David Lean's-Doctor Zhivago-1965

One of the most romantic epics every filmed, Doctor Zhivago was an immensely popular film in it’s day. Because I had really loved this movie in the theaters, I was afraid to watch it. Frankly I didn’t think it could live up to my memory of it. To my surprise, it was almost as good now, after 37 years!


This work, funded by Metro Goldwyn Mayer to the tune of 16 million dollars, was directed by David Lean, a British director with known ability, having already made Lawrence of Arabia, and the Oscar Winning Bridge on the River Kwai. Lean was a perfectionist, whose attention to every detail shows in his work. He was a man of unique talents.

The book on which the movie was based had already become internationally known. It was not allowed to be published in Soviet Russia, nor was its author Boris Pasternak, free to come and accept the Nobel Prize for Literature he had been offered, being unwilling, like the protagonist of this story, to leave his homeland, for fear he would be exiled from it. The book I remember with crystal clarity. The movie is like being offered a visual substitution, like a Reader’s Digest version with pictures.

What I am trying to say is that reading the book would enhance your appreciation of both media, although I fill in with my memory what the film could not achieve in the time allotted. Robert Bolt would win an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation of the book.

For the purposes of this movie, “Moscow” at the time of the Bolshevik revolution, was reconstructed in Spain. And it worked well, although I have heard some grousing about the travelog pictures of the “Ural “ mountains in the film, which bear little resemblance to the real thing. But the attention to the detail, as well as the research done to replicate the times, was in itself a work of great genius. The set design, the costumes, everything was done with precision, and with great artistry. Note especially the “ice palace” scenes toward the end of the flick. This particular set was stunning, and memorable .

Otherwise, the cinematography was done with great skill, but conventionally. The Music was brilliantly composed by Maurice Jarre, who also won an Oscar. It created one of the best known themes ever made for a movie in “Lara’s Theme”. That and the Balalaika music added a lyrical poetic quality that enhances the romantic sad quality of the story itself.

The cast was outstanding in this film, with a happy blend of known and unknown actors. Omar Sharif became an instant romantic favorite of young girls everywhere, and Julie Christie, who received an Oscar for another film the same year, was outstanding as well. Alec Guiness added the needed bit of class that ties it altogether, and Rod Steiger was outstanding . He was the only American in the film. There were no bad performances in this movie.

The movie is very long, so it is broken up by an intermission. But for today’s audiences, the pace might be painfully slow, as David Lean painstakingly leads us into the heart of the film-but with the artifice of the “teaser” letting us know that there will be a love story involved.

The Theme of the Movie is simple, in that it reflects the plight of a poetic soul in the midst of a time that had no time and no use for poetry. What didn’t come across in the film, as it did in the book, was the reason that our protagonist did not exit the country stage left, several times. He reason was the same as for Pasternak himself, it was simply that he loved Russia enough to stay. For Zhivago, we can assume that he also refuses to leave for his love of his land, which was simply part of his soul. Was this portrayal of Russia a cold war item that reflected the Western Alliance’s mounting disklike of the Soviet Union?

The short answer is no.

The revolutionaries are shown in this movie for what they were, mostly ignorant folk following the new “Liberals” , rarely even capable of understanding the ideas they were professing. The actions of the Reds and the Whites seem to be identical in effect, which for the purposes of this story, are more important than who was right, who was wrong, or any deeper ideology involved.

In fact the protagonist shows himself very interested in the plight of man,, and hopes that equality will result from the revolution. Being a doctor in the first place reflected his desire to help people. But he hates war, and he knows he is not part of a world that will not allow poetry in its soul.


THE PLOT


The movie opens with Zhivago’s half brother Yevgraf in the “New” Soviet union, searching for the daughter of his brother and the woman he loved, Lara. He will serve as the narrator of the story, allowing a quick interpretation of scenes that might otherwise confuse the audience.

Flashback to a scene where a young boy is at his mother’s funeral, saddened beyond measure. He will be taken in by a family with a young girl, the only memory of his mother present in a Balalaika , which will be the symbol of preservation of all that is good through the strife to come throughout the entire story.

