Heavy production clashes with story

Rating: 6/10 (17 February 2015)

David Lean directs the heck out of Boris Pasternak's novel, providing an opportunity for solid performances from a cast that includes Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, and Alec Guinness (the latter giving one of his less impressive performances). Unfortunately, the story just doesn't really have enough weight to support Carlo Ponti's production, and Lean doesn't really seem to be helping because he obviously wants to top "Lawrence of Arabia" even though the story here should be more intimate and personal.
There are a number of action sequences that are a bit overblown -- the only one that really feels necessary is the scene of the Cossacks attacking the revolutionary activists. There's a particularly drawn out and overindulgent battle scene that takes place with horses on an icy lake, which exemplifies the film's tendency to make a big fuss over things that are not integral to the film's story.
Jarre's theme is effective, but not very versatile.... it keeps reminding us that we're watching a love story. Sharif and Christie are excellent, Steiger holds his stuff down admirably, but most of the smaller roles (particularly Tom Courenay) come off all wrong.