

David Lean
Director · Actor · WriterSir 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).
More details at TMDB
KNOWN FOR
FILMOGRAPHY
ACTOR20

Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
2026
Self (archive footage)

Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World
2020
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

E. M. Forster: His Longest Journey
2019
Self (archive footage)

Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast
2019
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

Nostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream
2017
Self (archive footage)

Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration
2010
Self (Archive Footage)

The Making of Lawrence of Arabia
2001
Self (archive footage)
- The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio
The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio
1985
Self

David Lean: A Life in Film
1985
Self

Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor
1979
himself
- Ryan's Daughter Featurette
Ryan's Daughter Featurette
1971
Self

David Lean: A Self Portrait
1971
Self

Pasternak
1965
Self (archive footage)

Moscow in Madrid
1965
Self
- David Lean's Film of Doctor Zhivago
David Lean's Film of Doctor Zhivago
1965
Self

Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean
1965
Self

Wind Sand and Star
1963

Lawrence of Arabia
1962
Motorcyclist by Suez Canal (uncredited)

The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant
1958
Self

...On Seeing Film
1958
Self
DIRECTOR19

A Passage to India
1984
Director

Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor
1979
Director

Ryan's Daughter
1970
Director

Doctor Zhivago
1965
Director

The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965
Second Unit Director

Lawrence of Arabia
1962
Director

The Bridge on the River Kwai
1957
Director

Summertime
1955
Director

Hobson's Choice
1954
Director

The Sound Barrier
1952
Director

Madeleine
1950
Director

The Passionate Friends
1949
Director

Oliver Twist
1948
Director

Great Expectations
1946
Director

Brief Encounter
1945
Director

Blithe Spirit
1945
Director

This Happy Breed
1944
Director

In Which We Serve
1942
Director

Major Barbara
1941
Assistant Director
WRITER9
PRODUCER3
EDITOR24

A Passage to India
1984
Editor

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing
1942
Editor

49th Parallel
1941
Editor

French Without Tears
1940
Editor

Spy for a Day
1940
Editor

Spies of the Air
1939
Editor

Pygmalion
1938
Editor

Dreaming Lips
1937
Editor
- The Wife of General Ling
The Wife of General Ling
1937
Editor

As You Like It
1936
Editor

Ball at Savoy
1936
Editor

Escape Me Never
1935
Editor

The Crouching Beast
1935
Editor

The Secret of the Loch
1934
Editor

Dangerous Ground
1934
Editor
- The King of Paris
The King of Paris
1934
Editor

Tiger Bay
1934
Editor

The Fortunate Fool
1933
Editor

The Ghost Camera
1933
Editor

Money for Speed
1933
Editor

Song of the Plough
1933
Editor

Insult
1932
Editor

These Charming People
1931
Editor

The Night Porter
1930
Editor





