David Lean was celebrated for his grandeur and immersive visual language, yet he never loses sight of his characters and their arcs—something that I love about his films. An editor turned into an Oscar-winning director, Lean is renowned for his precision and innovation.
Lean’s visual language exudes clarity and purpose. He links the inner turmoil and aspirations of his characters with their physical surroundings, allowing each shot, even each setup, to both reveal and drive the narrative. He steers clear of melodrama, yet his narratives are full of intensity.
In this article, we’re exploring David Lean’s top 5 films that are sure to turn you into a fan, if you aren’t one already.
Top 5 David Lean Films
Here’s our ranked list of his best work:
5. A Passage to India (1984)
Adapted from E.M Forster’s namesake novel, A Passage to India follows two Englishwomen, Adela Quested and Ms. Moore, as they visit British India to meet Adela’s fiancé and Mrs. Moore’s son, Ronny Heaslop, a British civil servant in colonial India. Upon their arrival in India, they are deeply disturbed by the discrimination and ill-treatment that the natives are subjected to by the British. To their utter dismay, even Heaslop adheres to prejudices and racism, not wanting to jeopardize his career. During their stay, they befriend a young Indian-Muslim physician, Dr. Aziz, through an acquaintance.
The narrative escalates around a day out to the mysterious Marabar caves, an excursion planned by Dr. Aziz in honor of his new friends. But, during the visit, something mysterious happens that leads to Adela accusing Dr. Aziz of attempted assault. Her accusations lead to Dr. Aziz’s arrest and judicial trial, fueling racial tensions in the region of Chandrapore, India.
In addition to being a profound tale of racism and cultural discrimination that colonised countries all over the face of Earth were subjected to by their colonisers, A Passage to India also explores complex themes of friendship amidst prejudice. Dr. Aziz’s trial dramatizes colonial injustice, as the British legal system outrightly shows bias while serving justice.
A masterclass in the use of locations, Lean uses the Indian environment, its heat, architecture, and especially the mysterious Marabar caves to embody both the story’s emotional arc and thematic tension in A Passage to India. Lean filmed the caves with duality, evoking a sense of mystery and primal fear against its awe-inspiring existence. At the same time, he highlights the cultural contrast by interweaving the British colonial buildings and lifestyle with the sprawling, indigenous chaos of the Indian lifestyle. Lean, once again, opts for deliberate, slow pacing, allowing the audience to absorb the social dynamics and emotional undercurrents, using static lingering shots and minimized dialogue, to capture the psychological drama.
4. Ryan’s Daughter (1970)
Set in a small Irish village between 1917 and 1918, against the backdrop of WWI and Irish nationalist unrest, Ryan’s Daughter is a story that explores the risks of forbidden desire. The narrative follows Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles), a high-spirited young woman, who is married to an older man, a simple and uneventful school teacher, Charles Shaughnessy (Robert Mitchum). Disappointed by the missing spark in her marriage, Rosy ventures outside in the search for passion and ends up having an affair with Major Randolph Doryan (Christopher Jones), a British officer traumatized by the war. As her infidelity comes to light, multiple lives are destroyed, quite literally, in the face of the ongoing political turmoil, with Doryan taking his life in the end out of humiliation, and Rosy and Charles leaving their village forever.
At its core, the narrative explores themes of desire, longing, and forbidden love, while building complexity with underlying themes of political tension, social conformity, and nationalism. Sticking to his signature style of grandeur to internalize emotions, Lane uses the Irish landscape: towering cliffs, wild seas, and stormy skies as a metaphor for the characters’ repressed turbulence of feelings. Lane opts for natural light, using the weather to integrate active emotional elements in his narrative. In short, Ryan’s Daughter is both visually stunning and emotionally complex.
3. Dr. Zhivago (1965)
A tale of love, duty, and sacrifice, Dr. Zhivago centers on Dr. Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif), a married man with kids, who falls in love with Lara (Julie Christie) outside of his marriage, as the First Great War and the Russian Revolution upend his life. Amidst the violent shifts of history, Yuri’s fate becomes intertwined with Lara’s, forcing him to choose between his love for Lara and his familial responsibilities.
Through Zhivago’s journey, the film intimately captures the hardships of war, while exploring the complex relationship between passion and responsibilities and shifting social roles and privileges. Featuring the iconic, snow-bound Russia, the visuals in Dr. Zhivago contrast the starkness of history against the warmth and fragility of love and family. Lane blends a historical spectacle with intimate human drama, making it all the more emotionally resonant for the viewers.
Dr. Zhivago won the Academy Award for Best Film in 1966.
2. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
A strong critique of war, The Bridge on the River Kwai centers on a group of British prisoners of war, led by Nicholson (Alec Guinness), who are forced into building a bridge across the Kawai River to help their Japanese captors, completely unaware that the Allied forces are all set to destroy it.
Nicholson epitomizes the dangers of rigidity, as his personal obsession with the bridge’s perfection becomes a quest for his British identity. The film poses an important question: What are the adverse effects of honor and military pride?
The Bridge on the River Kwai marks the beginning of Lean’s celebrated epic phase. Lean uses the bridge as a visual motif, with its construction and destruction serving as visual metaphors for the hubris, vulnerability, and tragic irony.
The Bridge on the River Kwai won Lean his first Academy Award for Best Direction in 1958.
1. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Universally considered to be Lean’s magnum opus, Lawrence of Arabia follows T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole), a British officer, in his diligent attempts to bring the various Arab tribes together to fight the Turks on a united front during the First World War. In addition to being a gritty war film, Lawrence of Arabia also explores complex themes, including the duality of heroism and the power and futility of vision. Lawrence is the hero, yet he resorts to violence and megalomania from time to time, revealing the dark side of glory and charisma. The desert, both sublime and oppressive, represents Lawrence’s conflicted psyche, and Lean uses it to mirror Lawrence’s internal desolation amidst all the political chaos. The narrative is divided into two parts—beginning with his ascent as a hero and then his psychological downfall, as he fails miserably.
The war’s brutality is omnipresent throughout the narrative, but Lean takes it a step further, using the violence of the battles to externalize Lawrence’s inner demons. The film sharply critiques imperial ambitions. Lean maintains a steady yet non-hurried pace, relying significantly on suspense and thrill to enhance the narrative. Transitions such as Lawrence’s close-up blowing out a matchstick, match cut with a wide shot of the sun rising in the desert, are a masterclass in visual storytelling. David Lean nabbed the Academy Award for Best Director for Lawrence of Arabia in 1963.
David Lean’s films have received over 50 Oscar nominations, with over 28 wins in various categories. Have you watched any of these David Lean Films?
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