Film Institute, Stars Laud Director David Lean

British film director Sir David Lean received at 81 the prestigious Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles Thursday night to a standing ovation by stars such as Gregory Peck, Jack Lemmon, Shelley Winters and Walter Matthau.

“He was always the great perfectionist,” British actor Sir John Mills told the audience of actors, directors and producers who had paid up to $1,000 per plate.

“He makes me feel puny,” U.S. film director Steven Spielberg said. “Every tool used to make movies was used in his film ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and every shot is a clue that hastens the plot. Thank you for your inspirations.”

Lean, whose films include “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Dr. Zhivago” and “A Passage to India,” joined such celebrities as James Cagney, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Fred Astaire, James Stewart and Billy Wilder as a recipient of the annual award.

In a brief, impassioned speech, Lean said he had finally been given the financial go-ahead to make another film, based on Joseph Conrad’s “Nostromo.”

Calling on what he called the money men of the film industry to give the young directors a chance, he said: “I feel the time has come when the money men can afford to lose a little money. Give the up-and-comers a break.”