David Lean

David Lean

Sir David Lean CBE (25 March 1908 – 16 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, he is best remembered for adapting the works of Charles Dickens and Noël Coward, and for his large scale period epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970), and A Passage to India (1984). Acclaimed and praised by directors such as Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick, Lean was voted 9th greatest film director of all time in the British Film Institute Sight & Sound "Directors Top Directors" poll 2002. Nominated seven times for the Academy Award for Best Director, winning twice for The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, he has seven films in the British Film Institute's Top 100 British Films (with three of them being in the top five).

  • Title: David Lean
  • Popularity: 4.795
  • Known For: Directing
  • Birthday: 1908-03-25
  • Place of Birth: Croydon, Surrey, England, UK
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: 데이비드 린, 大卫·里恩
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David Lean Movies

  • 1965
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    Pasternak

    Pasternak

    5 1965 HD

    Using still pictures and newsreel footage, this short film tells the life story of Russian author Boris Pasternak, who was forced by the Russian...

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  • 2000
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    The Making of Lawrence of Arabia

    The Making of Lawrence of Arabia

    10 2000 HD

    Documentary about the making of the epic 1962 film, with reminiscences from surviving cast and crew.

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  • 1965
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    Moscow in Madrid

    Moscow in Madrid

    1 1965 HD

    When David Lean made his film Doctor Zhivago (1965), he realized that it would be impossible to do location shooting in Moscow. Instead, he found a...

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  • 1963
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    Wind Sand and Star

    Wind Sand and Star

    1 1963 HD

    A short documentary about the making of David Lean's LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. A 1970 documentary with a similar title uses some footage but is otherwise a...

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  • 2003
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    The Making of 'Lawrence of Arabia'

    The Making of 'Lawrence of Arabia'

    7 2003 HD

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  • 2019
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    E. M. Forster: His Longest Journey

    E. M. Forster: His Longest Journey

    1 2019 HD

    A film about the life of A Passage to India author E M Forster, following his huge growth as a writer and the twists and turns of his personal life.

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  • 1958
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    The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant

    The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant

    1 1958 HD

    A behind-the-scenes look at the building of the bridge in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and the preparations for its destruction.

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  • 2010
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    Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration

    Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration

    1 2010 HD

    Interviews analyzing and looking back at the making of, and the impact made by, of one of the greatest epic films ever produced.

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  • 1979
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    Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor

    Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor

    7 1979 HD

    Director David Lean became involved in the search for an anchor lost by Captain Cook in 1773. This documentary follows the search for this historic...

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  • 1965
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    Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean

    Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean

    1 1965 HD

    In this promotional short for the feature film Doctor Zhivago (1965), director David Lean explains why he chose the performers for the leading roles...

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  • 1965
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    David Lean's Film of Doctor Zhivago

    David Lean's Film of Doctor Zhivago

    1 1965 HD

    After a short biography of author Boris Pasternak, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of Doctor Zhivago (1965).

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  • 1970
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    Ryan's Daughter Featurette

    Ryan's Daughter Featurette

    1 1970 HD

    A behind-the-scenes look at "Ryan's Daughter," a 1970 drama directed by David Lean and starring Sarah Miles as an Irish wife who has an affair with a...

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  • 1985
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    The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio

    The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio

    6 1985 HD

    Documentary - After starting his career producing religious film shorts, J. Arthur Rank went on to become Britain's first and only movie mogul with...

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  • 1992
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    The South Bank Show: Noël Coward

    The South Bank Show: Noël Coward

    1 1992 HD

    Television documentary on playwright, actor, composer, and film maker Noel Coward.

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  • 1962
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    Lawrence of Arabia

    Lawrence of Arabia

    8 1962 HD

    The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War....

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  • 1971
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    David Lean: A Self Portrait

    David Lean: A Self Portrait

    1 1971 HD

    A television documentary on the life and career of British film director David Lean. Scenes of Lean directing are intercut with personal interviews...

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  • 1985
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    David Lean: A Life in Film

    David Lean: A Life in Film

    6 1985 HD

    A documentary video that profiles the life of David Lean, the director of Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia.

