High budgets and production values made commercial sense only when they were entrusted to a director with genuine fascination with epic themes, such as David Lean (1908-1991). His The Bridge Over The River Kwai (1957) was successful, critically as well as commercially. Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (1962) which involved ten months shooting in the Jordanian desert and nearly two years of work for it's lead, Peter O'Toole, was also highly successful.
The Bridge Over The River Kwai was shot in precarious locations with the centrally essential bridge built simply to be blown up and a train hauled across jungle's terrain for its starring role. At the time such devices seemed extravagant and yet the total production cost was barely three million the film was sold to American television in 1966 for two million, after is highly profitable career in cinemas.
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| Zhivago, Zhivago a helluva doc. |
Lean's triumph, although there is surely room to debate about its quality was Doctor Zhivago, shot on location in Spain at an approximate cost of 15 million. The film's resounding success was the salvation of MGM during its most difficult years.