One of the Last True Hollywood Epics.

Rating: Null/10 (8 June 2002)

By the mid-1960s the giant epic had about run its course and "Dr. Zhivago" was one of the last true Hollywood epics that dominated the cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. "Dr. Zhivago" is a very large film that shows the triumphs and tragedies of its titled character (Omar Sharif in easily his greatest role). The doctor/poet seems trapped in the awful Bolshevik Revolution of the 1910s and early-1920s in his native Russia. While having no real political views of his own, he just cannot escape a life of war and violence. We see him as a young boy and to his early adulthood when he marries who he feels is the love of his life (Geraldine Chaplin), but of course he falls later on for his one true love (a very young Julie Christie). Naturally there is conflict though as Christie is little more than a slave to the cold Rod Steiger and keep in mind that the shady Tom Courtenay (Oscar-nominated) is always around trying to create benefits for himself. Zhivago's half-brother Alec Guinness tells the long and sad story through voice-overs and flashbacks. The film is very, very long and it is not always a crisp running time. Sometimes spectacle gets in the way of the story and the actors and many times everyone just seems overwhelmed by the complicated screenplay and David Lean's opulent direction. Sharif and Christie are excellent, but the lesser the part, the more the others struggle through. Rod Steiger and Tom Courtenay seem to get in the way more than anything else and Alec Guinness has little more than a cameo appearance, his character could have been explored much further. All in all the film is impressive, but it cannot quite reach excellence due to several small holes in large areas. It is nonetheless a memorable cinematic experience. 4.5 out of 5 stars.