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David Lean

Sir David Lean (25 March 1908 16 April 1991) was an English filmmaker and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of British cinema. He directed the large-scale epics The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970), and A Passage to India (1984). He also directed the film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948), as well as the romantic drama Brief Encounter (1945). Originally a film editor in the early 1930s, Lean made his directorial debut with 1942's In Which We Serve, which was the first of four collaborations with Noël Coward. Lean began to make internationally co-produced films financed by the big Hollywood studios, beginning with Summertime in 1955. The critical failure of his film Ryan's Daughter in 1970 led him to take a fourteen-year break from filmmaking, during which he planned a number of film projects which never came to fruition. In 1984, he had a career revival with A Passage to India, adapted from E. M. Forster's novel. This was a hit with critics, but it proved to be the last film that Lean directed. Lean is described by film critic Michael Sragow as "a director's director, whose total mastery of filmcraft commands nothing less than awe among his peers".…

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Article summary

Sir David Lean (25 March 1908 16 April 1991) was an English filmmaker and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of British cinema. He directed the large-scale epics The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970), and A Passage to India (1984). He also directed the film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948), as well as the romantic drama Brief Encounter (1945). Originally a film editor in the early 1930s, Lean made his directorial debut with 1942's In Which We Serve, which was the first of four collaborations with Noël Coward. Lean began to make internationally co-produced films financed by the big Hollywood studios, beginning with Summertime in 1955. The critical failure of his film Ryan's Daughter in 1970 led him to take a fourteen-year break from filmmaking, during which he planned a number of film projects which never came to fruition. In 1984, he had a career revival with A Passage to India, adapted from E. M. Forster's novel. This was a hit with critics, but it proved to be the last film that Lean directed. Lean is described by film critic Michael Sragow as "a director's director, whose total mastery of filmcraft commands nothing less than awe among his peers".…

Key claims

  1. date of birth: 1908-03-25 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of death: 1991-04-16 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  3. release date: 1962 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  4. release date: 1987 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of birth is "1908-03-25". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of death is "1991-04-16". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. The record states that the release date is "1962". What evidence would count against this claim?
  5. The record states that the release date is "1987". What evidence would count against this claim?
  6. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  7. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377611289

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.