Now we see the boy, just finishing medical school in Moscow. He has already established a reputation as a poet. And we get the first glimpse of the other lives that will become important in the story. Lara is a young woman still in school. She is not rich; her mother is a seamstress. Her friend Pasha is an idealistic young revolutionary. Komarovski is an official who plans to be on the winning side, a man who by his authority feels free to break the rules as he sees fit. And Tonya is the little girl Zhivago grew up with, and plans to marry.

Meanwhile a revolution was brewing, and Pasha, the idealistic young man is involved in it. Pasha and Lara are close, he sees her as his future wife. Komarovski is courting Lara’s mother, but she falls sick, and Lara attends a society party in her place. (Komarovski of course, as might be expected, makes advances, and at least once, he is successful. ) Outside the party, Pasha is part of a peaceful demonstration, that is brutally attacked.

"They rode them down, Lara. Women and children, begging for bread. There will be no more ‘peaceful’ revolutions." (Eisenstein, anyone?)

This will signal the first of many changes in Pasha. At the same time, Lara’s mother attempts suicide, and Zhivago, attending as a doctor, for the first time comes into the picture of Lara and Komarovski, seeing more about that situation, shown in a brilliant sequence of images.

Then Tonya and Zhivago become engaged at another party, and Lara comes to kill Komarovski. She shoots him, and Zhivago once again acts as a doctor, but is clearly not impressed with the moral character of his patient. But Komarovski insists that they let the girl go, and Pasha comes to take her away.

Pasha and Lara marry and have a child. Tonya and Zhivago marry and have a child. But fate will intervene again with Russia’s involvement in World War one. Pasha has been sent to the front, Lara has come looking for him, and Zhivago is patching up the injured. This is the beginning of the relationship between Lara and Zhivago, as they are clearly quite taken with each other. But it goes no further, since they are both married.

When Zhivago returns home, he finds their home has been taken by the revolution, and they are given but a single room to live in: he, his wife, his son, and his father in law. Times are bad, food is scarce, and kindness is not part of the picture. And here, the young doctor for the first time meets his half brother Yevgraf, an important official in the revolution. He advises Zhivago to get out, and move to a country place, where people will not be watching, and he can live without the condemnation of the Party, who have already begun to criticize his poetry as self indulgent and petty.

Tonya, Sasha (his son) and Gromeko (father in law) head for the Urals, in an unforgettable train ride. And it is only here that we see what has happened to Pasha, who has not been home since the War. He has become the cruel avenger of the Revolution, Strelnikov.

Zhivago and Lara have still not had a single moment of passion, and I think you should watch the movie yourself to see when that happens. There is so much more that happens in this movie, and a good deal of history as well. It is far from over.


THE CAST

Omar Sharif as Yuri Zhivago , the doctor and poet, the hero of this story. It is perhaps the first time that I believed that a poet’s soul could exist in the Medical profession. (I have been looking for Zhivago ever since). Sharif was a dream , his emotions in his beautiful eyes (which have started to look a little hyperthyroid of late). He had been nominated for an Academy award in Lawrence of Arabia, and he won a Golden Globe for his part in Zhivago. He is intelligent, and is still acting as far as I know. He writes an advice column on Playing Bridge. He studied mathematics and physics at University, and he is intelligent and soft spoken, perfect for this part. He was playing scrabble with Telly Savalas when he learned he was chosen for the lead in this movie, which is an interesting image. For a brief period of time, he was an international heart throb to many movie fans. The character was as close to perfect as any romantic hero in movies, even though he was a gentle hero.

Julie Christie as Lara Antipova-Christie won a different Oscar for Darling, in 1966, and her performance in this movie went unrecognized. But she was also perfectly cast for the part. She had a beautiful but STRONG face, and was an untypical romantic image, but a powerful one, as she shows unselfish dedication in living her life. But the conflict was there as well, rarely spoken, always present. Yes, many young girls would have liked to be Lara.

