---
name: "John Box"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-box"
fi1m_id: "john-box"
imdb_id: "nm0101501"
tmdb_id: 13321
wikidata_id: "Q327391"
roles: ["Production designer"]
born: "27 January 1920"
died: "7 March 2005"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-10-03T08:00:54.857677+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Box

## Identity

John Box

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-box
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-box
- **IMDb ID:** nm0101501
- **TMDB ID:** 13321
- **Wikidata ID:** Q327391
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Box, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q327391, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0101501/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/13321

Production designer. Born 27 January 1920 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. Died 7 March 2005.

## Details

- **Work:** Production designer
- **Born:** 27 January 1920, Hampstead, London, England, UK
- **Died:** 7 March 2005
- **Active:** 1962–1984
- **Frequently works with:** [Alec Guinness](https://film.one/person/alec-guinness.md), [David Lean](https://film.one/person/david-lean.md), [Robert Bolt](https://film.one/person/robert-bolt.md), [Omar Sharif](https://film.one/person/omar-sharif.md), [Sam Spiegel](https://film.one/person/sam-spiegel.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 4 Oscars (4 won · 2 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 79 (4), 1970s 73 (2), 1980s 71 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 70 across 7 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 5, History 4, Adventure 3, War 3, Family 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 20 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $297m across 6 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Box, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q327391, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0101501/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/13321

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*A Man for All Seasons*](https://film.one/film/a-man-for-all-seasons.md) (81), [*Nicholas and Alexandra*](https://film.one/film/nicholas-and-alexandra.md) (58)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Oliver!*](https://film.one/film/oliver.md) (76), [*A Passage to India*](https://film.one/film/a-passage-to-india.md) (71)
- **Netflix:** [*Lawrence of Arabia*](https://film.one/film/lawrence-of-arabia.md) (90)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

John Box was a British film production designer and art director. Born in Hampstead, London, on 27 January 1920, he trained as an architect before entering the film industry after the Second World War.

He is best known for his work with directors David Lean and Carol Reed. His credits include production design on *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), *Doctor Zhivago* (1965), *Oliver!* (1968) and *Nicholas and Alexandra* (1971), for each of which he won an Academy Award. He also received BAFTA awards for *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), *The Great Gatsby* (1974) and *Rollerball* (1975). Box died on 7 March 2005.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com, bbc.co.uk, thetimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

- *A Passage to India* (1984), Fi1m 71, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/a-passage-to-india.md)
- *Sorcerer* (1977), Fi1m 88, Production design, Production Design — [page](https://film.one/film/sorcerer.md)
- *Nicholas and Alexandra* (1971), Fi1m 58, Second Unit Director, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/nicholas-and-alexandra.md)
- *Oliver!* (1968), Fi1m 76, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/oliver.md)
- *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), Fi1m 81, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/a-man-for-all-seasons.md)
- *Doctor Zhivago* (1965), Fi1m 70, Production design, Production Design — [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-zhivago.md)
- *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), Fi1m 90, Production design, Production Design — [page](https://film.one/film/lawrence-of-arabia.md)

## Complete filmography (34)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *First Knight* (1995), Production Design
- *Black Beauty* (1994), Production Design
- *Just Like a Woman* (1992), Production Design
- *Murder by the Book* (1986), Production Design
- *A Passage to India* (1984), Production Design — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/a-passage-to-india.md)
- *The Keep* (1983), Production Design
- *Sorcerer* (1977), Production Design — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/sorcerer.md)
- *Rollerball* (1975), Production Design
- *The Great Gatsby* (1974), Production Design
- *Travels with My Aunt* (1972), Production Design
- *Nicholas and Alexandra* (1971), Second Unit Director, Production Design — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/nicholas-and-alexandra.md)
- *The Looking Glass War* (1970), Producer
- *Oliver!* (1968), Production Design — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/oliver.md)
- *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), Production Design — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/a-man-for-all-seasons.md)
- *Doctor Zhivago* (1965), Production Design — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-zhivago.md)
- *The Wild Affair* (1965), Production Design
- *Of Human Bondage* (1964), Production Design
- *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), Production Design — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/lawrence-of-arabia.md)
- *Two-Way Stretch* (1960), as Art Direction
- *The World of Suzie Wong* (1960), as Art Direction
- *Our Man in Havana* (1960), as Art Direction
- *Left Right and Centre* (1959), as Art Direction
- *The Inn of the Sixth Happiness* (1958), as Art Direction
- *Tank Force!* (1958), as Art Direction
- *High Flight* (1957), as Art Direction
- *Fire Down Below* (1957), Set Designer
- *The Gamma People* (1956), as Art Direction
- *Zarak* (1956), as Art Direction
- *A Prize of Gold* (1955), as Art Direction
- *The Black Knight* (1954), Assistant Art Director
- *The Young Lovers* (1954), as Art Direction
- *The Million Pound Note* (1954), as Art Direction
- *The Importance of Being Earnest* (1952), as Draughtsman
- *Adam and Evelyne* (1949), as Draughtsman

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 4 won, 2 nominated

- 1985: Best Production Design (nominated), for *A Passage to India*
- 1973: Best Production Design (nominated), for *Travels with My Aunt*
- 1972: Best Production Design (won), for *Nicholas and Alexandra*
- 1969: Best Production Design (won), for *Oliver!*
- 1966: Best Art Direction, Color (won), for *Doctor Zhivago*
- 1963: Best Art Direction, Color (won), for *Lawrence of Arabia*

### Other awards — 1 won

- Royal Designer for Industry 1992: Royal Designer for Industry (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-box