FILM DIRECTOR

David Lean

1908 - 1991

Photo of David Lean

Icon of person David Lean

Sir David Lean (25 March 1908 – 16 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of British cinema. He directed the large-scale epics The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970), and A Passage to India (1984). Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of David Lean has received more than 2,473,613 page views. His biography is available in 59 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 57 in 2019). David Lean is the 118th most popular film director (down from 81st in 2019), the 549th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 412th in 2019) and the 9th most popular British Film Director.

David Lean is most famous for his films such as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago.

Memorability Metrics

  • 2.5M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 64.05

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 59

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.13

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.75

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, David Lean ranks 118 out of 2,041. Before him are Kenji Mizoguchi, Otar Iosseliani, Manoel de Oliveira, Jules Dassin, Peter Jackson, and Jerzy Grotowski. After him are Sergei Bondarchuk, John Woo, Howard Hawks, Victor Fleming, Jiří Menzel, and Wes Craven.

Most Popular Film Directors in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1908, David Lean ranks 34. Before him are Franz Stangl, Amon Göth, Joseph Rotblat, Ilya Frank, Werner von Haeften, and Manoel de Oliveira. After him are William Saroyan, Arthur Adamov, Dmitry Ustinov, Carole Lombard, Cesare Pavese, and Willard Libby. Among people deceased in 1991, David Lean ranks 27. Before him are Marcel Lefebvre, Rajiv Gandhi, Oona O'Neill, Arno Breker, Margot Fonteyn, and Henri Lefebvre. After him are Natalia Ginzburg, Max Frisch, Gunnar Gren, Ragnar Granit, Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, and Jean Tinguely.

Others Born in 1908

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1991

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, David Lean ranks 549 out of 8,785. Before him are Stanley Rous (1895), Bruce Dickinson (1958), Thomas Bayes (1702), George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (1859), Betty Williams (1943), and David McCallum (1933). After him are Geoffrey of Monmouth (1090), Jane Seymour (1951), Thomas Cranmer (1489), Christian Bale (1974), David II of Scotland (1324), and Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet (1892).

Others born in United Kingdom

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among FILM DIRECTORS In United Kingdom

Among film directors born in United Kingdom, David Lean ranks 9. Before him are Ken Loach (1936), Alan Parker (1944), Tony Scott (1944), Christopher Nolan (1970), Peter Brook (1925), and Richard Attenborough (1923). After him are Peter Greenaway (1942), Stephen Frears (1941), Mike Newell (1942), Danny Boyle (1956), Carol Reed (1906), and Guy Ritchie (1968).

British born Film Directors

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Filmography

Lawrence of Arabia
Director
The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Lawrence becomes a flamboyant, messianic figure in the cause of Arab unity but his psychological instability threatens to undermine his achievements.
Dec 11o 19628 / 10
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Director
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
Oct 11o 19577.832 / 10
Doctor Zhivago
Director
The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.
Dec 22o 19657.544 / 10