Not one of my favourite Lean pictures, and not one of his best. The widescreen visual is the reason to see Zhivago - so make sure you see the widescreen version.

Rating: 4/10 (22 July 2004)

I didn't enjoy Zhivago when I saw it on TV, but since then i've discovered a great passion for David Lean, with the help of two rapturous viewings (my first two ever) of Lawrence of Arabia, and the sumptuous A Passage to India. So I decided to give Zhivago another chance, and bought the widescreen DVD.
I'm glad I did, because pan/scan had spoiled the point of every single frame of Zhivago. As usual, David Lean has gone to painstaking lengths to position his figures in particular positions in the sumptuous widescreen, and by panning and scanning for where those figures are in the images and chopping off a quarter on either side the entire film is butchered.
SO I URGE YOU: TO GET THE FULL VALUE OUT OF THIS BEAUTIFUL-LOOKING FILM, DO NOT WATCH IT ON TV: THE AD BREAKS RUIN THE FLOW, AND THE POINT, AND THE IMAGE IS BUTCHERED 4 TV, RUINING THE FILM. SEE ONLY WIDESCREEN!!!
Its still not a patch on Lawrence, which is one of the most exciting visual experiences you'll ever have, and not as entrancing as Passage to India, which has both breathtaking cinematography and is buoyed by a superb central performance from Judy Davis.
We are never drawn in by the story of Zhivago because we never feel there is any connection between Julie Christie and Omar Sharif. This film is supposed to be one of those Gone With the Wind-esque love stories, but as that it fails.
Contrary to what Omar Sharif tells us (very slowly!) in the DVD's introduction, Zhivago is not a classic, and it will not always be considered one. But in tune with an ironic quote on the DVD's back, it may be compared to Gone with the Wind. It has attained classic status the same way Gone with the Wind did - by adopting all the outer signs of a classic, the beautiful colours, actors and music - but forgetting performance, story and structure. Not realising that the heart of the movie, the relationship between Lara and Zhivago, needed more attention or the entire film seems pointless.
7/10. As long as you see it in widescreen, you'll appreciate the beauty that is in Zhivago, and realize why you're watching it. However, the relentless British accents in this Russian tale, the little boy's lines being dubbed by an old woman, Tom Courtenay, and the lack of compassion we feel for Lara and Zhivago, and they feel for each other - all these things flaw the film fatally.