Directing · Croydon, Surrey, England, UK · Born March 25, 1908
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).
MovieMaverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
2026
as Self (archive footage)
MovieOmar Sharif: Citizen of the World
2020
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
MovieE. M. Forster: His Longest Journey
2019
as Self (archive footage)
MovieNice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast
2019
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
MovieNostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream
2017
as Self (archive footage)
TVTalking Pictures
2013
as Self (archive footage)
MovieDoctor Zhivago: A Celebration
2010
as Self (Archive Footage)
MovieThe Making of Lawrence of Arabia
2001
as Self (archive footage)
The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio
1985
as Self
MovieDavid Lean: A Life in Film
1985
as Self
MovieLost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor
1979
as himself
TVThe South Bank Show
1978
as Self
TVThe American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
Film '72
1971
as Self
Ryan's Daughter Featurette
1971
as Self
MovieDavid Lean: A Self Portrait
1971
as Self
TVThe Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest
TVOmnibus
1967
as Self
MoviePasternak
1965
as Self (archive footage)
MovieMoscow in Madrid
1965
as Self
David Lean's Film of Doctor Zhivago
1965
as Self
MovieZhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean
1965
as Self
MovieWind Sand and Star
1963
MovieLawrence of Arabia
1962
as Motorcyclist by Suez Canal (uncredited)
MovieThe Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant
1958
as Self
Movie...On Seeing Film
1958
as Self
TVReflets de Cannes
1954
as Self
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
