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Doctor Zhivago (film)

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Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox film Doctor Zhivago (Template:IPAc-en) is a 1965 epic historical romance film directed by David Lean with a screenplay by Robert Bolt, based on the 1957 novel by Boris Pasternak. The story is set in Russia during World War I and the Russian Civil War. The film stars Omar Sharif in the title role as Yuri Zhivago, a married physician and poet whose life is altered by the Russian Revolution and subsequent civil war, and Julie Christie as his lover Lara Antipova. Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Courtenay, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson, Siobhán McKenna, and Rita Tushingham play supporting roles.

Although immensely popular in the West, Pasternak's book was banned in the Soviet Union for decades. As the film could not be made there, it was instead filmed mostly in Spain. It was an international co-production between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Italian producer Carlo Ponti.

Contemporary critics were critical of its length at over three hours and claimed that it trivialized history, but acknowledged the intensity of the love story and the film's treatment of human themes. At the 38th Academy Awards, Doctor Zhivago was nominated for ten Oscars (including Best Picture) and won five: Best Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, Art Direction, and Costume Design. It also won five awards at the 23rd Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture.

Template:As of, it is the ninth highest-grossing film worldwide after adjusting for inflation. In 1998, it was ranked 39th by the American Film Institute on their 100 Years... 100 Movies list, and by the British Film Institute in 1999 as the 27th greatest British film ever.<ref>British Film Institute - Top 100 British Films Template:Webarchive (1999). Retrieved 27 August 2016</ref>

Plot

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Part one

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NKVD Lieutenant General Yevgraf Zhivago searches for the daughter of his half-brother Dr. Yuri Zhivago and Larissa ("Lara") Antipova. Yevgraf believes a young dam worker, Tanya Komarova, may be his niece and explains to her why.

After his mother's burial, the orphaned child Yuri, owning only an inherited balalaika, was taken by family friends Alexander and Anna Gromeko to Moscow. In 1913, Zhivago, now a doctor and poet, becomes engaged to the Gromekos' daughter Tonya after her schooling in Paris.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Lara is seduced by her mother's much older friend/lover, the well-connected Victor Komarovsky. Lara's friend, the idealistic Pasha Antipov, who wishes to marry her, is wounded by mounted police at a peaceful demonstration. Lara treats Pasha's wound, and hides a gun he picked up.

File:Doctor Zhivago (film)-The Cossacks attack a peaceful demonstration.jpg
Tsarist dragoons attack a peaceful demonstration

Discovering Lara's relationship with Komarovsky, her mother attempts suicide. Komarovsky attempts to dissuade Lara from marrying Pasha. She refuses and he rapes her. A traumatised Lara later follows Komarovsky to a party, shoots him in the arm, and is escorted out by Pasha. Pasha marries her, despite now knowing about her relationship with Komarovsky. They leave Moscow.

During World War I, Yuri, now married to Tonya, becomes a battlefield doctor. Pasha joins up, but is reported missing. Lara enlists as a nurse to search for him and encounters Zhivago. For six months, they serve at a field hospital, as unrest grows in Russia after exiled Vladimir Lenin returns. The two fall in love, but Zhivago remains faithful to Tonya.

After Russia leaves the war, Yuri returns to Tonya, their son Sasha and the widowed Alexander Gromeko in their Moscow house, which was confiscated by the Soviet government and now houses many other people. Yevgraf, now a Cheka officer, tells Yuri his poems have been condemned as anti-communist. Yevgraf provides documents so the family can travel to the Gromekos' country home, "Varykino", in the Urals near Yuriatin. Their heavily guarded train travels through contested territory where Bolshevik commander Strelnikov is fighting anti-communist White forces.

Part two

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File:Trailer-Doctor Zhivago-Yevgraf and Tonya Komarovskaya.jpg
Yevgraf (Alec Guinness, right) with Tanya (Rita Tushingham)

The train stops near Strelnikov's armored train. Yuri gets out, is captured and taken to Strelnikov, whom Yuri recognizes as Pasha. Strelnikov mentions that Lara lives in Yuriatin, now White-occupied. Strelnikov lets Zhivago return to his train. The family find the main house at Varykino sealed up by the Bolsheviks; they settle into a neighboring cottage. In Yuriatin, Yuri sees Lara, and they begin an affair. When Tonya is about to give birth to a second child, Yuri breaks off with Lara but is forcibly enlisted by Communist partisans.

After two years, Yuri deserts and returns to Yuriatin. Lara says Tonya contacted her while searching for Yuri. Leaving his belongings with Lara, she returned to Moscow. Tonya later sent Lara a sealed letter for Yuri. Tonya had borne a daughter, and she, her father, and two children are living in Paris following deportation.

