Impressively made but left me cold.

Rating: 7/10 (6 September 2001)

It would be easy of me to say David Lean lacked the emotional depth to tell a truly touching romantic epic. Because much like is follow up film Ryan's Daughter (1970) Doctor Zhivago looks stunning but the central relationship left me cold. But then again Lean did make Brief Encounter, one of the most emotional romantic films ever made. So where does Dr Zhivago go wrong? The film looks good and most of the performances are well judged but it's just the story that seems to fall flat. I think adapting Boris Pasternak's epic novel was always going to be difficult and three hours isn't really enough to let all the elements pan out. The film seems too concerned with getting to its next scene before I felt a natural conclusion could be formed. There are also the problems with the narrative, too many characters not enough time, and too many sub-plots that go nowhere, and the film should have tried to focus more on the relationship between Zhivago and Lara.
But that aside Doctor Zhivago still has a lot of beauty, this is David Lean, so of course the cinematography is fantastic and the period detail exquisite. I also liked the performances of Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, a lot of people have complained about her performance, calling it detached or un-developed, but we have to remember that Lara is also very troubled, torn between three different men, Zhivago, Komarovsky and Pasha. There is also fine support from Rod Stieger and Alec Guinness, which should generate interest. In short, Doctor Zhivago is one of those classic films that doesn't deliver, but are classics regardless. The themes of Zhivago are universal and still hold a deep appeal to this day. One for fans of by gone film making and the movies of David Lean.
7/10