David Lean 1955, Lean began to make internationally co-produced films financed by the big Hollywood studios; in 1970, however, the critical failure of his film "Ryan's Daughter" led him to take a fourteen-year break from filmmaking, during which he planned a number of film projects which never came to fruition. In 1984 he had a career revival with "A Passage to India", adapted from E. M. Forster's novel; it was an instant hit with critics but proved to be the last film Lean would direct. Lean's affinity for striking visuals and inventive editing techniques has led him to be lauded by directors
A Passage to India (film) and died before the film was released. The director then offered the part to Peggy Ashcroft, a stage actress who had appeared in films only sporadically. She was not enthusiastic when Lean asked her to be Mrs Moore. "Mr Lean, I’m 75-years-old," she protested. "So am I," he replied. Although she had recently worked in India on the T.V. miniseries "The Jewel in the Crown", she said, "I thought, 'Oh dear, I really don’t want to do it', but it's very difficult to turn down a Lean film." Satyajit Ray, who had hoped to direct his adaptation of "A Passage