David Lean

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q55260: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by Wikidata joins them to Brief Encounter, which Decision to Leave with Tatiana Maslany credits them on.

Counted as other. The films the hosts said they were tied to, which the two lists below run through too: Dune (1984); The English Patient (1996); Alien 3 (Fincher pitch, unmade); Nostromo (unmade Lean project); The Lost City of Z. Count them as director (6 films) instead.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

David Lean: 2 lines, within their own work

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Lost City of Z, which they were tied to as stylistic reference: David Lean ⇒ The Lost City of Z (the maker said so: Gray, the director, speaking on the show). Gray wanted an old-fashioned English-language epic in the style of David Lean or Coppola.
    “a movie in the style almost of like David Lean or Francis Ford Coppola or something like that”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:24:31 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (lineage) · through The English Patient (1996), which they were tied to as model for The English Patient, per Amanda: David Lean ⇒ The English Patient (the host's read). Amanda dismissed The English Patient as a David Lean rip-off in the 2022 swap.
    “this is David Lean rip off”
    The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:12:56 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977): 2 lines

  1. programming (programming) · through Dune (1984), which they were tied to as approached to direct: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ⇒ Dune (the host's read). Dune was positioned and released as the studio's answer to Star Wars, the next big space epic.
    “Uh, this movie is released with the energy of, here you go, here's the new Star Wars.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 0:22:17 · John Hodgman (0.85 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (tentpole hope) · through Dune (1984), which they were tied to as approached to direct: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ⇒ Dune (the host's read). Dune was meant to be the new Star Wars franchise, Lynch writing the sequel, coloring books on shelves.
    “I thought it was going to be the Star Wars.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 2:18:09 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977): 2 lines

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Dune (1984), which they were tied to as approached to direct: Dune ⇒ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (the host's read). The Dune book's messaging is credited as one of the things that inspired Star Wars.
    “And not only that, the messaging of this is one of the things that inspired Star Wars.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 0:22:22 · John Hodgman (0.70 sure it was them)
  2. theme (theme) · through Dune (1984), which they were tied to as approached to direct: Dune ⇒ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (the host's read). Dune's Fremen/revolution material is the denser source that Star Wars abstracts; the Force is Dune without the drugs.
    “the Force in Star Wars is like doom without the drugs.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 1:17:01 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)

David Lowery: 1 line

  1. people (people) · through Dune (1984), which they were tied to as approached to direct: Dune ⇒ David Lowery (the maker said so: David Lowery's episode later in the series). A later series guest, David Lowery, called Dune a very big film for him as a child.
    “we have an episode coming later in the series with David Lowry, who talked about Dune being a very big film for him”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 2:33:25 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Empire of the Sun (1987): 1 line

  1. lineage (origin of project) · them, directly: David Lean ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Lean asked Spielberg to check on the rights, then lost interest and handed the novel to him.
    “He asks Spielberg to check in on the rights for him.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:57:53 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Steven Spielberg: 1 line

  1. unmapped (mentorship / elder filmmaker) · them, directly: David Lean ⇒ Steven Spielberg (the host's read). Spielberg befriended old masters (Lean, Kubrick, Wilder) who handed him their projects.
    “The sort of string of great older filmmakers who somehow, uh, collaborated with Spielberg, only for Spielberg to wind up directing their movies.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:58:01 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

The English Patient (1996): 1 line, within their own work

  1. lineage (lineage) · them, directly: David Lean ⇒ The English Patient (the host's read). Amanda dismissed The English Patient as a David Lean rip-off in the 2022 swap.
    “this is David Lean rip off”
    The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:12:56 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

The Lost City of Z: 1 line, within their own work

  1. lineage (lineage) · them, directly: David Lean ⇒ The Lost City of Z (the maker said so: Gray, the director, speaking on the show). Gray wanted an old-fashioned English-language epic in the style of David Lean or Coppola.
    “a movie in the style almost of like David Lean or Francis Ford Coppola or something like that”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:24:31 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Directing (6) everyone in directing

Other (5) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

career (1)

  1. career (career): David Lean → Powell and Pressburger. A Lean vs Archers matchup would have been interesting because Lean used to work with the Archers.
    “Really, a lean archer's matchup would have been so interesting because David Lean used to work with the archers.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2022 MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 2 PRESENTED BY THE CHIP REPORT · 0:12:30 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

lineage (3)

  1. lineage (origin of project): David Lean → Empire of the Sun. Lean asked Spielberg to check on the rights, then lost interest and handed the novel to him.
    “He asks Spielberg to check in on the rights for him.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:57:53 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (lineage): The English Patient → David Lean. Amanda dismissed The English Patient as a David Lean rip-off in the 2022 swap.
    “this is David Lean rip off”
    The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:12:56 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. lineage (lineage): The Lost City of Z → David Lean. Gray wanted an old-fashioned English-language epic in the style of David Lean or Coppola.
    “a movie in the style almost of like David Lean or Francis Ford Coppola or something like that”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:24:31 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)

people (1)

  1. people (people): Dr. Zhivago → David Lean. Number two was David Lean's Dr. Zhivago, a huge hit from Christmas 1965.
    “David Leans, Dr. Javago, which was released Christmas of 1965.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 2:00:08 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

unmapped (3)

  1. unmapped (grandiosity): A Passage to India → David Lean. Bilge's father disliked Passage to India because of its grand shot of the doctor on the train, which he found too much.
    “I dislike it because there's a shot like this.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:54:49 · Bilge Ebiri (0.90 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (mentorship / elder filmmaker): David Lean → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg befriended old masters (Lean, Kubrick, Wilder) who handed him their projects.
    “The sort of string of great older filmmakers who somehow, uh, collaborated with Spielberg, only for Spielberg to wind up directing their movies.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:58:01 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (Fincher's pitch): David Lean → Alien 3. Fincher says his original pitch was like a David Lean movie, much bigger and more political than what Fox allowed.
    “He says, okay, my pitch was like a David Lean movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 1:05:22 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

verdict (3)

  1. verdict (verdict): Paul Thomas Anderson → David Lean. PTA beat David Lean in round one, 65-35, the closest of the 18 seeds.
    “Yes, but I think... 65, 35.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:24:29 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. verdict (verdict): David Lean → Alfred Hitchcock. Lean beating Hitchcock in the Sweet 16 was the first big surprise of the round.
    “I mean, I think the 1st huge surprise was David Lean beating Alfred Hitchcock.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2022 MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 2 PRESENTED BY THE CHIP REPORT · 0:10:51 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. verdict (verdict): Orson Welles → David Lean. The speaker knew Welles would likely beat either Lean or Hitchcock, but wanted Lean to advance.
    “I knew Wells would probably beat either of those guys, but I was kind of like, would be pretty cool.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2022 MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 2 PRESENTED BY THE CHIP REPORT · 0:11:14 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)

what-if (1)

  1. what-if (what-if): David Lean → Dune. David Lean was approached by the original rights holder and passed.
    “Martha P. Jacobs at one point wanted David Lean to make Dune.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 1:29:46 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

None.