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. ~ Rovi
Cast:Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Tom Courtenay, Klaus Kinski, Rita Tushingham, Siobhán McKenna, Ralph Richardson, Jeffrey Rockland, Bernard Kay, Gérard Tichy, Noel Willman, Geoffrey Keen, Adrienne Corri, Jack MacGowran
Tribeca (Special Events), Cannes (In Competition)
* * *
Read about this film
Title: Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Directed by: David Lean
Date of birth: 25 March 1908, Croydon, Surrey, England, UK
Date of death: 16 April 1991, London, England, UK
Writing credits:
Robert Bolt, Boris Pasternak (novel)
Music by: Maurice Jarre
Country: USA | Italy
Language: English | Russian
Color: Color (Metrocolor)
Runtime: 197 min.