Directed by David Lean: Volume 1

Six-disc set includes: In Which We Serve (1942)Magnificent documentary-like war drama directed by David Lean and produced, written by, and starring Noël Coward as Captain Kinross, the commander of a crew of brave, young soldiers on a WWII British warship. John Mills, Bernard Miles, Celia Johnson, Joyce Carey, Kay Walsh, Michael Wilding, Richard Attenborough also star; look for Mills' daughter Juliet as an infant. 114 min. BW/Rtg: NR This Happy Breed (1944)The first solo directorial effort for David Lean, this fine, understated drama looks at the Gibbons family, a typical London household, and how it is affected by the events of the years between World Wars I and II. Based on the Noël Coward play, the film stars Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, Alison Leggatt, Stanley Holloway, John Mills, and Kay Walsh. 101 min. C/Rtg: NR Brief Encounter (1945)Noël Coward adapted his one-act play "Still Life" and, in conjunction with director David Lean, created one of the most enduring romance films ever made. Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson are the happily married strangers who meet by chance in a British railway station and become involved in a love as poignant as it is doomed. With Stanley Holloway, Cyril Raymond, Joyce Carey. 86 min. BW/Rtg: NR Blithe Spirit (1945)Noël Coward adapted his witty stage farce for the screen in this (literally) spirited film. Rex Harrison is writer Charles Condomine whose research into the occult leads him to muddled medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford), who accidentally conjures up the ghost of Condomine's first wife. Kay Hammond co-stars as the trouble-causing spectre; with Hugh Wakefield, Joyce Carey. David Lean directs. 96 min. C/Rtg: NR Great Expectations (1946)Often regarded as the finest film translation of any work in Charles Dickens' canon, this richly layered drama follows Phillip "Pip" Pirrip (portrayed by Anthony Wager and John Mills), the young orphan who receives a lifetime of financial support from an anonymous benefactor and works hard to live up to his patron's expectations. Co-stars Alec Guinness, Valerie Hobson, Francis L. Sullivan, Finlay Currie, and Martita Hunt as Miss Havisham; directed by David Lean. 118 min. BW/Rtg: NR Oliver Twist (1948)The first British sound filming of Dickens' 1838 novel, David Lean's classic drama stars John Howard Davies as the titular young orphan, who survives the harsh elements of 19th-century London as a pickpocketing apprentice to sinister Fagin (Alec Guinness) and his team of trained urchin thieves. Robert Newton co-stars as the menacing Bill Sikes, Anthony Newley as the Artful Dodger, and Kay Walsh as the sympathetic Nancy. With Francis L. Sullivan, Henry Stephenson. 111 min. BW/Rtg: NR Standard; Soundtrack: English LPCM mono; Subtitles: English; interviews; photo gallery; featurettes; more. Region Free

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