Boris Pasternak’s novel came out in 1957. It was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature the following year. It was a given that the novel would make it to the silver screen. Producer Carlo Ponti bought the rights to the book and envisioned the movie starring his wife Sophia Loren playing the part of Lara. David Lean was tapped as the director. His two previous films were “Bridge on the River Kwai” and “Lawrence of Arabia”. He asked Peter O’Toole to play Zhivago, but he turned it down. Rod Taylor also passed. Michael Caine screen tested and then recommended Omar Sharif. Sharif shaved his head and wore a red wig. Lean convinced Ponti that Sophia Loren was wrong for Lara. Jane Fonda was considered, but did not want to commit to a long shoot in Spain. Julie Christie, who was recommended by John Ford, was given the role of Lara. The shoot lasted 232 days, mostly in Spain. Moscow was recreated in a garbage dump outside Madrid. It took 18 months to construct. 4,000 daffodils were imported from the Netherlands to be used for Zhivago’s father-in-law’s estate. The budget ballooned from $5 million to $15 million. It was worth it because it was a big hit, in spite of lukewarm critic reviews. The movie won 5 Academy Awards (Adapted Screenplay, Original Score (Maurice Jarre), Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design) and nominated for another five (Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Tom Courtenay), Film Editing, and Sound). The movie was not seen in Russia until 1994.
The film opens with an overture. Ask your grandpa what that is. Gen. Zhivago (Alec Guinness), the doctor’s half-brother, is searching for the daughter of Yuri and Lara. Cue the flashback. The young, orphaned Yuri grows up to become a poet and doctor. Lara is in a relationship with an older nobleman named Victor (Rod Steiger), but she is in love with a revolutionary named Pasha (Tom Courtney). One night when she is dining with Victor, Pasha and other radicals are stomped by Cossacks. Lara meets Yuri when he is called to help with her mother’s suicide attempt. Their romance is postponed because Lara marries Pasha. The movie jumps several years to 1914. Russia enters WWI with enthusiasm. Doctor Zhivago and nurse Lara meet at a military hospital. They work together chastely because Yuri is loyal to his wife Tonya. However, the two fall in love. The movie skips over the Revolution to get to the Russian Civil War. Pasha is now a ruthless general in the Red Army. Yuri’s poetry makes him the target of the Bolsheviks, like Pasha. He and his family move to a small estate in the Urals. In an amazing cinematic coincidence, Lara lives in a nearby town. Yuri and Lara finally hop in bed, but their romance will not last as they become separated. This is headed for a tragedy of Shakespearean size.
“Doctor Zhivago” is a must-see movie, but not necessarily for war movie lovers. I don’t feel it fits firmly in the genre, but if a romance set in war like “Casablanca” fits, then so does “Doctor Zhivago”. It is more of an epic than “Casablanca”. While the Bogart classic takes place over only a few days, the Sharif classic sprawls over decades. That is one of its weaknesses because to cover such a long time, it ends up being too long. And yet, despite the length, some scenes end abruptly sans payoff. I generally do not have problems with movies being too long, but if stretches are boring, that is a different story. You would think a movie set in the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War would provide some meat for the males in the audience. However, there is little action and the violence is PG-rated. If you are hoping for increasing your knowledge of those two events, this is not the movie for you. Most of the men that read my reviews might want to make this a movie you watch with your significant other to get some brownie points. Kind of like “Titanic”, a movie that has some similarities to it. Both feature a love triangle and a tragically truncated love affair.
I commend the cinematographer for lensing a beautiful movie. And you have the wonderful score to go with the visuals. The cast is top notch. I feel Rod Steiger deserves the most accolades. His Victor is a nuanced villain and is not a caricature. Sharif was well cast and it is hard to imagine any of the other possible leads being as right for the part. Julie Christie is also good as a character who is more one-dimensional than Yuri. And Tom Courtney, although miscast as a Russian, is a fascinating character who embodies the evolution of a revolutionary to a despot. Pasha must have been part of the reason why the movie was banned in the Soviet Union.
It is certainly an adult romance. The Yuri / Lara relationship is not syrupy. Yuri is something of an asshole who cheats on his loving wife. He also cares little for his children. In fact, the children play almost no role in the movie. Yuri’s behavior hardly seems appropriate for a doctor and poet. The movie posits the question: can a man love two women at the same time? Oddly, the movie is very harsh to Yuri when it comes to his love for Lara, but in the other areas of his life, he does not suffer much. There are threats because of his poetry and he does not get rich as a physician. He is forced to work for the Red Army, but it is not life threatening and although he is separated from his wife and family, this smooths the road to Lara. It’s a road that has had and will have many bumps.
GRADE = B-
Great review. This movie has some significant flaws, as you note, but it also has scenes and characters from the Russian revolution that stick in the imagination. I came away from the film earnestly hoping that I would never have to live through such times, but certain that I could easily manage to be less of a cad than Yuri.
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