Rating: 
Summary: Dr. Zhivago on DVD?
Review: As an avid fan of movies, I sincerely believe Dr. Zhivago to be one of the best movies ever produced by Hollywood. In an age where the largest explosion or the most computer graphics reach audiences, finding a movie that truly expresses mankind's plight more honestly and openly is almost impossible. This movie will truly touch your soul. It is a story about an ordinary man who overcomes extraordinary circumstances, and about the people he meets during his voyage through a revolutionary Russia. I find it shameful that there is no intention of releasing it on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Some great moments
Review: A surprisingly poor entry in Lean's otherwise superb catalog of films. The photography and editing are occasionally stunning, but they deserve a better story and a better cast of actors. Not one of the principals is Russian. I'm not sure any of the supporting actors are Russian either. The suspension of disbelief would be eased if the largely British cast did not sound so, well, so British. Accents aside, the acting is poor. Sharif and Christie look wonderful, but can barely deliver their lines. Ralph Richardson is simply dreadful, as always. Chaplin is as lightweight as Christie and Sharif, and Courtney's one-note intensity is amateurish. Only Guinness and Steiger emerge unscathed. Bolt's dialogue is often laughably bad, unrealistic and inappropriate. Indeed, there's a distinct lack of verisimilitude throughout. Witness Christie's full makeup and false black eyelashes while both at ballrooms in Tzarist Moscow and hospitals in the battlefield. So why give this movie even three stars? Easy. There are several protracted sequences where, mercifully, nobody speaks. They are stunning. They are a feature of most of Lean's films, and never are such sequences more welcome than when they crop up in Dr. Zhivago. They account for maybe three minutes in a movie lasting over three hours. But they're worth the effort. I should also add, and probably unnecessarily, that while Christie is not, at least here, a convincing actress, her unusal and radiant beauty lights up even the worst of the scenes to which she and the rest of us are subjected. She deserved better than this movie.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest films the world has ever seen
Review: This movie describes a time that was and hopefully never will be again. Under the narrative of a love story, it skillfully encapsulates the transition from a Bourgeois era in Russia to Communism and all its dark and ugly faces. Lean's cinematography is unprecedented and is only rivalled or bettered by that of Kubrick. Omar Sharif's finest role perhaps, he plays a Russian doctor and budding poet/auteur torn between two worlds and a desire to escape reality just to find happiness even if it is only short lived. Julie Christie plays an admirable role as his 'true love'. The breathtaking scenery mixed with brutal reality, the tragic expressions and the lugubrious wetness in Sharif's eyes, the close-ups that are somehow softened to give an ethereal feel to the whole thing, make this a must see in a person's lifetime. It is a necessity in fact, if one wants to appreciate the visual arts at their best and least controversial. It is a universal film and appeals to a selective audience as well as a more general one. Oh yes, the music throughout is fantastic too and helps to give the film a memorable feel.
Rating:
Summary: A Tragic Love Story in the deep of winter!
Review: Film making at its finest! Boris Pasternak's acclaimed novel could not have been portrayed any more beautifully on screen than in this epic movie drama. The bitterly cold landscape of Russia in the winter contrasts sharply with the fires burning within the characters. Omar Sharif and Julie Christie are magic together. The snowy scenes and sweeping scenery display an unequaled knowledge of cinematography. The popular music is instantly recognizable and winds its way through the movie, making the score all the more emotive. Every scene in this movie feels real. Omar Sharif and Julie Christie along with the rest of the cast, make this movie so believable, you forget you are watching a movie. You enter their world and become fascinated with their lives. Yuri (Omar Sharif/Dr. Zhivago) is the main character and the story revolves around his passion for Lara (Julie Christie). Through the harsh realities of life during at the time, their lives seem eternally intertwined. Pasha (Tom Courtenay) plays Lara's political activist husband. Victor, an older gentleman, also has a passion for Lara. She is pursued by three men, but only loved by one. These three men, their stories, and the lives of their families fill out the story line in the movie. The story begins when Dr. Zhivago's brother finds his niece (the daughter of Dr. Zhivago who is a writer/doctor/poet and Lara who becomes the love of his life). The scenes then flash back to the Revolution in Russia. As Red blood spills out onto the white snow, we also see two people needing each other perhaps more then their very life blood. Their desire is only fueled by the fires of the Revolution as they continue to have their lives intertwine in an almost sadistic way. They seem drawn to each other by a magnetic force of passion. This is story telling at it's finest. Just remember, it is a story and is not meant to revolutionize your thinking on the sanctity of marriage. In desperation to just survive, the characters make many bad judgments. It makes a great story, but is a sad look at character. It is definitely one of the most romantic movies ever made. It will hold your attention for hours and at the end, you will wish it had been a longer movie. You will love this movie and do look for the Christmas Tree with real candles. I also felt this movie truly brought history to life in a way no book could. Enter the snowy streets of Moscow and be amazed at the ice house in the country. The writers expected the viewer to fill in a few gaps with their own imagination, which makes this movie all the more enjoyable as you are not taken though endless visions of tedium. No moment is wasted. This is the most romantic movie of all time, besides Gone with the Wind.
