Two-time Academy Award winner Sir David Lean (1908--1991) was
one of the most prominent directors of the twentieth century,
responsible for the classics The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957),
Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Doctor Zhivago (1965). British-born
Lean asserted himself in Hollywood as a major filmmaker with his
epic storytelling and panoramic visions of history, but he started
out as a talented film editor and director in Great Britain. As a
result, he brought an art-house mentality to blockbuster films.
Combining elements of biography and film criticism, Beyond the
Epic: The Life and Films of David Lean uses screenplays and
production histories to assess Lean's body of work. Author Gene D.
Phillips interviews actors who worked with Lean and directors who
knew him, and their comments reveal new details about the
director's life and career. Phillips also explores Lean's
lesser-studied films, such as The Passionate Friends (1949),
Hobson's Choice (1954), and Summertime (1955). The result is an
in-depth examination of the director in cultural, historical, and
cinematic contexts. Lean's approach to filmmaking was far different
than that of many of his contemporaries. He chose his films
carefully and, as a result, directed only sixteen films in a period
of more than forty years. Those films, however, have become some of
the landmarks of motion-picture history. Lean is best known for his
epics, but Phillips also focuses on Lean's successful adaptations
of famous works of literature, including retellings of plays such
as Brief Encounter (1945) and novels such as Great Expectations
(1946), Oliver Twist (1948), and A Passage to India (1984). From
expansive studies of war and strife to some of literature's
greatest high comedies and domestic dramas, Lean imbued all of his
films with his unique creative vision. Few directors can match
Lean's ability to combine narrative sweep and psychological detail,
and Phillips goes beyond Lean's epics to reveal this unifying
characteristic in the director's body of work. Beyond the Epic is a
vital assessment of a great director's artistic process and his
place in the film industry.
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