Anatomy Of A Classic

Burning questions – Has David Lean ever made an average-length film?

This past Sunday I took advantage of the less-than-stellar weather and hunkered down to watch Doctor Zhivago for the first time. Five slices of pizza and 197 minutes later, I was able to cross another film off of the AFI 100 list. The only other David Lean film I’ve seen is Lawrence of Arabia, which clocks in at 216 minutes. But I’ve also heard that Bridge on the River Kwai is quite lengthy which got me thinking – has David Lean ever made a film that’s not outrageously long?

I turned to IMDB for help. According to them, Lean is credited with directing 16 feature films. Here they are with durations:

A Passage to India (1984) – 164 minutes

Ryan’s Daughter (1970) – 195 minutes

Doctor Zhivago (1965) – 197 minutes

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – 216 minutes

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – 161 minutes

Summertime (1955) – 99 minutes

Hobson’s Choice (1954) – 107 minutes

Breaking the Sound Barrier (1952) – 118 minutes

Madeleine (1950) – 114 minutes

One Woman’s Story (1949) – 86 minutes

Oliver Twist (1948) – 116 minutes

Great Expectations (1946) – 118 minutes

Brief Encounter (1945) – 86 minutes

Blithe Spirit (1945) – 96 minutes

This Happy Breed (1944) – 105 minutes

In Which We Serve (1942) – 115 minutes

So the answer to my question is yes, David Lean clearly is capable of telling a story in two hours, he’s just better at making films that run for three. And all the long ones come at the back half of his career. Perhaps he wanted more of his films to hit the three hour mark, but only received the creative control to once he had become an established director.