David Lean named top epic movie director in 10-best ranking

Collider placed David Lean at number one in its ranking of the 10 best epic movie directors, published 13 hours ago.

The piece highlights Lean’s work on Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Doctor Zhivago, noting Lawrence of Arabia as the standout and adding that both Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai won Best Picture at the Oscars. The entry for Lawrence of Arabia in the piece lists a December 11, 1962 release date and a runtime of 228 minutes.

Runners-up include Sergio Leone at No. 2 for Once Upon a Time in the West, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in America; Akira Kurosawa at No. 3 for Seven Samurai, Ran and Kagemusha; Martin Scorsese at No. 4 for The Last Temptation of Christ, The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon; and James Cameron at No. 5 for Titanic, Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water. The list emphasizes directors who have directed three or more large-scale epics and says notable absences likely result from not having enough epics, lesser-known or lower-regarded epic work, or narrowly missing the standard used for this ranking.

Key Topics

Culture, David Lean, Doctor Zhivago, Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa