An exquisite historical film with spectacular production detail based on Boris Pasternak’s novel about Russia at the time of the Revolution.
The plot concerns a series of brief encounters – between the idealistic doctor and poet Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif), his loved one Lara (Julie Christie), his half-brother (Alec Guinness), the villainous sensualist Komarovsky (Rod Steiger), and the student Pasha who will become the revolutionary Strelnikoff (Tom Courtenay).
Omar Sharif and Julie Christie canoodle inside a fairy tale castle while director David Lean goes on a seemingly endless trek across the troubled century and the snow-covered Steppes.
It’s fur hats and muffs in abundance as demon Dave attempts to do for the white stuff what he did for sand in Lawrence of Arabia three years earlier.
Shooting took nine months in Finland, Canada and Spain, where a huge exterior set representing 1917 Moscow was erected.
The big-name cast also includes Rita Tushingham, Ralph Richardson, and Geraldine Chaplin, and despite the presence of Alec Guinness, the Finnish snow is the real star because Sharif has all the charisma of a bag of sawdust.
Maurice Jarre’s Lara’s Theme became a popular hit of the time – and it is Lara, not Zhivago, who is the theme of the film – it’s heart and soul.
Dr Zhivago was re-released in a restored version for its 30th anniversary in 1995.
Yuri Zhivago
Omar Sharif Lara
Julie Christie Tonya Gromeko
Geraldine Chaplin Komarovsky
Rod Steiger Yevgraf Zhivago
Alec Guinness Pasha Antipov/Strelnikov
Tom Courtenay Alexander
Ralph Richardson Anna Gromeko
Siobhan McKenna Sasha
Jeffrey Rockland Kostoyed
Klaus Kinski Razin
Noel Willman Professor Kurt
Geoffrey Keen Amelia
Adrienne Corri Katya
Lucy Westmore Liberius
Gerard Tichy Yuri, aged eight
Tarek Sharif
Director
David Lean
Video
Related Posts
Illustrated Man, The (1968) Three of the stories from Ray Bradbury's book The Illustrated Man. The stories are "The Veldt", "The Long Rain" and…
Fall of the Roman Empire, The (1964) Although superbly filmed in 70mm, The Fall of the Roman Empire feels cynical compared to the bombastic emphasis on scale…
Oliver! (1968) "Please Sir, can I have some more?". Mark Lester nabbed the classic line as Oliver Twist in this immensely popular…
My Blood Runs Cold (1965) Wealthy and reckless Californian Julie Merriday (Joey Heatherton), accompanied by her attorney boyfriend Harry Lindsay (Nicolas Coster), narrowly avoids crashing…
Loved One, The (1965) Arriving in California to visit his distant uncle Sir Francis Hinsley (John Gielgud), young English poet Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse)…
Crooks Anonymous (1962) Playing a stripper was hardly the most auspicious start to Julie Christie's career, but she managed to cover herself in…
No Way to Treat a Lady (1968) Christopher Gill (Rod Steiger) is a hammy theatre manager who is also a psychotic killer who uses various disguises -…
Darling (1965) John Schlesinger's quite brilliant, if savage, slashing attack on the new rich, is a story of a young girl whose…
Yuri Zhivago
