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David Lean

Director

David Lean

Born March 25, 1908 in Croydon, Surrey, England, UKDied April 16, 199117 films

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).

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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).

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The best way into David Lean's work
Lawrence of Arabia posterFirst watchLawrence of Arabia19628.0During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward 'T.E.' Lawrence sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
The Bridge on the River Kwai poster7.8The Bridge on the River Kwai1957Doctor Zhivago poster7.6Doctor Zhivago1965Brief Encounter poster7.7Brief Encounter1945Great Expectations poster7.3Great Expectations1946Oliver Twist poster7.6Oliver Twist1948A Passage to India poster6.8A Passage to India1984Hobson's Choice poster7.4Hobson's Choice1954Ryan's Daughter poster7.1Ryan's Daughter1970

Filmography

17 films as director
  1. 1984A Passage to IndiaDirector
  2. 1979Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's AnchorDirector
  3. 1970Ryan's DaughterDirector
  4. 1965Doctor ZhivagoDirector
  5. 1962Lawrence of ArabiaDirector
  6. 1957The Bridge on the River KwaiDirector
  7. 1955SummertimeDirector
  8. 1954Hobson's ChoiceDirector
  9. 1952The Sound BarrierDirector
  10. 1950MadeleineDirector
  11. 1949The Passionate FriendsDirector
  12. 1948Oliver TwistDirector
  13. 1946Great ExpectationsDirector
  14. 1945Brief EncounterDirector
  15. 1945Blithe SpiritDirector
  16. 1944This Happy BreedDirector
  17. 1942In Which We ServeDirector