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  • 2020
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    Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World

    Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World

    7 2020 HD

    Several high-budget epic films became Omar Sharif (1932-2015) a film star. He was an actor, but also a bridge player, a womanizer, a bon vivant; he...

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  • 2017
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    Nostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream

    Nostromo: David Lean's Impossible Dream

    5.8 2017 HD

    Documentary about David Lean's unfinished attempt of adapting Joseph Conrad's novel Nostromo.

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  • 1970
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    Epic – The Life & Times of David Lean

    Epic – The Life & Times of David Lean

    1 1970 HD

    Profiles the double Oscar winner, who helmed some of the most well-respected movies of all time, via never-before-seen archive and contributions from...

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  • 1934
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    The Secret of the Loch

    The Secret of the Loch

    5.6 1934 HD

    A batty Scottish professor attempts to prove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster, but everyone thinks he's crazy. Meanwhile, a foolish young...

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  • 1937
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    Dreaming Lips

    Dreaming Lips

    6 1937 HD

    Dreaming Lips was lovingly assembled by filmmaker Paul Czinner as an "ideal" vehicle for his popular actress wife Elizabeth Bergner. The star plays...

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  • 1957
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    The Bridge on the River Kwai

    The Bridge on the River Kwai

    7.8 1957 HD

    The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American...

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  • 1945
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    Brief Encounter

    Brief Encounter

    7.677 1945 HD

    Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is thrown by happenstance into an acquaintance with...

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  • 1965
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    Doctor Zhivago

    Doctor Zhivago

    7.5 1965 HD

    The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship...

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  • 1962
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    Lawrence of Arabia

    Lawrence of Arabia

    8 1962 HD

    The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War....

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  • 1948
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    Oliver Twist

    Oliver Twist

    7.493 1948 HD

    When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice....

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  • 1948
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    Oliver Twist

    Oliver Twist

    7.493 1948 HD

    When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice....

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  • 1942
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    In Which We Serve

    In Which We Serve

    6.8 1942 HD

    The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship's first and only...

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  • 1946
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    Great Expectations

    Great Expectations

    7.273 1946 HD

    In this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a...

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  • 1946
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    Great Expectations

    Great Expectations

    7.273 1946 HD

    In this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a...

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  • 1984
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    A Passage to India

    A Passage to India

    6.775 1984 HD

    Set during the period of growing influence of the Indian independence movement in the British Raj, the story begins with the arrival in India of a...

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  • 1970
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    Ryan's Daughter

    Ryan's Daughter

    7.1 1970 HD

    The wife of an Irish school teacher is branded a traitor when she falls for a British officer who is part of an occupying force in 1917 Ireland.

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  • 1936
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    As You Like It

    As You Like It

    5.15 1936 HD

    Film version of Shakespeare's comedy of a young woman who disguises herself as a man to win the attention of the one she loves.

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  • 1954
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    Hobson's Choice

    Hobson's Choice

    7.36 1954 HD

    Henry Hobson owns and tyrannically runs a successful Victorian boot maker’s shop in Salford, England. A stingy widower with a weakness for...

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  • 1950
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    Madeleine

    Madeleine

    6.7 1950 HD

    The middle-class family of a young woman cannot understand why she delays in marrying a respectable young man. They know nothing about her...

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  • 1945
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    Blithe Spirit

    Blithe Spirit

    6.9 1945 HD

    An English mystery novelist invites a medium to his home, so she may conduct a séance for a small gathering. The writer hopes to gather enough...

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  • 1955
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    Summertime

    Summertime

    6.8 1955 HD

    Middle-aged Ohio secretary Jane Hudson has never found love and has nearly resigned herself to spending the rest of her life alone. But before she...

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  • 1955
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    Summertime

    Summertime

    6.8 1955 HD

    Middle-aged Ohio secretary Jane Hudson has never found love and has nearly resigned herself to spending the rest of her life alone. But before she...

