The Resume

(March 25, 1908-April 16, 1991)
Won the 1957 Best Director Oscar ('The Bridge on the River Kwai')
Won the 1962 Best Director Oscar ('Lawrence of Arabia')
Directed 'Brief Encounter,' 'Oliver Twist,' 'Great Expectations,' 'Summertime,' 'Dr. Zhivago,' 'Ryan's Daughter' and 'A Passage to India'
Knighted in 1984

Why he might be annoying:

He took so long to film 'A Bridge on the River Kwai' that his wife divorced him on the grounds of desertion.
He nearly ruined a long association with Alec Guinness because he criticized Guinness so harshly during the filming of 'Dr. Zhivago' and didn't speak to Lean for years.
He made Katharine Hepburn jump into the Venice canal for a scene for 'Summertime,' and her eyes became permanently damaged as a result.

Why he might not be annoying:

He gave Alec Guinness his first film roles.
He and Guinness made up and Guinness appeared in his last film, 'A Passage to India.'
He directed only 16 films, and received 7 Best Director nominations.
He supervised the 1989 restoration of 'Lawrence of Arabia.'

Credit: Professor Moriarty

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Thrills [Directors] (Ranked: 23)
• AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Thrills [Directors] (Ranked: 58)
• AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies [Directors] (Ranked: 5)
• AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies [Directors] (Ranked: 13)
• AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies [Directors] (Ranked: 39)
• AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award (Ranked: 1990)
• An Asteroid was Named in My Honor (Ranked: 7037)
• Artsy/Fartsy Directors
• Best Director Oscar Winners (Ranked: 1962)
• Best Director Oscar Winners (Ranked: 1957)
• David Lean Films
• Director's Guild Award (Ranked: 1957)
• Director's Guild Award (Ranked: 1962)
• Directors of Sight and Sound's 10 Greatest Films: 1952 Critics Poll (Ranked: 10)
• Directors of Sight and Sound's 10 Greatest Films: 2002 Filmmakers Poll (Ranked: 4)
• Directors Who Did Not Attend Film School
• Directors Who Make Cameos in Their Films
• Entertainment Weekly's 50 Greatest Directors of All Time [1996] (Ranked: 34)
• Golden Globe: Best Director (Ranked: 1957)
• Golden Globe: Best Director (Ranked: 1962)
• Golden Globe: Best Director (Ranked: 1965)
• Greatest Story Ever Told [1965]
• I am a Quaker
• I Did Not Graduate High School [J-M]
• I Died in 1991 (Ranked: 83)
• I Married in 1981
• I Married in 1990
• Jane Fonda Doesn’t Like Me
• Knights
• National Board of Review Award for Best Director (Ranked: 1952)
• National Board of Review Award for Best Director (Ranked: 1957)
• National Board of Review Award for Best Director (Ranked: 1962)
• National Board of Review Award for Best Director (Ranked: 1984)
• New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director (Ranked: 1955)
• New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director (Ranked: 1957)
• New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director (Ranked: 1984)
• Pauline Kael Doesn't Like Me
• Professor Moriarty's Profiles [Series 1]
• Profiles 7751-8000 (Ranked: 7807)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 37 Votes: 16.22% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 18 Votes: 22.22% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 43 Votes: 48.84% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 53 Votes: 35.85% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 32 Votes: 43.75% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 70 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 111 Votes: 51.35% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 198 Votes: 48.48% Annoying
In 2004, Out of 322 Votes: 43.17% Annoying
In 2003, Out of 336 Votes: 47.62% Annoying