Lean's soulful and passionate romantic masterpiece set in the Russian Revolution has startling beauty both inside and out

Rating: 10/10 (21 October 2010)

Sir David Lean was an artist. He was a craftsman; he cared about his films and he cared about his audience. Even though he could produce visuals and sets that outclassed everybody of his time and today, he did not overindulge himself with his technical virtuosity. He was conscious that he could produce a pretty-looking picture better than anybody else, but he was even more conscious of the fact that a movie has to have a soul if it's going to run an hour and a half, or 200 minutes as "Doctor Zhivago" does.
At least it does now. After being savaged by critics for the first time, Lean was obligated to remove 20 minutes of what must have been priceless footage. All we have left is the 200 minutes that survive, but it's enough to preserve the heart and soul of his inner person-driven, sweepingly romantic masterpiece. There is a tendency to compare a master's films together and when put next to "Lawrence of Arabia" or "The Bridge on the River Kwai" this one is not exactly part of a threesome. But those pictures are two of the best ever made by anybody and darn it, if "Doctor Zhivago" is not a fine movie. More than fine.
It's adapted from a novel by Boris Pasternak: one I have not read. Set during the times of the Russian Revolution, it focuses on a star-crossed love affair between two people. One is Lara Antipova, the troubled and sentimental wife of a political activist (Tom Courtenay). The other is a soulful doctor named Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif) and he is also married. The two of them meet over a succession of circumstances over a period of several years, a romance budding between them while Russia collapses around them.
Lean liked to set his dramas in historical or history-related moments in time, mostly wars. But he plunges his story deeper than ever in "Doctor Zhivago." It's a marvelous work of storytelling, developing this extramarital but pure and heart-warming romance over a period of at least twelve years, although I'm sure there's more in there. Their story is the heart and soul of "Doctor Zhivago" but he also pays enough attention to the Revolution to make it essential and important to the story. It's also tragic the way that the two characters fall inevitably and impulsively in love with each other while still remaining devoted to their marital partners. Particularly between Zhivago and his wife played by Geraldine Chaplin.
What makes movies like this so great is because they are unabashedly personal. When you watch "Doctor Zhivago" you can feel the passion and concentration that Lean instilled into his unfairly-overlooked masterpiece. You can really feel the undercurrent of romantic passion between Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, both of whom are very, very good in their roles. Some have criticized their story as being jumbled and not going anywhere and I can see those detractors' points. However, I think it works to the film's advantage? How would you react if you were torn between two people you cared about while the world you have known all your life was crashing around your heads in a fury of fists, bullets, starvation, and swords? And as much as I enjoy seeing a wide-as-the-horizon epic like "Lawrence of Arabia" I must confess it's nice to see a movie just as broad and expansive, but instilled with sweeping romantic passion. Frankly, love stories are captivating. We can react to Peter O'Tootle egotistic Lawrence going mad, but we can identify with people in love with each other.
One thing in common with all of Lean's movies is their technical bravura and "Doctor Zhivago" is clad with these scenes. Lean uses his trademark extreme wide shots, showing more landscape than the people, who are only visible as tiny dots. Like "Lawrence of Arabia" this is a film that demands to be seen on the big screen. Also consider his usage of winter landscapes, which are breath-taking in their beauty. He also uses his camera as the subjective eye, using visuals to tell the story. There's a great moment where we see a tearful conflict between Julie Christine and Tom Courtenay through a window and just like voyeurs, we can only decipher it through what we see, for we can only hear the sounds of the city.
The performances are almost universally great. Omar Sharif gives a lot of heart and soul into his role and there are only a few moments where I felt he slipped out of character. I must admit Sharif was an unusual casting choice for the titular role and...perhaps...he wasn't the ideal actor for the part, but most of the time he is dead-on. Julie Christie, who had to be asked again and again to take the part of Lara even though it was the role every actress at the time was seeking, is also in very fine form and she remains buttoned-up and solid all throughout the picture. Alec Guinness does a fine, although somewhat mellowed and withheld job, at playing Zhivago's half-brother. The same applies for Geraldine Chaplin and Ralph Richardson. However, the two best performances are by Rod Steiger and Tom Courtenay (who was nominated for his performance); they steal every scene that they are in.
Perhaps it's not on the same tier as "Lawrence of Arabia" but "Doctor Zhivago" is almost preferable because there's a lot of personal passion in it. Passion that only a great director like Sir David Lean could bring into a motion picture. It's more than just something pretty to look at. There's a lot of heart and soul to be found. Like the character of Lara herself, the movie seems withheld, but when explored, it shows a lot of emotional beauty. And Maurice Jarre's central theme is justifiably famous.