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  • 1944
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    This Happy Breed

    This Happy Breed

    7.1 1944 HD

    In 1919, Frank Gibbons returns home from army duty and moves into a middle-class row house, bringing with him wife Ethel, carping mother-in-law Mrs....

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  • 1949
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    The Passionate Friends

    The Passionate Friends

    6.9 1949 HD

    A woman is torn between the love of her life, who is married to someone else, and her older husband.

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  • 1949
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    The Passionate Friends

    The Passionate Friends

    6.9 1949 HD

    A woman is torn between the love of her life, who is married to someone else, and her older husband.

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  • 1952
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    The Sound Barrier

    The Sound Barrier

    6.5 1952 HD

    Fictionalized story of British aerospace engineers solving the problem of supersonic flight.

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  • 1940
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    French Without Tears

    French Without Tears

    6 1940 HD

    It is based on the popular West End stage comedy by Terrence Rattigan. It all begins when Diana (Ellen Drew), the sister of a British boy studying in...

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  • 1937
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    The Wife of General Ling

    The Wife of General Ling

    6.2 1937 HD

    In this espionage drama, a Secret Service agent must discover who has been smuggling British arms into China. The prime suspect is a prosperous...

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  • 1941
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    Major Barbara

    Major Barbara

    6.605 1941 HD

    Idealistic young Barbara is the daughter of rich weapons manufacturer Andrew Undershaft. She rebels against her estranged father by joining the...

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  • 1979
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    Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor

    Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor

    7 1979 HD

    Director David Lean became involved in the search for an anchor lost by Captain Cook in 1773. This documentary follows the search for this historic...

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  • 1979
    imgMovies

    Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor

    Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor

    7 1979 HD

    Director David Lean became involved in the search for an anchor lost by Captain Cook in 1773. This documentary follows the search for this historic...

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  • 1934
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    Dangerous Ground

    Dangerous Ground

    6 1934 HD

    Two insurance detectives work with the police to identify and bring down a crime kingpin. One is murdered, but his partner and his daughter continue.

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  • 1933
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    The Fortunate Fool

    The Fortunate Fool

    4 1933 HD

    A wealthy author, looking for material, 'adopts' an incorrigible thief he finds in the streets, together with an attractive typist who is down on her...

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  • 1954
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    Hobson's Choice

    Hobson's Choice

    7.36 1954 HD

    Henry Hobson owns and tyrannically runs a successful Victorian boot maker’s shop in Salford, England. A stingy widower with a weakness for...

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  • 1954
    imgMovies

    Hobson's Choice

    Hobson's Choice

    7.36 1954 HD

    Henry Hobson owns and tyrannically runs a successful Victorian boot maker’s shop in Salford, England. A stingy widower with a weakness for...

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  • 1933
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    The Ghost Camera

    The Ghost Camera

    6.091 1933 HD

    When a photograph is taken at the scene of a murder, the camera is tossed out of a castle window to destroy the evidence and lands in the back of a...

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  • 1942
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    One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

    One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

    6.4 1942 HD

    During the Allied Bombing offensive of World War II the public was often informed that "A raid took place last night over ..., One (or often more) of...

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  • 1933
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    Money for Speed

    Money for Speed

    1 1933 HD

    A motorcycle champion becomes a stunt rider after he is banned from speedway racing.

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  • 1933
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    Song of the Plough

    Song of the Plough

    1 1933 HD

    'Farm life on the South Downs. A gentleman farmer beats his unscrupulous rival in sheepdog trials.' (British Film Institute)

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  • 1935
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    Escape Me Never

    Escape Me Never

    5 1935 HD

    Romantic quadrangle involving two brothers, one a burgeoning ballet composer; a willful heiress; and a waif.

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  • 1935
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    The Crouching Beast

    The Crouching Beast

    1 1935 HD

    In 1915 during the First World War, a British secret agent is killed while stealing secret Turkish plans for the Gallipoli Campaign but manages to...

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  • 1945
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    Brief Encounter

    Brief Encounter

    7.677 1945 HD

    Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is thrown by happenstance into an acquaintance with...

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  • 1930
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    The Night Porter

    The Night Porter

    1 1930 HD

    George, the inebriate night porter at the Hotel Splendide, develops a series of increasingly outlandish suspicions about Billy and Percy, two guests...

