Customer Reviews

David Lean: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers)

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Sometime around 1971-73, before video recorders and DVRs, my dad let me stay up late one Friday night to watch "The Bridge on the River Kwai." Wow. A few years later, I came across "Lawrence of Arabia." Double wow. By then I'd learned what a director did and discovered that two of my favorite movies had been directed by David Lean.

This book is an excellent collection of interviews with the director. Some are direct question/response interviews. Of these, I think the standout is Robert Stewart's 1965 interview right after Dr. Zhivago came out. I loved reading Lean's thoughts on how he handled Zhivago himself because as Lean said, "he's not a typical screen hero. He is an observer. He doesn't do anything really." Yet, he turned that into a powerful movie and character.

Other of the interviews are of the "I interviewed David Lean and here are his comments and my thoughts." Another standout here is also from 1965 by Hollis Alpert. But the best is perhaps Harlan Kennedy's from 1985 and shortly after "A Passage to India," which has the luxury of looking back over Lean's entire career.

The editor of the book is uniquely qualified to have collected this diverse set of interviews. He maintains an interesting website devoted specifically to David Lean.

This is an excellent book that I can highly recommend to anyone interested in great films, great directors, or looking to learn how to tell a great story.

This book, edited by Steven Organ, contains numerous interviews of Lean by various critics, and it is a must for Lean lovers and scholars who would like to have Lean's own opinions and comments on movie-making. Essential for anyone who collects written materials on Lean. His own voice is heard on matters of his lentgthy preparations for filming, his methods used for adaptation from literary sources, script writing (the most essential element in the process), techniques used, relations with actors, etc. Such commments, given in common-sense, clear descriptions, are accessible to both the movie buff and scholar alike. Contrary to what many thought, Lean, always speaks with clarity and directness, and displays a firm grasp on film/literary matters, and, most importantly, speaks from experience. The slim volume features an Introduction, chronology, and a full-credits filmography. It also mentions the films Lean edited at the beginning of his career. This is a guide for would-be film-makers and to the newer generations who still discover one of the greatest directors of the twentieth century.

Sometime around 1971-73, before video recorders and DVRs, my dad let me stay up late one Friday night to watch "The Bridge on the River Kwai." Wow. A few years later, I came across "Lawrence of Arabia." Double wow. By then I'd learned what a director did and discovered that two of my favorite movies had been directed by David Lean.

This book is an excellent collection of interviews with the director. Some are direct question/response interviews. Of these, I think the standout is Robert Stewart's 1965 interview right after Dr. Zhivago came out. I loved reading Lean's thoughts on how he handled Zhivago himself because as Lean said, "he's not a typical screen hero. He is an observer. He doesn't do anything really." Yet, he turned that into a powerful movie and character.

Other of the interviews are of the "I interviewed David Lean and here are his comments and my thoughts." Another standout here is also from 1965 by Hollis Alpert. But the best is perhaps Harlan Kennedy's from 1985 and shortly after "A Passage to India," which has the luxury of looking back over Lean's entire career.

The editor of the book is uniquely qualified to have collected this diverse set of interviews. He maintains an interesting website devoted specifically to David Lean.

This is an excellent book that I can highly recommend to anyone interested in great films, great directors, or looking to learn how to tell a great story.