"You'll find that pretty creatures do ugly things to people."

Rating: 8/10 (11 February 2008)

Doctor Zhivago is first and foremost a visual experience. David Lean, one of the greatest film directors of the twentieth century, was at his best in conveying drama in strictly visual and aural terms. So it is really no surprise- that here, he would once again demonstrate why he was such a peerless filmmaker of substance and scale, in this case, directing Boris Pasternak's tumultuous tale of Russia divided by war and hearts torn by love. Of course, epic images are abound. Some of the most striking include: revolution in the streets, an infantry charge into No Man's Land, the train ride to the Urals.
Doctor Zhivago covers the years prior to, during and after the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of poet/physician Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif). In the tradition of Russian novels, a multitude of characters and subplots intertwine within the film's 200 minutes.
Zhivago is married to Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), but carries on an affair with Lara (Julie Christie), who has some strange relationship with the ruthless politician Komarovsky (Rod Steiger). Meanwhile, Zhivago's half-brother Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) and the mysterious, revenge-seeking Strelnikoff (Tom Courteney) represent the "good" and "bad" elements of the Bolshevik revolution. One might easily just call it a mushy soap, set in a tidal wave of history.
The first two hours of the 200-minute movie are the best, and the most personal. Omar Shatif as Zhivago is simply amazing. His eyes are easily some of the most deep and expressive that I've ever seen on screen. Rod Steiger gives one of the performances of his career as Victor Komarovsky, the opportunist and scoundrel. In his own eyes, Steiger saw his character as a heroic romantic in his own way.
Julie Christie as the vulnerable but gorgeous Lara is simply incredible as is Geraldine Chaplin (Tonya), who basically gives her entire life to this one idea of Zhivago, the artist. Course, one would like to see Zhivago stay with Tanya, but in a way the film seems more true-to-life in that it portrays that one doesn't choose the person they should, one goes where their heart tells them to go... as inexplicable as that may seem.
The final scene of Yuri's desperate attempt to reach Lara in crowded Moscow shattered my heart in pieces. And that music score! So haunting.