Genres:
Epic
Romance
Release Date: 01/01/2001
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time:
Flags: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video
Based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel by
Boris Pasternak,
Doctor Zhivago covers the years prior to, during, and after the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of poet/physician
Yuri Zhivago (
Omar Sharif). In the tradition of Russian novels, a multitude of characters and subplots intertwine within the film's 197 minutes (plus intermission).
Zhivago is married to
Tonya (
Geraldine Chaplin), but carries on an affair with
Lara (
Julie Christie), who has been raped by ruthless politician
Komarovsky (
Rod Steiger). Meanwhile,
Zhivago's half-brother
Yevgraf (
Alec Guinness) and the mysterious, revenge-seeking
Strelnikoff (
Tom Courteney) represent the "good" and "bad" elements of the Bolshevik revolution. Composer
Maurice Jarre received one of
Doctor Zhivago's five Oscars, with the others going to screenwriter
Robert Bolt, cinematographer
Freddie Young, art directors
John Box and
Terry Marsh, set decorator
Dario Simoni, and costumer
Phyllis Dalton. The best picture Oscar, however, went to
The Sound of Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide