Motion picture masterpiece of the second half of the 20th Century

Rating: 10/10 (30 September 2002)

This is, in all respects, as much a film masterpiece for David Lean as was "Lawrence of Arabia", if not more so. Criticized by some for being "too ambitious", I say how can an epic this haunting, beautiful and romantic be too ambitious? When this film was made, Omar Sharif was as strikingly, exotically handsome a masculine film persona as could be cast, and Julie Christie is superb and lovely as Zhivago's elusive Lara. A rare and exceptional supporting cast of talent par excellence is utilized to the maximum potential, with not one weak performance to be found! Ice and snow are extraordinary visual punctuation marks throughout this film, with the cinematography maximizing movie big screen potential and surpassing all else put out on the last half of the 20th Century, with perhaps only 2 exceptions, those being "Ran" and "Apocalypse Now", which certainly are not rivals to this film because of their distinctly different genres. Any criticism aimed at this movie based an assertion of lack of clarity, or that it is not easily understood, must be taken with the proverbial grain of salt because I and most others in my peer group and family understood everything in this motion picture when I first saw it at the age of 15. Indelible images abound in this masterpiece, from the stark funeral procession in the beginning of the film and Zhivago as a vulnerable child, to glimpses of violence in the streets during the revolution, and of course the exquisite isolation and temporary freedom of the country house. Anyone who can appreciate fine motion pictures as an art and story-telling form should be able to find something to admire in this film, which in turn serves as a testament to David Lean's extraordinary artistic vision and mastery of the large-screen motion picture medium.