David Lean
Directing
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).
Known for
Directing19
movieA Passage to India
1984
Director
movieRyan's Daughter
1970
Director
movieDoctor Zhivago
1965
Director
movieThe Greatest Story Ever Told
1965
Second Unit Director
movieLawrence of Arabia
1962
Director
movieSummertime
1955
Director
movieHobson's Choice
1954
Director
movieThe Sound Barrier
1952
Director
movieMadeleine
1950
Director
movieThe Passionate Friends
1949
Director
movieOliver Twist
1948
Director
movieGreat Expectations
1946
Director
movieBrief Encounter
1945
Director
movieBlithe Spirit
1945
Director
movieThis Happy Breed
1944
Director
movieIn Which We Serve
1942
Director
movieMajor Barbara
1941
Assistant Director
Acting28
movieMaverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
2026
Self (archive footage)
movieOmar Sharif: Citizen of the World
2020
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
movieE. M. Forster: His Longest Journey
2019
Self (archive footage)
movieNice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast
2019
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
movieNostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream
2017
Self (archive footage)
tvTalking Pictures
2013
Self (archive footage)
movieDoctor Zhivago: A Celebration
2010
Self (Archive Footage)
movieThe Making of Lawrence of Arabia
2001
Self (archive footage)
tvThe Dick Cavett Show
1968
Self - Guest
tvOmnibus
1967
Self
moviePasternak
1965
Self (archive footage)
movieLawrence of Arabia
1962
Motorcyclist by Suez Canal (uncredited)
tvThe Oscars
1953
Self
Editing24
movie49th Parallel
1941
Editor
movieSpy for a Day
1940
Editor
moviePygmalion
1938
Editor
movieDreaming Lips
1937
Editor
movieAs You Like It
1936
Editor
movieBall at Savoy
1936
Editor
movieEscape Me Never
1935
Editor
movieTiger Bay
1934
Editor
movieMoney for Speed
1933
Editor
movieInsult
1932
Editor
Writing9
movieA Passage to India
1984
Screenplay
movieSummertime
1955
Screenplay
movieHobson's Choice
1954
Screenplay
movieThe Passionate Friends
1949
Adaptation
movieOliver Twist
1948
Screenplay
movieGreat Expectations
1946
Screenplay
movieBlithe Spirit
1945
Screenplay
movieThis Happy Breed
1944
Screenplay
Production3
movieHobson's Choice
1954
Producer
movieThe Sound Barrier
1952
Producer
Quinneys
1927
Production Runner
Camera1
Sailors Don't Care
1928
Assistant Camera
Crew1
movieBrief Encounter
1945
Additional Writing