One of the best British films of all time is on BBC Two this weekend | Films | Entertainment

Sir David Lean had an incredible film career, directing epics from The Bridge on the River Kwai to Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.

Alongside adapting Charles Dickens‘ classic Oliver Twist, he also brought Great Expectations to the big screen.

The 1946 British classic stars John Mills and Valerie Hobson and also features Jean Simmons and Alec Guinness.

A shorter version of the novel, Lean was inspired by an abridged stage production of the book written by Guinness, who also played Herbert Pocket in the film.

Lean’s movie, the fourth made and second with sound, is considered the very best of the countless adaptations for film and TV over the decades.

Great Expectations follows an English orphan called Pip in a Bildungsroman story, depicting his psychological and moral growth in a coming-of-age tale.

A hit with the critics, Lean’s film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay Adaptation at the Oscars, winning the Black and White Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.

Today the 1946 classic is widely held to be one of the director’s best movies and in 1999 was ranked 5th in the BFI’s Top 100 British films list.

Great Expectations is on BBC Two this Saturday at 10:20am and will be streaming on BBC iPlayer afterwards for limited time only