
David Lean
Personal Info
Known for
Directing
Gender
Male
Birthday
1908-03-25
Day of Death
1991-04-16 (83 years old)
Place of Birth
Croydon, Surrey, England, UK
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).
Known For
Acting
Epic – The Life & Times of David Lean
as Self (archive footage)
(2020)
Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
(2019)
E. M. Forster: His Longest Journey
as Self (archive footage)
(2019)
Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
(2017)
Nostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream
as Self (archive footage)
(2010)
Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration
as Self (Archive Footage)
(2003)
The Making of 'Lawrence of Arabia'
as Self (archive footage)
(2000)
The Making of Lawrence of Arabia
as Self (archive footage)
(1992)
The South Bank Show: Noël Coward
as Self (archival footage)
(1985)
(1985)
David Lean: A Life in Film
as Self
(1979)
(1971)
David Lean: A Self Portrait
as Self
(1970)
Ryan's Daughter Featurette
as Self
(1965)
Pasternak
as Himself
(1965)
Moscow in Madrid
as Self
(1965)
(1965)
(1963)
(1962)
Lawrence of Arabia
as Motorcyclist by Suez Canal (uncredited)
(1958)
Crew
(1984)
A Passage to India
Director, Screenplay, Editor
(1979)
Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor
Writer, Director
(1970)
Ryan's Daughter
Director
(1965)
Doctor Zhivago
Director
(1965)
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Second Unit Director
(1962)
Lawrence of Arabia
Director
(1957)
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Director
(1955)
Summertime
Screenplay, Director
(1954)
Hobson's Choice
Director, Producer, Screenplay
(1952)
The Sound Barrier
Director, Producer
(1950)
Madeleine
Director
(1949)
The Passionate Friends
Director, Adaptation
(1948)
Oliver Twist
Director, Screenplay
(1946)
Great Expectations
Screenplay, Director
(1945)
Brief Encounter
Director, Additional Writing
(1945)
Blithe Spirit
Director, Screenplay
(1944)
This Happy Breed
Director, Screenplay
(1942)
In Which We Serve
Director
(1942)
(1941)
Major Barbara
Assistant Director
(1941)
49th Parallel
Editor
(1940)
French Without Tears
Editor
(1940)
Spy for a Day
Editor
(1939)
Pygmalion
Editor
(1939)
Spies of the Air
Editor
(1937)
Dreaming Lips
Editor
(1937)
The Wife of General Ling
Editor
(1936)
As You Like It
Editor
(1936)
Ball at Savoy
Editor
(1935)
Escape Me Never
Editor
(1935)
The Crouching Beast
Editor
(1934)
The Secret of the Loch
Editor
(1934)
Dangerous Ground
Editor
(1934)
The King of Paris
Editor
(1934)
Tiger Bay
Editor
(1933)
The Fortunate Fool
Editor
(1933)
The Ghost Camera
Editor
(1933)
Money for Speed
Editor
(1933)
Song of the Plough
Editor
(1932)
Insult
Editor
(1931)
These Charming People
Editor
(1930)
The Night Porter
Editor
(1928)
Sailors Don't Care
Assistant Camera
(1927)
Quinneys
Production Runner