Geraldine Chaplin-as Tonya-the wife. This character is an interesting one, who measures her safety, and dedication to her husband against the need to survive, and gives her husband in a letter, her blessing to carry on with another woman! Now if that don’t beat all! Chaplin was dancing in Paris when Lean “discovered” her, but in fact, being the daughter of Charlie Chaplin and the granddaughter of Eugene O’Neill didn’t hurt. But it was her first big break, and she was marvelous. In many ways, I liked her better than Lara. She was excellent.

Rod Steiger as Komarovski. The bad guy in this tale...but is he really? He represents a certain realistic opportunistic character, and it probably wasn’t an accident that Lean cast the only American in this role. But Steiger was brilliant in this role, because he managed for me, at least, to create a character for whom, I developed a good deal of sympathy. The most disturbing scene in this whole movie is the one in which Zhivago throws him out of the apartment, and he falls down the stairs. It seemed less than I would have expected from the character of Zhivago. I don’t remember there being a good side to this character in Pasternak's version, so a belated extra star goes by Steiger’s name for this one. Steiger in his lifetime gave many memorable performances, but received an Oscar only for In The Heat of the Night. He also adds some color to the commentary, spending a little time defending Komarovski. I got a kick out of that, in spite of myself.

Alec Guiness as General Yevgraf Zhivago-the narrator of the tale, and a brilliant device of Lean to use him as the narrator. The man adds class to anything he has been in. Too bad about the Obi Wan Kenobe thing, something that annoyed him no end. Guiness won his Oscar from the Bridge on the River Kwai, but did you know that he received an Oscar nomination for writing (‘The Horse’s Mouth’) as well?

Tom Courtenay-as Pasha /Strelnikov-this is the second most interesting secondary character in this movie. Pasha was played brilliantly, an idealist with a hard edge, then as a hero who rescued Lara from the corruption of Komarovski, then as the heartless Strelnikov. His moments are brief, but each appearance is a perfect condensation of all that has brought him to his state. There is a moment when he and Zhivago meet (during the train ride) where a volume of conflict is portrayed, in an instant, as he watches Zhivago leave his train car. Very very impressive. He got an Oscar nomination for this role.

Siobhan McKenna as Anna-the adopted mother of Zhivago. She was a well known Irish actress, but her part here is pretty small.

Ralph Richardson as Alexander Gromeko, the man that raised Zhivago and later his father in law. There is very little humor in this movie, and he provides most of it. He was one of the best stage actors to ever be in movies as well, and was the prototype for the lead in the TV series the Avengers, by a role he had created in another movie.

Rita Tushingham as the Girl-the presumed daughter who General Zhivago goes to with this story. She has a few touching scenes at the end.

Jeffrey Rockland as Sasha-a child playing a child.

Tarek Sharif as Yuri- the younger. This is Omar’s real life son, and yes the eyes have it.

Bernard Kay as Bolshevik. But there were so many of them!

Klaus Kinski as Kostoyed. He is on the train sequence. His performance is a high shriek intense affair that will be the one you remember, although I’m not sure why. He is beautiful, almost mad with passion, and perhaps meant as proof of a direction that the revolution took which he could not have anticipated. Kind of confusing , but interesting.

Ah... but if I list the cast of thousands, we’ll be here all week. Enough then, I quit.

THE DVD

This particular version is a two volume set. The first is movie, on both sides. A full length commentary with Sharif Sandra Lean and Rod Steiger is available, although I believe Steiger’s section was taped separately. The second DVD has some dry documentary stuff and a feature about making the film. I was appalled at the Hollywood hype that was included, courtesy of MGM, but the rest was interesting as background material.

FINAL RECOMMENDATION

Someday, maybe not today, you should watch this movie. If you haven’t seen it, and you are a romantic at heart, you can’t help loving it. If not, watch it as an epic classic, one of only 18 movies that David Lean directed.

**slightly off topic alert**

I owe a lot to this movie. First, it stirred my imagination like no other movie I had seen, and second it opened up a whole lifetime of reading the great Russian novelists. Because of this flick, I read all of Pasternak, who wrote the novel, and from there went on to read many others as well, including Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. It even led me to Nabokov, eventually. So thank you Boris Pasternak. Thank you David Lean. And Omar, I’ll see you in my dreams, just as you were then.