At last! Lawrence Of Arabia Blu-ray.

Thanks Chebby, added to my wish list 

Perhaps even better (personally), it led me to see that this is due for release soon also:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-Classic-Monsters-Essential-Collection/dp/B008H45YSO/ref=pd_cp_d_h__0

Even better:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-Classic-Monsters-Collection-Limited/dp...

Crazy pricing. I'd consider picking out certain titles individually, but since they're £10.49 each, £36 for the box set seems absurdly cheap.

Now where's that Hammer box set to add to Witchfinder General and Paranoiac.

Yeah, I saw that. I generally prefer being able to fit discs on my shelves, so would want to see a 'real' pic of this to work out what is going on with it. Shame this set doesn't have the superior Spanish version of Dracula, but otherwise looks very promising. I'll be intrigued to read how such old films come out on blu ray. 

I've seen some of the (4K) restoration they've done on Lawrence of Arabia - really impressive, including some very sensitive clean-ups/rebuilds where Lean's cameras/film reels were having issues due to heat, sand etc!

Thanks Clare. That's encouraging.

Or Freddie Young, or indeed Horizon/Columbia Pictures' cameras?

Sorry, I can't help but respond to suggestions of god-like directorial control (though I appreciate that nobody will thank me for my pedantism).

Just to correct myself, the US edition definitely has the Spanish version of Dracula and a 'review' on amazon.co.uk says the UK version does too, but is not listed. For once we do well, as this is significantly cheaper than in the US. 

Apparently you don't buy from Panavision, you rent. So they were Panavision's cameras.

Operated by Freddie Young and crew. I wanted to emphasise the collaborative nature of filmmaking rather than fashionable auteurist marketing constructions. I'll stop now...

While I've heard of the Spanish version, I've never seen it and know nothing of how it differs from the US theatrical cut.

For what it's worth, I think the US version is quite a bore and wouldn't be difficult to improve on. Do you know why the Spanish version is often deemed superior?

OK, i'll leave it to Grover Crisp, whom oversaw the restoration, to sum it up:

"We wanted to return this film to as pristine a condition as possible to honor its anniversary release. The original negative was seriously damaged in a number of ways, some problems dating from the original release and some accumulated over the years. Until now, we did not have the tools available to address these issues.  We think fans of the film will be as amazed as we are at the detail and resolution in the imagery captured by cinematographer Freddie Young to compliment David Lean’s immaculate direction.”

The 4K clips I saw were astonishing. They're re-releasing the film in 4K cinemas to celebrate the 50th anniversary - it debuted at Cannes Film Festival and should be heading to UK soon....

I have a copy, tho only watched it once, many years ago. IIRC it is a shot for shot remake but substantially slicker and with improvements on the effects. I'm a sucker for the Lugosi version, but if you don't like that I suspect you won't like the Spanish one either. 

Enjoyed the pun! It'll be interesting to watch the Spanish version.

It's years since I last saw the Lugosi version so I'm happy to give it another go.

With classic Universal horror I tend to take the consensus view. I'm really looking forward to re-watching both Frankenstein films, The Invisible Man, and Creature From the Black Lagoon. The other titles are a bonus, though I'm sure I'll enjoy them. I'm certainly not complaining at the price! The last time an Amazon pre-order price looked too good to be true they cancelled my order...

Here's hoping the transfers and audio are up to scratch. My guess is they'll be sourced from the same digital transfers as the older DVD box set, which is not to say that Blu-ray's superior resolution won't prove revealing.