Following 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962), director David Lean continued his epic phase with Doctor Zhivago.
During World War One, Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif) studies to become a doctor in Moscow. He marries his childhood sweetheart Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), but is attracted to dressmaker's daughter Lara (Julie Christie), herself engaged to young revolutionary Pasha (Tom Courtenay). Lara is also conducting an affair with government official Komarovsky (Rod Steiger). Yuri and Lara's paths cross again in the aftermath of the Bolshevik revolution, and the two begin a passionate affair.
This adaptation of Pasternak's novel saw the historical epic in something like its final epic excess and Lean loses no opportunity for staggering visuals. Beautiful scoring by Maurice Jarre too.
"The personal life is dead in Russia. History has killed it." As though in rebellion against the high political sophistication of its source, Lean leaves no personal... more >
"The personal life is dead in Russia. History has killed it." As though in rebellion against the high political sophistication of its source, Lean leaves no personal dynamic unexplored, no emotion unsifted. Structured as a series of flashbacks in which a woman attempts to re-discover her father, the film unravels like a re-affirmation of the place of the individual in a world in which winter sumptuously follows summer, irrespective of politics. While she struggles to remember, Freddie Youngs camera constantly finds Zhivago(Sharif)and his alter ego Pasha (Tom Courtenay) peering through frosted panes, cut off from yet curous about the present. Eventually rebelling against the old and the new, Zhivago and Lara (Christie) flee to a frozen dacha and cohabit in a pact so idyllic that it invites comparison with the trendiest of 60s living arrangements. < less
One of David Lean's finest films. The epic adaption of the controversial novel does not cease to please on grounds of drama, and moving nostalgic appeal. It is a love ... more >
One of David Lean's finest films. The epic adaption of the controversial novel does not cease to please on grounds of drama, and moving nostalgic appeal. It is a love story which contrasts with the war and manages to touch a range of audiences. With beautifull cinematography from Sir David Lean and astounding performances from Omar Sharif, Julie Christie and Sir Alec Guinness, Dr Zhivago captures the mentality of war beautifully. An essential peice of British cinema that is stunning to this day. It is a must see film. < less
