Dr. Zhivago

In keeping with the David Lean thing (and because Netflix skipped ahead a couple of discs on my queue), today's review is of Dr Zhivago, winner of the 1966 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, and nominee for Best Picture, Best Director (Lean), and Best Supporting Actor (Tom Courtenay).

Another of the sweeping epics for which director Lean is best known, Zhivago opens with a Russian general searching for his lost niece, the daughter of his half-brother, a poet named Zhivago, and a mysterious woman named Lara. From there, we are taken back to the days of the Bolshevik Revolution. Lara is a 17 year old student, the mistress of the wealthy Komarovski (Rod Steiger) until she leaves him to marry revolutionary leader Pasha (Courtenay). Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif), a poet by nature studying to be a physician as a more practical career, marries the upper-class daughter of one of his professors. The two meet during medical service in World War I, she serving as his nurse. They are separated following the war, but are reunited after Zhivago's brother, Yevgraf (Alec Guinness), a party official, helps him and his family escape the oppressive living conditions of Moscow to live in safety and obscurity in the Urals. By chance, once in the country, Zhivago is reunited with Lara, and the two have a passionate love affair, as she becomes the inspiration for his poetry.

For all of the people who proclaim Doctor Zhivago to be Lean's masterpiece, I found it to be rather disappointing. And for all of the critics who faulted Ryan's Daughter for failing to live up to the standards of this film, as I mentioned in my previous review, I personally found Ryan's Daughter to be the superior film. That, though, could be due to the fact that I had not heard anything about Ryan's Daughter prior to seeing it, and so had no expectations to be disappointed. I had always heard Dr Zhivago described as a great love story set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, so I was waiting for Yuri and Lara to meet and fall in love. And waiting. And waiting. About an hour and 45 minutes into the film, the two finally meet. For about 10 minutes of screen time. 45 minutes later, they are reunited to begin their affair - an affair, by the way, which springs up out of nowhere, with no precursors or natural development.

Not to say that Dr Zhivago is a bad film. Visually, the film is just as memorable as Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai. The acting is very good, and the story, if you don't let expectations mar your viewing experience, is very absorbing and entertaining. It is worth seeing, if you have three and a half hours to spare. If you have never seen a David Lean film before, though, this is not the one I would recommend starting with.

Movie trivia question: Acting legend Humphrey Bogart only won 1 Best Actor Oscar. For What film did he win?