The films of David Lean: What is your opinion of them?

[elperromagico]

In the forty-two years he was credited as a film director, David Lean made just 16 complete films, which is an average of about one every two and a half years:

In Which We Serve (1942; co-directed with Noël Coward)
This Happy Breed (1944)
Blithe Spirit (1945)
Brief Encounter (1945)
Great Expectations (1946)
Oliver Twist (1948)
The Passionate Friends (1949)
Madeleine (1950)
The Sound Barrier (1952)
Hobson's Choice (1954)
Summertime (1955)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Ryan's Daughter (1970)
A Passage to India (1984)

Views on Lean's films tend to vary wildly; some regard them as poetic masterpieces, while others regard them as bloated and pretentious. Others simply scratch their heads and say, "Who the fuck is David Lean?"

Where do you stand?

[Longgrain]

1. Doctor Zhivago is one of my all time favorite movies....

Just don't watch it unless you want that song stuck in your head for three days...

[FrankBooth]

2. I love "Bridge"

fantastic movie. I tend to fall into the poetic masterpieces camp when it comes to DL, although I haven't seen many of his early works - I'll have to add him to my TiVo Director's wishlist.

[Lavender Brown]

3. Brief Encounter is one of my favorites

I love the score. I haven't seen the rest, with the exception of Doctor Zhivago, which I admired but thought was really dreary.

[CBGLuthier]

4. Lawrence of Arabia

I am going to go see Lawrence of Arabia in a theater this Saturday. It will be the second time I have seen it as it was meant to be seen.

I think all of his films were great, especially Lawrence, Zhivago and Bridge on the River Kwai.

[mark0rama]

7. Saw it in 70mm a couple years back.

For as often as it gets re-released to theaters in the area, it took me years for circumstances to allow me to get to it. (Once, a late evening at the office and a snowstorm kept me from getting to it in Milwaukee, about an hour or so from home under good conditions.)

When I finally saw a 70mm print at the Music Box in Chicago, it was well worth the wait. Bravo to Robert A. Harris for his painstaking work in restoring it.

[WhirlyGirl]

5. He is my favorite director

Elegance. Strong emphasis on character development. Straight-ahead story telling. Landscapes to die for.

You can walk right into Lean's films and live there for two hours.

My favorite is "A Passage to India." It resonates in the back of your mind for days.

[The Zanti Regent]

6. Great Expectations and Oliver Twist are my favorites!

Lean and Dickens were made for each other.

Alec Guiness as Fagin...the master at his peak!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

8. I think too many people...

have never had the opportunity to see the Lean films the way they are meant to be: in the dark on a very big screen.

"Lawrence" -- which I had only seen on TV all those years, was a revelation when I finally got to see in on the big screen. I think he was a fine director with a beautiful visual sense.

I remember an interview with Judy Davis about working with him on "Passage". His directing style drove her batty. He had everything in a shot pre-planned in his head, including how an actor read their line and moved! Actors were just chest pieces for him in realizing his vision.

[KoKo]

9. David Lean needed the BIG SCREEN! so sad we can't see

many films from the past that way. Lean is the greatest...his imagery stays with you. But, probably only if you saw it in BIG SCREEN!

I loved all his films...some more than others...but he was a MASTER of Imagery...

Rest in Peace...David...your vision will live forever.

[CBGLuthier]

11. chest pieces?

Were you thinking of Judy Davis when you wrote that. :-) :-)

[brentspeak]

10. "Bridge on the River Kwai" is a great film n/t

[KoKo]

12. It's a good "Friday Night Rental" for those who like "nostalgia."

with some Great History thrown in...whether you agree with the portrayal or the history...it's still a Great Film which sucks "history lovers" in for sure...