railroad schemes

His epic films like 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' and 'Lawrence of Arabia' explore grand schemes involving infrastructure and human ambition against impossible odds.

He examined modernization and progress through railway narratives, particularly in exploring how technology and progress reshape society and human relationships.

His Western epics, especially 'Once Upon a Time in the West,' center on railroad expansion as a symbol of capitalist ambition, corruption, and the clash between progress and tradition.