Lewis Gilbert

Lewis Gilbert was a British filmmaker whose career extended from postwar documentaries to major commercial films and adaptations of stage plays. Born in Hackney in 1920, he directed war films including Carve Her Name with Pride and Sink the Bismarck!, followed by Alfie, starring Michael Caine.

He directed three James Bond films: You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. Later successes included Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine, both adapted from Willy Russell's work. These films placed working-class characters and changing expectations of everyday life alongside the larger spectacles of his action cinema. Gilbert died in 2018.