Rating: 
Summary: Better than Sound of Music - Allen MacCannell
Review: Its amazing that this wonderful adaptation of Pasternak's novel actually lost to the Sound of Music for the Academy Award. This is one of the most romantic films ever made. And it graphically portrays how the left-wing state (the Soviet Union) can ruin the lives of individuals who simply don't count in a "people's republic".
Rating:
Summary: The Intimate Epic
Review: It has been almost 40 years since Doctor Zhivago lost out to The Sound of Music for the Academy Award as best film. If you think that is ludicrous (I certainly do), consider the fact that thirteen years earlier, High Noon, Moulin Rouge, and The Quiet Man lost out to The Greatest Show on Earth for the Academy Award as best film in 1952. (Ivanhoe was also bypassed and, in my opinion, did not even deserve to be nominated.) Today, however, Doctor Zhivago is considered a great film...which it assuredly is. Based on Boris Pasternak's novel and directed by David Lean, it traces the life and experiences of a doctor and poet portrayed by Tarek Sharif as a child and then by Omar Sharif as an adult. Zhivago and his family become caught up in and almost consumed by the Russian Revolution. His half-brother Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) provides an especially effective voice over to clarify the narrative at various points; also, Yevgraf silently intervenes in Zhivago's life when such assistance is most needed. By then, Yevgraf is a high-ranking government official who recognizes that his half-brother is a great poet whose heart is pure. He may also consider him to be somewhat naive and therefore vulnerable. Lean makes brilliant use of the omniscient voice-over to begin and end the film, of course, but also to advance the plot with style and grace. Those who hold this film in such high regard have reasons of their own for doing so. Mine include a series of juxtapositions. For example, spectacular rural landscapes juxtaposed with moments of exquisite tenderness; Zhivago's essential goodness with the self-serving behavior of other characters such as Komarovsky (Rod Steiger); the innocence of young Strelnikoff (Tom Courtney) with his brutal treatment of adversaries both during and following the revolution; and finally, the conflict between Zhivago's sense of obligation to his wife (Tonya) with his passion for Lara (Julie Christie). Yes, this is among the greatest of epic films but many of its memorable moments involve intensely human, indeed intimate interaction as when Zhivago and Lara are alone in the "ice house." Whenever I hear "Lara's Theme," I immediately think of Julie Christie as Lara. I also envision the vast Russian countryside, magnificent in each of the four seasons, impervious to centuries of man's inhumanity to man. If for only 197 minutes, this film enables us to experience (albeit vicariously) much of a great and good man's life long ago in a distant land. While doing so, our own lives are nourished and enriched. A work of art can do that in unique ways, as indeed this great film does.
Rating:
Summary: Forced Labor
Review: Kinski was in a railroad car, was chained to the car, he yanked at his chains and said: "Forced Labor." This image has stuck in my mind for about 25 years. Kinski's acting was very convincing. Omar Sharif delivered excellent acting.
Five stars! A great classic.
Rating: 
Summary: An uneasy walk between epic and love story
Review: Doctor Zhivago is without a doubt an amazing accomplishment. It successfully, for the most part, takes the microcosm of several relationships and places it in the macrocosm of the Russian Revolution. The moments of snowy peace and love, protected from the turbulance of the outside world, create many striking images. The movie is not without its weaknesses, however. These characters, small and insignificant as they are amidst the social turmoil, keep having amazing coincidences. I wish I could be so lucky as to take a train to Siberia or wherever, meet a leader of the revolution during a toilet break, get back to the train just as its leaving, and end up residing a few miles from the revolution leader's wife, who just happens to be my mistress and the most beautiful woman in the country. Thank goodness for that toilet break. The revolution leader got to tell me exactly where his wife was residing! There is simply not enought dialogue and character development to believe the characters are who the movie says they are. Doctor Zhivago is the sensitive poet, we know, because he's always staring at things while sensitive music plays. He and Lara love each other deeply, we're supposed to believe, because, well, they're darn attractive people. But why else? Komarovsky is wicked, because wicked music plays and he keeps doing unnecessarily wicked things. Like raping Lara when she's willing to have consensual sex with him. And when he finally does decent things like warn Zhivago and Lara, they throw him down the stairs as wicked music plays. Give the guy a break! Still, those days and nights in a snow-covered cottage, the wolves howling in the icy distance, can overcome many flaws.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just an Epic, a lot of Drama and Poetry too
Review: I first watched this movie decades ago, but it still haunts me. As most people say, this is an epic. Yes, but it brings us into the very heart of events that turned the wheel of history: the rise and the blind force of the masses in the form of Communism, which was rather inhumane and devastating. Communism was at first most ruthlessly suppressed by the authority, just in the way the Minster of Justice relentlessly taking advantage of the school girl, Lara. And then Communism grew fast taking hold of even the students including the boyfriend of Lara who later became a most furious Red Army General. It isn't great cinematography that it is all about. Beautiful settings, yes, with literally thousands soldiers fighting in the snowy battlefields plus poetic scenes of calm and serene countryside in Russia etc. There are also round and forceful characters representing various aspects of human nature interweaving these epic changes giving the story a lot of drama and substances. We have Lara's ex-boyfriend, the Red Army General who gave up virtually everything to fight for and who eventually died for his ideology; the pleasure seeking Minister of Justice or the "flesh", whose only concern was to save his own skin; Dr Zhivago was a poet with a soul who suffered most; and the doctor's half brother, the opportunistic secret policeman, or the real winner, who fished in the troubled water, riding the great tides and became a respected and powerful General in the new regime; and Lara the weak, she managed to survive but was deprived virtually of everything, love and daughter and the latter landed in an orphange without knowing her own history, bestowed with a deep sense of mistrust... And the whole story was wrought up beautifully by great cinematography for one thing, and Dr Zhivago's poetry for another, and above all, by Lara's Theme played by a balailika which their daughter learned to play by instinct: it sounds so sad and irking. This is just too pricy a lesson. I haven't read the original novel by Pasternak who had won the Nobel Prize. But judging from how David Lean handled " A Passage to India" and also how the story unfolds itself, there is little doubt that the novel is treated fairly and squarely: it's as good as, if not better than "Crime and Punishment".
Rating:
Summary: A Great Classic Movie
Review: I have to admit that I purchased Doctor Zhivago for my mom and she really seem to enjoy it. The parts that I did see both the audio and picture seem to be great. The DVD came with lots of extra with were enjoyed. I know that it took a while for Doctor Zhivago to come to DVD, but I can say that it was worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Good Doctor
Review: DOCTOR ZHIVAGO is a classic film. Having never seen it before, and having recently rediscovered the joys of David Lean's LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (wow, what a great film!), I watched ZHIVAGO with fresh eyes. My first reaction: ZHIVAGO, whether you've seen it or not, is part of America's film culture. I knew "Lara's Theme"; The snowy, Russian scenes and Julie Christie's blond hair were somehow familiar to me! The DVD looks spectacular. The anamorphic transfer is clean and crisp. The overture and intermission music are included. The documentary, featuring a mature (and still distinguished) Omar Sharif, is illuminating -- especially discovering that ZHIVAGO was filmed in Spain! As for the film ... I hate to admit that I had a few problems with it that kept me from suspending my disbelief -- which is necessary, sometimes, to believe in what you're seeing on the screen. For instance, although the film takes place in Russia, almost everyone speaks with a British accent. The peasants seems to have Russian accents, though. Omar Sharif, although really wonderful as the Doctor, and although he endured some subtle makeup to change his Egyptian looks, still looks like Sherif Ali Ibn El Kharish from LAWRENCE -- not a Russian doctor. Julie Christie, a beautiful woman who was 24 when ZHIVAGO was made, plays Lara as a 17 year old. I didn't buy it. On the positive side, Rod Steiger is deliciously evil as Komarovsky. And Geraldine Chaplin lights up the screen as Tonya. Then there's the love story. According to the documentary, Lean wanted Sharif to play Zhivago as a watcher -- the film is through his eyes, almost passively. Therefore, I never understood how Zhivago felt about having two lovers at the same time. He kissed his wife goodbye then galloped off to make love to Lara, then returned to his wife. I didn't understand this. He lived with his wife in the cottage. Lara got to stay in the ice mansion. I am a sucker for a good love story, but Lara and the Doctor simply confused me. I don't deny that DOCTOR ZHIVAGO features some amazing performances and some very fine directing and cinematography. I found it a little long and pushing the believability limits, however. I'll take a David Lean film any day, though! I'm glad I finally saw ZHIVAGO and appreciate its place in film history.
Rating:
Summary: Bigger than the Revolution!!
Review: David Lean gives the Bolshevik Revolution the grand touch with his pannoramic cinematography and imagery. Omar Sharif & Julie Christie gave good performances. But it was Rod Steiger who steals the show with his great portrayal. The love story was somewhat flat, but was enough to sustain me to watch the full 3 hour epic.
Rating:
Summary: Uh....It's pretty but give me a break!
Review: I've heard glorious review after glorious review about this movie and finally got around to seeing it on DVD last month. What is the big deal? It was a good attempt to desrcibe the story through visuals but short on dialogue. I have never read the novel which is probably why I was so confused the first thirty minutes or so. One second the main character is sleeping with his wife, then with his mistress, then back with his wife, then kidnapped by an army, then he escapes....etc. If you love short artsy fartsy movies than this one will do it for you otherwise stick with the novel.
Rating:
Summary: A cinematic classic transcending the years
Review: I purchased Doctor Zhivago purely on an old memory of a spectacular movie I once watched with my parents many years ago. I am a great fan of David Lean's 'Lawrence of Arabia' so epic type movies appeal to me. But I must say it was with some trepidation that I sat down to watch my latest DVD purchase the other night, hoping that I hadn't wasted my NZ$39.95 on a dated movie, to add to my carefully selected and slowing growing collection of DVD's. My fears were quickly cast aside shortly after the original opening score finished. I found myself in Russia and sucked into the movie right from the start. What a glorious movie this is. The colour, the scenery, the grandeur, the action, the love story, the scope and the spectacle. This truly is an epic movie made and acted with passion. The movie just hasn't dated, it has only aged like fine wine. To compliment the movie the DVD has some very good extras with some awesome historical interviews with the actors, narration by Omar Shariff and an introduction to the movie by him which appears to have been done for the DVD. What an absolutely outstanding package which does credit to one of the all-time great movies.
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