Films Of The 60's: Doctor Zhivago

Rating: 10/10 (8 May 2006)

Doctor Zhivago: Starring Omar Shariff, Julie Christie, Alec Guiness, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Ralph Richardson, Tom Courtenay, Director David Lean, Writer Robert Bolt Based On The Novel By Boris Pasternak Arguably the greatest film of the 60's, Doctor Zhivago was another success for director David Lean, who had only a few years earlier scored a huge cinematic triumph with "Lawrence of Arabia". Based on the banned Russian novel, this long-running, epic film is both a human story concerning war and man's inhumanity to man as well as a poignant love story. Set in turn-of-the-century Russia, the film accurately depicts the Bolshevik Revolution and its long-term affects on the lives of the Russian people. Omar Shariff portrays the eponymous doctor, orphaned at an early age, groomed to be a doctor but inherently poetic, who marries his childhood sweetheart Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin) but falls passionately in love with the beautiful Lara (Julie Christie), whose husband Alex (Ralph Richardson) abandons her to immerse himself in the Bolshevik revolution. The film is beautiful to look at, often resembling both a Romantic Era landscape painting and an Impressionist landscape painting, particularly in the country during spring scenes. The snowy winter wonderland aspect of Russia is also well-depicted, especially in the scene in which Zhivago, Lara and her daughter flee from the destructive forces in their country to a secluded home that has been completely enshrouded in ice. The film is also a classic story about seeking one's identity. Anna Zhivago (Sioban McKenna) is the daughter of Zhivago and Lara, who appears as the film opens, questioned by General Yevgraf Zhivago who reveals her true parents to her. The film closes with Anna receiving the gift of Zhivago's old balalaika (Russian stringed instrument/guitar)which had followed Zhivago all his life. This film is rather long, so if you wish to see it, you must have more than 2 hours free to watch. It is full of genuinely moving moments. This film being of the 60's, certain aspects- such as the battle scenes - were far more tame than today's war films. At any rate, the war and the devastation of Communist takeover was not entirely the point of the film. Ask anyone who saw this movie in the 60's and they mostly recall "Lara's Theme" which even became a popular song with lyrics. It's a great love story at heart, and pitted against a rather dark time in history, it gives you a haunting and bittersweet feeling overall.