format.