David Lean
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- March 25, 1908, Croydon, Surrey, England, UK
- Died
- April 16, 1991
- Movies
- 37
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).
Best-Known Movies
Filmography
| 2026 | Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean | Self (archive footage) |
| 2020 | Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World | Self - Filmmaker (archive footage) |
| 2019 | E. M. Forster: His Longest Journey | Self (archive footage) |
| 2019 | Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast | Self - Filmmaker (archive footage) |
| 2017 | Nostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream | Self (archive footage) |
| 2010 | Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration | Self (Archive Footage) |
| 2001 | The Making of Lawrence of Arabia | Self (archive footage) |
| 1985 | The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio | Self |
| 1985 | David Lean: A Life in Film | Self |
| 1979 | Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor | himself |
| 1971 | Ryan's Daughter Featurette | Self |
| 1971 | David Lean: A Self Portrait | Self |
| 1965 | Pasternak | Self (archive footage) |
| 1965 | Moscow in Madrid | Self |
| 1965 | David Lean's Film of Doctor Zhivago | Self |
| 1965 | Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean | Self |
| 1963 | Wind, Sand and Star | |
| 1962 | Lawrence of Arabia | Motorcyclist by Suez Canal (uncredited) |
| 1958 | The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant | Self |
| 1958 | ...On Seeing Film | Self |
Directing, Writing & Producing
| 1984 | A Passage to India | Director, Screenplay |
| 1979 | Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor | Writer, Director |
| 1970 | Ryan's Daughter | Director |
| 1965 | Doctor Zhivago | Director |
| 1962 | Lawrence of Arabia | Director, Producer |
| 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 |
| 1948 | Oliver Twist | Director, Screenplay |
| 1946 | Great Expectations | Director, Screenplay |
| 1945 | Brief Encounter | Director |
| 1945 | Blithe Spirit | Director, Screenplay |
| 1944 | This Happy Breed | Director, Screenplay |
| 1942 | In Which We Serve | Director |
Data from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.