Rating:
Summary: Screen's Greatest Epic Love Story
Review: For anyone who loves the epic and loves the love story, this is THE film to see. The sweep of this film is incomparable, far better and more emotional than ANY epic film in the last 30 years. This film (along with BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA) demonstrates the power of the medium. Lean creates the dramatic spectacle like no one else. The cast is top notch, particularly Rod Steiger as Komorovsky. The camerawork is peerless, maybe only Orson Welles' dizzying work surpasses Lean's eye for the "motion-picture-as-painting." Maurice Jarre's score is seductive, captivating and above all unforgettable. John Box's production design is rich and opulent without being gaudy. And there is an excellent cameo by cinema's enfant terrible - Klaus Kinski. Oh, and watch for the baby-exchange on the train, during the production that woman was actually sucked under the train's wheels! As filmmakers sadly look expectantly toward the digital medium, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO lets us know that what once breath-taking was will soon be lost forever. If there was ever a film that championed 70mm cinema, this is it. Now, we wait for LAWRENCE OF ARABIA for a DVD release.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Dearly Remembered
Review: This is a good adaptation of the Boris Pasternak novel. The enigmatic poet and doctor is at the center of the scenarist Robert Bolt's never ending poetic riddle, and the director David Lean surrounds him with an enormous historical reconstruction of the Russian Revolution. Neither the contemplative Zhivago nor the flux of events is uninteresting, and they remain an enigmatic dichotomy. In a movie, so full of realism, there is great impressionism. What is behind all those remarkable performances, the ideas presented in the dialogue, even the majestic cinematography of those daffodils, which Zhivago seems to gaze at so often. Freddie Young beautifully photographed this film. The lyrical composer Maurice Jarre gives us a love theme that goes through many innovative and emotional renditions evoking many interpretations of the events on the screen. David Lean's two other masterpieces, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and RYAN'S DAUGHTER form a trilogy along with DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. The years surrounding World War I form the backdrop for all 3 films, thus the trilogy I suppose. The Full Frame version on VHS never did justice to DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. I highly recommend the widescreen DVD version for the ultimate experience and the director's true meaning.
Rating:
Summary: Great film...but
Review: I love this movie, but I must say, Lawrence of Arabia is my favorite film of all time and what I consider Lean's masterpiece. Zhivago is stunning visually, but acting wise, it's not great. Omar Shariff is always great in supporting roles (watch his Ali in LOA!) but not in leading roles. I think Lean and Ponti should have used Peter O'Toole for the part of Zhivago!
Rating:
Summary: A WILDLY ROMANTIC MASTERPIECE
Review: I first saw Doctor Zhivago as a 17-year-old boy in 1965. I saw it 7 more times over the next year! It's perhaps the most visually stunning, panoramic, and at the same time seductive movie I've ever seen. Julie Christie and Geraldine Chaplin were both at the height of their beauty. Rod Steiger was delicious as a very complicated villian...and who could forget Omar Sharif's huge, melting brown eyes. The music was splendid and moving - the story stirring and tear-jerking. I'm a HUGE movie fan, and Zhivago will always be on my list of favorites. It'd make a great date movie alternative.
Rating:
Summary: A BEAUTIFUL AND HEARTBREAKING LOVE STORY
Review: This is one of the rare times when I actually liked the movie more than the book. Omar Sharif, Julie Christie and Rod Steiger, especially, are just wonderful in David Lean's adaptation of Pasternak's epic love story. The script was beautiful and lacked nothing; the actors couldn't have done a better job at delivering their lines. It was extremely well paced and never lagged or felt rushed. Maurice Jarre's haunting score is just beautiful and weaves throughout the movie like a tapestry. The cinematography is beyond compare. The views of the Urals, the frozen Siberian tundra and the countryside in springtime (especially the daffodils!) will never be forgotten. In my opinion, one of the greatest movies ever, never to be forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: Epic in Beauty!
Review: Dr. Zhivago still thrills me after all these years. David Lean was a master film maker. They don't make movies like this anymore. The story and photography are magnificent. A must see in widescreen!
|
