Review of Doctor Zhivago (1965) by Jim H — 16 Jan 2012

Against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, a poet/doctor struggles to "just live" with his wife and mistress.

It's probably cliche and easy to say that a three-hour-nineteen-minute-long film is too long, but Doctor Zhivago is too long. In fact, this is the second time I watched it; the first time I fell asleep (I actually fell asleep this time too, but Netflix let me rewind it). As a project, pulling off the production of such a massive film is a tribute to the filmmakers' talents and organization, and I can see that director David Lean attempted to render the lengths and breadths of the characters' dramatic lives, the upheaval to which they're subjected, but too much time is spent traversing the Russian landscape for my taste. I guess I'm saying that I get the film's reasoning, but I can't say that it makes for compelling entertainment.

I liked Omar Sharif's performance, especially the simple passion with which he says, "Just live" about his intentions after a long trek. And Rod Steiger is always great, especially in villainous roles like this one. "Don't fool yourself: this was rape," he says at one point in the film, and the cold simplicity in his voice makes it one of the more compelling moments in the film.

Julie Christie's character and acting can be easily reduced to "other woman" instead of "Lara," and I thought the film could have spent more time developing the reasons for Zhivago's affair with her. What makes her his bright-eyed muse? In a film this long, it's surprising that such an important element of the film feels so underdeveloped.

Overall, if there's a condensed version, see that.