Devastated by the reception afforded Ryan’s Daughter, and a notorious lunch with the American National Society of Film Critics where the film was lacerated at length to his face, Lean retreated, finally emerging to pursue a decades-old passion project in this E.M. Forster adaptation. Set in 1920s colonial India, the film explores the cultural and personal differences between the British and the natives. With a cast featuring faces familiar from Lean’s long, illustrious career, his final work is a masterful piece of filmmaking, its epic scale and striking visuals a potent reminder of and suitable farewell to a unique talent.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of The Films of David Lean season.