David Lean

David Lean

1908-03-25 – 1991-04-16 (age 83) Croydon, Surrey, England, UK
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Biography

Sir David Lean CBE (25 March 1908 – 16 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, he is best remembered for adapting the works of Charles Dickens and Noël Coward, and for his large scale period epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970), and A Passage to India (1984).

Acclaimed and praised by directors such as Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick, Lean was voted 9th greatest film director of all time in the British Film Institute Sight & Sound "Directors Top Directors" poll 2002. Nominated seven times for the Academy Award for Best Director, winning twice for The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, he has seven films in the British Film Institute's Top 100 British Films (with three of them being in the top five).

Photos

Known For

Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia

1962

as Motorcyclist by Suez Canal (uncredited)

Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast
Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast

2019

as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

Moscow in Madrid
Moscow in Madrid

1965

as Self

Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean

2026

as Self (archive footage)

Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration
Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration

2010

as Self (Archive Footage)

Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World
Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World

2020

as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

...On Seeing Film
...On Seeing Film

1958

as Self

The Making of Lawrence of Arabia
The Making of Lawrence of Arabia

2001

as Self (archive footage)

David Lean: A Life in Film
Nostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream
Nostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream

2017

as Self (archive footage)

Pasternak
Pasternak

1965

as Self (archive footage)

E. M. Forster: His Longest Journey
E. M. Forster: His Longest Journey

2019

as Self (archive footage)

David Lean: A Self Portrait
Wind Sand and Star