Film: “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie

“Doctor Zhivago,” one of the most memorable and arguably beloved films of the 1960s, did not have the most auspicious start. The movie, directed by David Lean, was based on the 1957 Pasternak novel, which basically had to be smuggled out of Russia because the Soviets condemned the author for his “bourgeois sentiments.”

When it was time to make the novel into a film, producer Carlo Ponti wanted to cast his wife Sophia Loren as the lead. But since he feared no one would believe Loren as the virginal Lara, Julie Christie was cast instead.

The film, which is Epic with a capital E, received mixed reviews from critics at the time. However, I would bet moviegoers of a certain age or any other age for that matter will remember it fondly.

Set in 1910s Russia, the movie chronicles the star-crossed romance between Zhivago (Omar Sharif), an idealistic young doctor and talented poet, and the sensual Lara (Christie) who works in her mother’s dress shop in Moscow.

When WWI breaks out, Zhivago heads for the Ukraine front to treat the wounded. Lara, escaping a dreadful marriage to a young Communist (Tom Courtenay) and the simultaneous pursuit by Komarovsky (Rod Steiger), a vulgar bourgeois, volunteers as a nurse—coincidentally in Ukraine. After six months of working together, Yuri and Lara fall in love, despite the fact Yuri is already married to Tanya (Geraldine Chaplin) back in Moscow.

Once Russia sues for peace in 1917, Yuri returns home to find that his Moscow residence has been expropriated by the Bolsheviks. Yuri’s politically well-connected half-brother Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) advises him to flee to the Urals with his family, which now includes wife Tanya, a young son Sasha (Jeffrey Rockland), and Tanya’s very proper father-in-law Alexander Gromeko (Ralph Richardson).

Similarly, Lara flees to the countryside after WWI where she reunites quite by chance with Yuri and they resume their romance.

David Lean and Cinematographer Freddie Young have spared no expense or effort to create the movie’s cast-of-thousands scenes. Among the standouts: the family’s grueling train ride through the Urals, huddled with hundreds of others in crude box cars, from which they can peak at villages devastated by war. As Yuri treks through the snowy countryside after being dragooned into service by the Red Army, you can feel the chill right up to your babushka. Fun fact: the “snow-covered” scenes were actually filmed in Spain and Finland; rather than snow, the production company used marble dust.

In 1966, “Zhivago” was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 4 including best adapted screenplay (Robert Bolt) and best score (Maurice Jarre.) As for the latter, I guarantee you have heard “Somewhere My Love” (aka Lara’s Theme) some time in your life.

“Zhivago” film touches on many subjects (too many, as some critics have argued.) But to me, it is the story of a disillusioned man named Yuri Zhivago: not only with the revolution but with the frustration of not living a full life with the woman he loves.

Call it schmaltzy, call it long (nearly 4 hours including intermission), but as of 2022, “Dr. Zhivago” was the ninth highest-grossing film worldwide.

Having not seen it since 1966, I can guarantee that it is as Epic as ever. But don’t wait for your next trans-Atlantic flight, which is how I recently saw it. Search for “Zhivago” on the Criterion Channel, open a bottle of ice-cold Russian Standard and enjoy. Na zdorovye!

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