DIED
April 16, 1991

RECENT CREDITS
A Passage to India (FILM)  Jan. 1, 1984
Ryan's Daughter (FILM)  Jan. 1, 1970
Doctor Zhivago (FILM)  Dec. 22, 1965
Lawrence of Arabia (FILM)  Dec. 16, 1962
The Bridge on the River Kwai (FILM)  Dec. 18, 1957

BIOGRAPHY
Director, writer, and producer David Lean grew up in a strict religious background in which movies were forbidden to become one of the world's most celebrated filmmakers. Beginning as a tea boy in the mid-'20s, he was....
Director, writer, and producer David Lean grew up in a strict religious background in which movies were forbidden to become one of the world's most celebrated filmmakers. Beginning as a tea boy in the mid-'20s, he was lucky enough to move into editing just as sound films -- with their special requirements -- were coming on the scene. By the mid-'30s, he was regarded as one of the top in his field.

Lean turned down several chances to make low-budget films, and got his first directing opportunity (unofficially) on Major Barbara (1941), one of the most celebrated movies of the early '40s. Noel Coward hired Lean as his directorial collaborator on his war classic In Which We Serve (1943), and, after that, Lean's career was made. For the next 15 years, he became known throughout the world for his close, intimate, serious film dramas. Some (This Happy Breed [1944], Blithe Spirit [1945], and Brief Encounter [1945]) were based upon Coward's plays, which the author had given Lean virtual carte blanche to film. Others ranged from Charles Dickens adaptations (Great Expectations, [1946], Oliver Twist [1948]) to stories about aviation (The Sound Barrier [1952]). In 1957, in association with producer Sam Spiegel, Lean moved out of England and into international production with his epic adaptation of Pierre Boulle's Japanese prisoner-of-war story The Bridge on the River Kwai, a superb drama starring Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and William Holden that expanded the dimensions of serious filmmaking.

Lean's next film, Lawrence of Arabia (1962), based on the life and military career of World War I British hero T.E. Lawrence, became the definitive dramatic film epic of its generation. Doctor Zhivago (1965), a complex romance about life in Russia before and during the revolution, opened to mixed reviews but went on to become one of the top-grossing movies of the '60s, despite a three-hour running time. With an armload of Oscars behind him from his three most recent pictures -- with combined box-office earnings of as much as 300 million dollars -- Lean was established as one of the top "money" directors of the decade. But his next movie, the multimillion-dollar, 200-minute Ryan's Daughter (1970), fared far less well, especially before the critics, who almost universally condemned the slowness and seeming self-indulgence of its drama and scale. Disheartened by its reception, Lean took more than ten years to release his next film, the critical and box-office success A Passage to India (1984). He was working on Nostromo, based upon Joseph Conrad's book, at the time of his death in 1991.

~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide


Rovi Data Solutions, Inc.
- Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Data Solutions © 2009 Rovi Data Solutions, Inc.

Headlines

Jun. 4, 2001
On Saturday, Anthony Quinn passed away from respiratory failure, robbing Hollywood of a true legend. He was 86. The two-time Academy Award winner's tempestuous screen image matched his much-publicized, unquenchable thirst for life.




Comments

Advertisement

Recently Worked With...

Lawrence of Arabia
Released: Sep. 5, 1997

A Passage to India
Released: Jan. 1, 1984

Ryan's Daughter
Released: Jan. 1, 1970

Doctor Zhivago
Released: Dec. 22, 1965

The Bridge on the River Kwai
Released: Dec. 19, 1957


Fan Sites

David Lean Fansites

No fan sites available. Create the first!
Are you the #1 David Lean Fan? Sign Up To Create A Website Here.

Top 5 Celebrities

Angelina Jolie at the Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) 2009 - Arrivals.  London, England - 02/08/09
June 04, 1975
Los Angeles, CA

Megan Fox up close at 'Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen' UK premiere
May 16, 1986
Tennessee

SCARLETT JOHANSSON's killer cleavage has topped a new TV celebration of Hollywood's best breasts.alt
November 22, 1984
New York, NY

Robert Pattinson on the set of 'Remember Me' - New York City, NY - 06/15/09
May 13, 1986
London, England

Salma Hayek at the CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute held at the Kodak Theatre.  Hollywood, CA - 11-22-08
N/A
Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico