Hmm. Epic in a different way ... ;-)
Werner Herzog - Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Haha, good old Werner. Epic no doubt.
Another small-scale epic of his is Scream of Stone, with a perfect use of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.
But the total epic, I mean, the Tolstoy style historic + multi-character. I don't think there has been a real heir to David Lean, even if Nolan thinks he is.
I can think of smaller-scale epics like The Aviator or the recent and terrific Benediction, but no Lean-style broad-scope epic since the 80s...