Claim: Julie Christie starred in a movie.

Doctor Zhivago -LRB- Italian : Il dottor Zivago -RRB- is a 1965 British-Italian epic romantic drama film directed by David Lean . It is set in Russia between the years prior to World War I and the Russian Civil War of 1917 -- 1922 , and is based on the Boris Pasternak novel of the same name . While immensely popular in the West , the book was banned in the Soviet Union for decades . For this reason , the film could not be made in the Soviet Union and was instead filmed mostly in Spain .   The film stars Omar Sharif in the title role as Yuri Zhivago , a married physician whose life is irreversibly altered by the Russian Revolution and subsequent Civil War , and Julie Christie as his , also married , love interest Lara Antipova . The supporting cast includes Geraldine Chaplin , Rod Steiger , Alec Guinness , Tom Courtenay , Ralph Richardson , Siobhán McKenna and Rita Tushingham .   Contemporary critics were generally disappointed , complaining of its length at over three hours , and claiming that it trivialized history , but acknowledging the intensity of the love story and the film 's treatment of human themes . Over time , however , the film 's reputation has improved greatly . At the 38th Academy Awards , Doctor Zhivago won five Oscars : Best Adapted Screenplay , Best Original Score , Best Cinematography , Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design ; it was nominated for five others -LRB- including Best Picture and Best Director -RRB- , but lost four of these five to The Sound of Music . It also won five awards at the 23rd Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama for Sharif .   As of 2016 , it is the eighth highest-grossing film of all time in the United States and Canada , adjusted for ticket-price inflation . It was ranked by the American Film Institute in 1998 as the 39th greatest film on their 100 Years . .100 Movies list , and by the British Film Institute the following year as the 27th greatest British film of all time .