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Photo of David Lean

David Lean

Director, Producer, Actor, Writer, Editor, Additional Credits
Born March 25, 1908Died April 16, 1991 (83 years)
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).

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Brief Encounter
  • Great Expectations
  • Oliver Twist
  • Summertime
  • Pygmalion
  • Hobson's Choice
  • Blithe Spirit
  • The Invaders
  • In Which We Serve
  • This Happy Breed
  • The Passionate Friends
  • One of Our Aircraft Is Missing
  • Madeleine

Known For

  • Lawrence of Arabia
  • The Bridge on the River Kwai
  • Doctor Zhivago
  • Brief Encounter
  • A Passage to India
  • Great Expectations
  • Oliver Twist
  • Hobson's Choice
  • Ryan's Daughter
  • Summertime
  • Blithe Spirit
  • This Happy Breed
  • The Greatest Story Ever Told
  • The Passionate Friends
  • In Which We Serve
  • The Sound Barrier
  • Madeleine
  • Major Barbara

David Lean Filmography

1998
The Best of Hollywood · as Interview
1962
Lawrence of Arabia · as Motorcyclist By Suez Canal (uncredited)
1955
Summertime · as Man At Café

1984
A Passage to India · as Screenplay
1955
Summertime · as Screenplay
1954
Hobson's Choice · as Screenplay
1948
Oliver Twist · as Screenplay
1946
1945
1945
Blithe Spirit · as Screenplay
1944
This Happy Breed · as Screenplay

2020
Omar Sharif - Aus dem Leben eines Nomaden · as Self - Filmmaker (archive Footage)
2019
E. M. Forster: His Longest Journey · as Self (archive Footage)
2018
Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast · as Self - Filmmaker (archive Footage)
2018
2018
2017
Nostromo: El sueño imposible de David Lean · as Self (archive Footage)
2013
Talking Pictures (2013) (TV Series) · as Self (archive Footage)
2003
2001
The Making of 'Lawrence of Arabia' · as Self (archive Footage)
1995
1985
The 57th Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Nominee
1982
Wogan (TV Series) · as Self
1981
Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) · as Self
1978
The South Bank Show (TV Series) · as Self
1973
AFI Life Achievement Award (TV Series) · as Self
1971
Film (TV Series) · as Self
1970
The 42nd Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Commenting On New Freedom And Trends In Film
1968
The Dick Cavett Show (TV Series) · as Self - Guest
1967
Omnibus (1967) (TV Series) · as Self
1965
1963
The 35th Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Winner
1958
The 30th Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Winner
1955
This is Your Life (UK) (TV Series) · as Self
1953
The Academy Awards (TV Series) · as Self
1952
Reflets de Cannes (TV Series) · as Self
1952
Today (TV Series) · as Self - Guest

1965
The Greatest Story Ever Told · as Second Unit Director
1949
1941
Major Barbara · as Assistant Director
1927
Quinneys · as Production Runner

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