David Lean
David Lean (1908–1991) was a British director and editor regarded as one of the supreme craftsmen of large-scale narrative cinema. He began in the British studios as an editor and then graduated to direction in collaboration with Noël Coward, producing a series of taut British features before turning to the international epics on which his late reputation rests. His best-known films are characterized by formidable visual sweep, careful screenplay construction, and a romantic sensibility set against historical upheaval. His acclaimed films include Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, and A Passage to India.