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  • 1931
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    These Charming People

    These Charming People

    1 1931 HD

    A drama film directed by Louis Mercanton

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  • 1934
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    The King of Paris

    The King of Paris

    1 1934 HD

    Domineering actor-manager Max Till takes the impoverished Maika Tamara under his wing, turning her into an overnight sensation. But as her fame...

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  • 1934
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    Tiger Bay

    Tiger Bay

    6.4 1934 HD

    Michael is a young Englishman abroad who deliberately visits a tough Chinese district of Tiger Bay to test his strength. He falls in love and battles...

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  • 1936
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    Ball at Savoy

    Ball at Savoy

    6 1936 HD

    A British diplomat falls in love with a famous singer when he meets her in Cannes.

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  • 1941
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    49th Parallel

    49th Parallel

    6.957 1941 HD

    In the early days of World War II, a German U-boat is sunk in Canada's Hudson Bay. Hoping to evade capture, a small band of German soldiers led by...

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  • 1965
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    The Greatest Story Ever Told

    The Greatest Story Ever Told

    6.4 1965 HD

    From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling....

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  • 1984
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    A Passage to India

    A Passage to India

    6.775 1984 HD

    Set during the period of growing influence of the Indian independence movement in the British Raj, the story begins with the arrival in India of a...

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  • 1984
    imgMovies

    A Passage to India

    A Passage to India

    6.775 1984 HD

    Set during the period of growing influence of the Indian independence movement in the British Raj, the story begins with the arrival in India of a...

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  • 1940
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    Spy for a Day

    Spy for a Day

    1 1940 HD

    During World War I, a British farmer is abducted by the Germans to take the place of a spy about to be executed whom he closely resembles.

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  • 1952
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    The Sound Barrier

    The Sound Barrier

    6.5 1952 HD

    Fictionalized story of British aerospace engineers solving the problem of supersonic flight.

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  • 1927
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    Quinneys

    Quinneys

    1 1927 HD

    'Antique dealer's daughter loves foreman who makes fakes for ex-partner.' (British Film Catalogue)

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  • 1928
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    Sailors Don't Care

    Sailors Don't Care

    1 1928 HD

    '1914. Knight poses as rating aboard son's cruiser and helps Q-ship sink U-boat.' (British Film Catalogue)

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  • 1939
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    Pygmalion

    Pygmalion

    7 1939 HD

    When linguistics professor Henry Higgins boasts that he can pass off Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle as a princess with only six months'...

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  • 1944
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    This Happy Breed

    This Happy Breed

    7.1 1944 HD

    In 1919, Frank Gibbons returns home from army duty and moves into a middle-class row house, bringing with him wife Ethel, carping mother-in-law Mrs....

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  • 1945
    imgMovies

    Blithe Spirit

    Blithe Spirit

    6.9 1945 HD

    An English mystery novelist invites a medium to his home, so she may conduct a séance for a small gathering. The writer hopes to gather enough...

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  • 1939
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    Spies of the Air

    Spies of the Air

    6.5 1939 HD

    Set just before the outbreak of WWII, this is the story of a test pilot who works for the (unnamed) enemy. Made in 1939, by the time it was released...

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  • 1978
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    The South Bank Show

    The South Bank Show

    5 1978 HD

    The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show that was produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May...

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  • 1953
    imgS72 E1

    The Oscars

    The Oscars

    6.97 1953 HD

    An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a...

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  • 2013
    imgS5 E1

    Talking Pictures

    Talking Pictures

    4 2013 HD

    A look back at television appearances by legends of the silver screen, using archive footage to tell the story of their lives and careers.

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  • 1973
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    The American Film Institute Salute to ...

    The American Film Institute Salute to ...

    4.5 1973 HD

    In 1973 the American Film Institute initiated its Life Achievement Award, to be presented to a yearly recipient whose talent has fundamentally...

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  • 1968
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    The Dick Cavett Show

    The Dick Cavett Show

    6.6 1968 HD

    The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

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