David Lean
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).
Filmography (28 titles)
MovieMaverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
Self (archive footage) · 2026
7.0MovieOmar Sharif: Citizen of the World
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage) · 2020
7.0MovieE. M. Forster: His Longest Journey
Self (archive footage) · 2019
5.0MovieNice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage) · 2019
6.4MovieNostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream
Self (archive footage) · 2017
6.2ShowTalking Pictures
Self (archive footage) · 2013
MovieDoctor Zhivago: A Celebration
Self (Archive Footage) · 2010
8.5MovieThe Making of Lawrence of Arabia
Self (archive footage) · 2001
The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio
Self · 1985
6.0MovieDavid Lean: A Life in Film
Self · 1985
7.0MovieLost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor
himself · 1979
5.6ShowThe South Bank Show
Self · 1978
6.3ShowThe American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · 1973
Film '72
Self · 1971
Ryan's Daughter Featurette
Self · 1971
MovieDavid Lean: A Self Portrait
Self · 1971
6.8ShowThe Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · 1968
7.2ShowOmnibus
Self · 1967
6.7MoviePasternak
Self (archive footage) · 1965
7.0MovieMoscow in Madrid
Self · 1965
David Lean's Film of Doctor Zhivago
Self · 1965
8.5MovieZhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean
Self · 1965
MovieWind Sand and Star
1963
8.0MovieLawrence of Arabia
Motorcyclist by Suez Canal (uncredited) · 1962
MovieThe Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant
Self · 1958
Movie...On Seeing Film
Self · 1958
5.0ShowReflets de Cannes
Self · 1954
7.0ShowThe Oscars
Self · 1953