It may not be the best of David Lean's epics, but Dr. Zhivago is still brilliantly photographed and sweepingly romantic. Read critic reviews
Doctor Zhivago
1965, Romance/History, 3h 17m
49 Reviews 25,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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Movie Info
During the Russian Revolution, Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif), is a young doctor who has been raised by his aunt and uncle following his father's suicide. Yuri falls in love with beautiful Lara Guishar (Julie Christie), who has been having an affair with her mother's lover, Victor Komarovsky (Rod Steiger), an unscrupulous businessman. Yuri, however, ends up marrying his cousin, Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin). But when he and Lara meet again years later, the spark of love reignites.
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Rating: PG-13
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Genre: Romance, History, Drama, War
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Original Language: English
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Director: David Lean
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Producer: Carlo Ponti
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Writer: Boris Pasternak, Robert Bolt
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Release Date (Theaters): original
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $87.1K
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp., Warner Home Vídeo, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
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Critic Reviews for Doctor Zhivago
Audience Reviews for Doctor Zhivago
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Every properly-made cinematic epic should transport you to another world the way a damn good novel would and ‘Zhivago' certainly gets the job done. It is gorgeously mounted, yet doesn't quite hit the emotional peaks I was hoping for - though Rod Steiger's performance is an engaging standout. Without necessarily making an argument to extend the film's runtime, I found myself playing catch-up with the personal stakes of the events on a few occasions (a byproduct of condensing a sprawling novel, I imagine). A smidge more show than tell would've helped, but the lushness of the cinematography and score keeps everything soaring. Did Omar Sharif possess the most soulful eyes ever captured on celluloid? There's an argument here.
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A big sweeping production that ensnares the senses. While its narrative focus is on the titular character, the backdrop of the Russian Revolution is its own star, essentially turning the film's sequence of events into an effective 'lovers caught in the apocalypse' type scenario. Immensely entertaining, but lacking the same the powerful narrative catharsis of, say Bridge on the River Kwai, which is no fault of the Boris Pasternak novel.
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Epic films were a standout aspect of 1960's cinema. Filmmakers took bold risks in telling a great story with their films; hence the decade had some truly unique films. Lawrence of Arabia was one such film, another one was Doctor Zhivago, both films were directed by filmmaker David Lean, who seemed more at ease with himself directing big,, ambitious movies, therefore his work Has been some of the finest in the cinematic medium. His work would only be matched by other filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick and Sergio Leone, and the way he made a film elevated the medium to new possibilities. My favorite film of Lean's will always be Lawrence of Arabia, but with Doctor Zhivago, he crafts another grand epic that is brilliantly directed and acted. The story is set amidst the First World War as well as the Russian revolution, and it's a love story, but the way it's crafted is superb. This is a long film, and I do feel that it could have been shortened slightly. I would say that because of this, David Lean might be an acquired taste, but to those who want n epic picture to watch, Doctor Zhivago is one of the classics in the genre, but personally, I don't think it's Lean's best, like I said, I think Lawrence of Arabia is his finest film, and he delivers something great with that one, but here he nonetheless does some good work, and he manages to craft another worthwhile epic. I loved the film, but like I said, maybe Lean could have cut his film down a bit, as three plus hours of storytelling is a bit much. Doctor Zhivago is a great accomplishment, but it's not a film that demands repeat viewers due to its length, in other words it's hard to get into, and it's not a film that has much action, because it focuses more on its performances, storytelling and it's one of those movies that takes its time for the story to unfold. I would recommend this movie to viewers that enjoy a long, ambitious film, and if you don't mind a long picture, this is worth seeing. With a great story at hand and phenomenal cast of talented actors, David Lean's crafts a great picture that reigns as one of cinema's finest works.
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From a story perspective, the film is your relatively standard "sweeping romantic epic set against the backdrop of real history" but David Lean directs the hell out of it, per usual. There are too many amazing shots to count and the cast is fantastic from Omar Sharif right down to those that only have a few lines (Klaus Kinski is unforgettable even in a tiny part). I'm still not sure why it was blasted by critics in it's day, but I suspect that they wanted this film to fail because of Lean's past successes. Upon noticing a weaker narrative structure and a love story they began a feeding frenzy of nitpicking criticisms.
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