Book description
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.
Gene D. Phillips is a professor of film history and modern literature at
Loyola University. He is the author of numerous books, including
Creatures of Darkness: Raymond Chandler, Detective Fiction, and Film
Noir and Godfather: The Intimate Francis Ford Coppola.
