Paging Doctor Zhivago! (1965)

Today was one of those rare days when my local theater was playing a classic film on the big screen. For tonight only, and with only one showing at 6:30, I got the chance to catch Doctor Zhivago. It stars Omar Sharif as the titular doctor, Geraldine Chapline as his wife Tanya, and Julie Christie as the blond haired blue eyed beauty that steals his heart. Perhaps embarrassingly, I admit I have no idea who these actors are. I did however recognize Alec Guinness who plays a small but important role as Doctor Zhivago's half brother, and occasional narrator. Most of you probably know him, as I do, as Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars. Well lets not waste anymore time, hit the the jump for my thoughts.


The movie is set in the turbulent times of the Russian Revolution. It's a story about war, freedom, and love. Especially about love, and how complicated and unclear it can be. You see, the good doctor, through the course of the movie falls in love with two women. He correctly holds himself back from the beautiful blond Lara while serving during war against the Germans. He returns home to his wonderful wife Tanya, and Lara goes back to raise her daughter and search for her husband, as he was a soldier. Time passes and their paths cross again during the difficult times of Lenon being newly put in power. Civil war rages through the countryside and no matter where he goes he cannot escape its grasp.

Probably one of the most impressive parts of the story to me was how they manage to make you believe, and even understand how he can come to loving two women. Even though he was totally cheating, somehow I never saw him as a bastard for doing so. The constant wars and stress pull at him, and Lara is no help being a total hottie and her seductress ways. Well, it's not that she was trying to seduce him, she also loves him. Anyways, at the start of the movie, it feels like he's meant to be with Tanya, but by the end it feels like he's supposed to be with Lara. Great characters and good acting all around.

Russian winters are no laughing matter, but provide amazing shots

However, the one thing about the movie that stood out the most to me was the cinematography. So many long distance shots of beautiful scenery. Panning shots from a scene with actors again over amazing countryside shots of mountains or vast endless forests, Even some great macro shots zoomed way in on ice on a window or a flower blooming in the summer breeze. There's one scene that is looking through a frozen pane of window glass and we see someone inside light a candle by the window. From the heat of the small flame the ice begins to melt, and as the melted spot widens and grows, we see more and more of the scene playing out inside. First of a letter being read, then we see the man's face and his reaction to the news, then in the background we see the letter's author and their reaction to the reader. Superb.

Being such a classic, everything stands out. Music that you've always heard, but never knew where it was from, lines you may recognize from famous quotes, perhaps even shots you've seen in pictures. It's all so much, that I feel like I shouldn't even be writing about a movie like this. Who am I to critique a movie like this? After I came home from the theater, I looked up Doctor Zhivago on IMDB and found out it won 5 Oscars, and was even nominated for Best Picture and Best Director, only losing to The Sound of Music in both cases. Best cinematography, best original score, best costumes, best screenplay all went to Doctor Zhivago in 1965. Truthfully, it may not be exactly my kind of movie, but even I noticed these things while watching it.

Almost everything about this movie is great, with the only side-note being that some might find it slow. It's over 3 hours long, 3 hours 17 minutes to be precise. Even with it's length however I never found myself truly bored, and many of the long slow drawn out scenes seems to serve a purpose and have good reason for being that way. The story is long and has some turns in it that weren't always expected, and it has the benefit of being based around the facts of the Russian Revolution to prop it up, making the events even more believable. I honestly don't think you could cut it down at all, and that 3 hours was definitely time well spent in my opinion. But who am I to say? I'm just an ordinary guy who doesn't have the words to properly express how grand such a movie as this is.