A classic, timeless story and the last great epic film.

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2008)

Taken from the classic Russian novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago remains and always will be a timeless piece of reading that can never truly be measured in regular terms. The power and emotion behind the character's motivations and actions really speak for themselves and show how incredibly moving the story is. In 1965, David Lean brought the story to life and with great results. Omar Sharif played the title character, Julie Christie his lover Lara, and Geraldine Chaplin his wife Tonya.
Essentially, perhaps the biggest problem with the film is the fact that the novel is much more political than the movie. Lean told writer Robert Bolt to downplay the politics when adapting it, and that is a good and bad thing. It works in bringing the love story to life better than nearly any other romantic movie, yet nearly all other parts fall far short of this dynamic. Sharif also seems a bit miscast at times, though it's hard today to imagine anyone else as Zhivago. Chapin, the daughter of Charlie Chaplin himself, is in my mind miscast completely. Perhaps it is the fact her character is pretty bland compared to the passion between Zhivago and Lara, but I really didn't care much for her at all. I read somewhere that Audrey Hepburn was considered for the part. That would have been a great improvement.
Despite all that is considered wrong with the film, it really is a triumph; so much in fact that it is considered to be the last great epic Hollywood ever made. It's hard to think of a movie that comes close to the magnitude and power it brought to the screen. From the man who gave us The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, two of the greatest epics ever made, it was hard-pressed to top those. Still, this story will last forever, thus the film will last forever. Most memorable are the gorgeous cinematography from Freddie Young, Maurice Jarre's haunting score, and the wild and sheer beauty of Julie Christie as Lara. These three elements alone make it worth seeing, and worth considering as one of the finest films of its time.