Film & Theatre

David Lean’s films were nominated for an astonishing 57 Academy Awards, of which 27 won Oscars. He made unique movies on a grand scale, with huge stories on vast canvases. He was aided by hundreds of technicians, thousands of extras and the most talented actors in the world. Yet he singularly controlled this vast army giving pleasure and inspiration to millions.

His films reflected his own life – the single brooding perfectionist force to a great endeavour – whether they be Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago or Brief Encounter. Collated by his widow, Lady Sandra Lean, this is a highly personal account in text and images by the people that came into contact with David through his work and his private life.

Thousands of words have been written about David Lean the film director and the work he created. Yet until now, very little has been said about the man who sacrificed his private life for his art. Six marriages are proof of a man whose preferred family was the film crew and whose personal life was always subservient to making films. Yet, without a strong understanding of human emotion, how could a man make so many productions that touched the hearts of millions?

In this fascinating book, the answers are presented in both text and pictures. David always said that a good book should contain “Really good pictures…That’s all. Just bloody good pictures.” Illustrated throughout with over 300 well-known and previously unpublished photographs, which are complemented by David’s inspiration: letters, quotations, memorabilia or an anecdote relating to his travels or his films David Lean – An Intimate Portrait is a unique study, containing a wealth of fascinating photography, of a man who continues to entertain millions.

Marlon Brando will never cease to fascinate us: for his triumphs as an actor (On the Waterfront, The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris), as well as his disasters; for the power of the screen portrayals he gave, and for his turbulent, tumultuous personal life.

Seamlessly intertwining the man and the work, Kanfer takes us through Brando’s troubled childhood, to his arrival in New York in the 1940s, where he studied with the legendary Stella Adler, and at the age of twenty-three became the toast of Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire. Kanfer expertly examines each of Brando’s films – from The Men in 1950 to The Score in 2001 – making clear the evolution of Brando’s singular genius, while also shedding light on the cultural evolution of Hollywood itself. And he brings into focus Brando’s self-destructiveness, his lifelong dissembling, his deeply ambivalent feelings towards his chosen vocation, and the tragedies that shadowed his final years. This is a never-before-seen portrait of one of the most extraordinary talents of the twentieth century.