David Lean David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor, responsible for large-scale epics such as "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957), "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), "Doctor Zhivago" (1965) and "A Passage to India" (1984). He also directed adaptations of Charles Dickens novels "Great Expectations" (1946) and "Oliver Twist" (1948), and the romantic drama "Brief Encounter" (1945). Originally a film editor in the early 1930s, Lean made his directorial debut with 1942's "In Which We Serve", which was the first of four collaborations with Noël Coward. Beginning with "Summertime" in
Landscape (play) with Peggy Ashcroft as Beth and Eric Porter as Duff. Theatre censorship in Britain was abolished that same year and "Landscape" was staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London on 2 July 1969 with Ashcroft as Beth and David Waller as Duff, directed by Peter Hall. A film was made of the Peter Hall production with Ashcroft and Waller; it is currently available on DVD from Films Media Group of Princeton, New Jersey. The play was produced at the Royal National Theatre in November 1994 with Penelope Wilton as Beth and Ian Holm as Duff, directed by the author.