David Lean Back on the Big Screen in 2008

Next summer, David Lean classics, including Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago, Brief Encounter and Great Expectations, will compete with modern rivals such as Indiana Jones 4, The Incredible Hulk and The Mummy 3, which owe more to computer-generated special effects than to the lavish productions favoured by Lean.

The British Film Institute has received funding from the David Lean Foundation to restore the director's seven black and white films and his first two colour movies. The intention is to produce digital copies that can be shown in cinemas across Britain. Alongside the release of the films next year in Britain and the United States, a series of events, including screenings at the Cannes Film Festival, are planned.

Hopefully new film prints will be produced as well, since digital projection cannot reproduce the resolution and detail of those films shot in 70MM.

Read more at Telegraph.co.uk