Review of Doctor Zhivago (1965) by Christopher B — 12 Oct 2013

The movies visual style is excellent and director David Lean's ambitions are admirable, but Doctor Zhivago falls short of Lean's more polished epic, "Laurence of Arabia". The film just feels too bloated and overstretched for it's own good.

While it has a few great scene's here and there, it's just too inconsistent to elevate itself to the level of a classic. Another problem with the film is Omar Shariff who although is a very talented actor, is terribly miscast for the role and sticks out like a sore thumb on the screen.

I enjoyed the film overall, but I think with a stronger script, better pacing and a new lead, the film could have been far better than it was.