David Lean

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).

Directed

1. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) — Director
2. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) — Director
3. Doctor Zhivago (1965) — Director
4. Brief Encounter (1945) — Director
5. Great Expectations (1946) — Director
6. A Passage to India (1984) — Director
7. Oliver Twist (1948) — Director
8. Ryan's Daughter (1970) — Director
9. Summertime (1955) — Director
10. Blithe Spirit (1945) — Director
11. Hobson's Choice (1954) — Director
12. In Which We Serve (1942) — Director
13. This Happy Breed (1944) — Director
14. The Passionate Friends (1949) — Director
15. The Sound Barrier (1952) — Director
16. Madeleine (1950) — Director
17. Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor (1979) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) — Motorcyclist by Suez Canal (uncredited)
2. The Oscars (1953) — Self
3. The Dick Cavett Show (1968) — Self - Guest
4. Omnibus (1967) — Self
5. Nostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream (2017) — Self (archive footage)
6. The South Bank Show (1978) — Self
7. Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast (2019) — Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
8. Talking Pictures (2013) — Self (archive footage)
9. Film '72 (1971) — Self
10. Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World (2020) — Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
11. Pasternak (1965) — Self (archive footage)
12. The American Film Institute Salute to ... (1973) — Self
13. The Making of Lawrence of Arabia (2001) — Self (archive footage)
14. Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor (1979) — himself
15. Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean (1965) — Self
16. The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio (1985) — Self
17. Reflets de Cannes (1954) — Self
18. Moscow in Madrid (1965) — Self
19. E. M. Forster: His Longest Journey (2019) — Self (archive footage)
20. David Lean's Film of Doctor Zhivago (1965) — Self
21. David Lean: A Life in Film (1985) — Self
22. Wind Sand and Star (1963)
23. The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant (1958) — Self
24. Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration (2010) — Self (Archive Footage)
25. Ryan's Daughter Featurette (1971) — Self
26. David Lean: A Self Portrait (1971) — Self
27. Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean (2026) — Self (archive footage)
28. ...On Seeing Film (1958) — Self