Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Too much of everything

Powerful

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO is another lengthy '60s epic from director David Lean, the man who brought us LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. I didn't enjoy it as much as that movie, as this does feel a little long-winded and dated by comparison, and it suffers from an overload of romance which bogs the story down somewhat. But the film is certainly lavishly mounted and effectively tells the small-scale human story against a massive backdrop of war and revolution. I really appreciated the authentic backdrop, but the lives of the central characters are what left me feeling a little cold and listless while watching.

Breathtakingly gorgeous. The score (and its fitting use of the balalaika) and the acting are superb. Its sweep is unsurprisingly epic. It's a fascinating look at a particular time period of Russia, the birth of Communism and the turmoil it caused.I'm not sure I buy all of its machinations however. Julie Christie is fabulous as Lara but their love together wasn't passionate enough for me. He abandoned his wife and kid quite easily (go to Paris and look for them! damn you). And even his giving up on Lara was weak and reeked of plot manipulation for the wraparound story.There are scenes I will never unsee, rooted deep in some Russian compartment of indelibility in my mind. A train blasting through the snow in the countryside. Frost creeping and cracking along a window pane, softly illumined by a candle inside. Houses literally covered entirely in snow. Stunning, truly, in its believability and grandeur.

This is a film like no other. Set in a period of great strife in a place of cold violence and indifference. This is a love story and a story of revolution. This is a portrayal of what is worst in humankind and what is best. We have a love story that transcends the elements and carries on to future generations. These are excellent performances by Julie Christie and Omar Shariff and impeccable direction by David Lean, who has produced some of the greatest works of the cinema. As we travel the endless vistas of the Soviet landscape we are given a taste of the Russia of the time, but there is threat at every turn. The young Yuri is shown the ugliness of politics at an early age and must confront this throughout his life. He is a man of great courage and compassion. If you've never seen this, by all means do so.

A good test of a classic film is not whether you can watch it again and again, but whether each time you watch it, you continue to get a little more out of it. There are very few movies that I will ever watch more than once, however good I think they are, unless many years have passed since my previous viewing. Such was the case with two old, classic movies that I recently decided to give a second run to. The first was David Lean's Doctor Zhivago, the epic Russian story set at the outbreak of the Russian revolution, based on the novel by Boris Pasternak.Doctor Zhivago is a towering piece of movie making by the master British Director and is reckoned by many to be one of the finest movies ever made. Others maintain that although it is a brilliant movie, it is only third place in the 'David Lean top ten' behind the 'Bridge over the River Kwai' and, of course, the multi-Oscar-winning 'Lawrence of Arabia'.I do not agree that it is the best movie ever made and I also reserve judgement as to whether it is the best movie David lean ever made until I have re-visited 'his other two masterpieces; but it is certainly a towering piece of filmmaking and it held me enthralled for the entire 3 hours and 20 minutes! I found the end part of the story which is a sort of epilogue, where the action jumps forward to the (then) present day, a bit confusing, a little tiresome, somewhat contrived, and lacking in any real drama. But I am being picky, for what went before is truly inspirational. The cinematography is breath-taking, and the acting, for the most part, was superb. In particular, I thought Julie Christie, as Lara, was incredibly ravishing and it was probably her finest ever acting role. Rod Steiger was also brilliant as the menacingly, evil, drunken whore- monger, Komarovsky. In spite of all his faults, you couldn't help empathising with him, for you could feel his compassion, despite what he did and what he stood for. Maybe I like him because I just adore these tragic, passionate, hard drinking, whoring Soviets….I thought that Omar Sharif played his role okay without really doing much to commend his acting prowess. He looked and sounded the part – so it worked – but in reality, he was just playing himself and 'walking' through the role. Watching the movie some 50 years later, I feel he was definitely a weak link in the chain. He comes across as a bit amateurish and 'dated' and if Lean was casting this movie today, I doubt if Sharif would have got a look in.But I am being picky again. This movie has celebrated its half-century birthday and it is still a wonderful example of the cinematic art. It garnered 10 Oscar nominations and won six, including best screenplay, best cinematography and best music - which included that beautiful theme by Maurice Jarre. It is a travesty that Lean did not pick up the best director gong.I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a romantic, exciting, tear- jerking love story that is set in the epic landscapes of Russia during the tumultuous days of the revolution. A must see for all movie lovers.