Yuri and Lara become lovers again but Komarovsky arrives. Cheka agents have been watching them due to Lara's marriage to Strelnikov. Komarovsky offers them help escaping Russia, but they refuse, instead going to Varykino, and hiding in the main house. Yuri begins the "Lara" poems, which will bring him fame but government disapproval. Komarovsky arrives with troops. Recently appointed as a Far Eastern Republic official, he says the Cheka allowed Lara to remain in the area only to lure Strelnikov; he had been captured five miles away, and committed suicide. They now intend to arrest Lara. Komarovsky's offer of safe passage is accepted, but once Lara is on her way, Yuri does not follow. On the train, Lara tells Komarovsky she is pregnant by Yuri.

Years later, Yevgraf finds a Moscow medical job for his now frail half-brother. Yuri sees Lara in the street. He has a fatal heart attack before reaching her. At Yuri's funeral Lara asks Yevgraf for help finding her daughter by Yuri, who vanished during the civil war. Yevgraf helps her search the orphanages, in vain. Lara then disappears and Yevgraf believes she died in a gulag.

Yevgraf believes that Tanya Komarova is Yuri and Lara's daughter; she remains unconvinced. Asked how she became lost, Tanya answers that her "father" (Komarovsky) let go of her hand when they were running from bombardment. Yevgraf responds that a real father would not have let go. Tanya promises to consider Yevgraf's words. Her boyfriend David arrives, and she leaves with him. Yevgraf notices Tanya carries a balalaika. He asks if she can play, and David replies, "She's an artist!", and says she is untrained. Yevgraf responds, "Ah... then it's a gift!"

Cast

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Production

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Background

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Boris Pasternak's novel was published in the West amidst celebration and controversy. Pasternak began writing it in 1945, and was giving private readings of excerpts as early as 1946.<ref name="valiunas">Template:Cite news</ref> However, the novel was not completed until 1956. The book had to be smuggled out of the Soviet Union by an Italian called D'Angelo to be delivered to Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, a left-wing Italian publisher who published it shortly thereafter, in 1957. Helped by a Soviet campaign against the novel, it became a sensation throughout the non-communist world.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It spent 26 weeks atop The New York Times best-seller list.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Pasternak was awarded the 1958 Nobel Prize for Literature.<ref name="nobel">Template:Cite web</ref> While the citation noted his poetry, it was speculated that the prize was mainly for Doctor Zhivago,Template:Efn which the Soviet government saw as an anti-Soviet work, thus interpreting the award of the Nobel Prize as a gesture hostile to the Soviet Union.<ref name="nobel" /><ref name="slater">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="valiunas" /> A target of the Soviet government's fervent campaign to label him a traitor, Pasternak felt compelled to refuse the Prize. The situation became an international cause célèbre and made Pasternak a Cold War symbol of resistance to Soviet communism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Development and casting

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The film treatment by David Lean was proposed for various reasons. Pasternak's novel had been an international success, and producer Carlo Ponti was interested in adapting it as a vehicle for his wife, Sophia Loren.<ref>Template:Harvnb.</ref> Lean, coming off the huge success of Lawrence of Arabia (1962), wanted to make a more intimate, romantic film to balance the action- and adventure-oriented tone of his previous film. One of the first actors signed onboard was Omar Sharif, who had played Lawrence's right-hand man Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia. Sharif loved the novel, and when he heard Lean was making a film adaptation, he requested to be cast in the role of Pasha (which ultimately went to Tom Courtenay).

Sharif was quite surprised when Lean suggested that he play Zhivago. Peter O'Toole, star of Lawrence of Arabia, was Lean's original choice for Zhivago, but turned the part down;<ref name="Maxford 2000 124">Template:Harvnb.</ref> Max von Sydow and Paul Newman were also considered. Rod Taylor was offered the role but turned it down.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Michael Caine tells in his autobiography that he also read for Zhivago and participated in the screen shots with Christie, but (after watching the results with David Lean) was the one who suggested Omar Sharif.<ref name=Caine>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=AboutCaine>Template:Cite web</ref> Rod Steiger was cast as Komarovsky after Marlon Brando and James Mason turned the part down.<ref name="Maxford 2000 124"/> Audrey Hepburn was considered for Tonya, and Robert Bolt lobbied for Albert Finney to play Pasha.

Lean convinced Ponti that Loren was not right for the role of Lara, saying she was "too tall" (and confiding in screenwriter Robert Bolt that he could not accept Loren as a virgin for the early parts of the film), and Jeanne Moreau, Yvette Mimieux, Sarah Miles and Jane Fonda were considered for the role.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Ultimately, Julie Christie was cast based on her appearance in Billy Liar (1963)<ref name="Maxford 2000 124"/> and the recommendation of Jack Cardiff, who directed her in Young Cassidy (1965). Sharif's son Tarek was cast as the young Zhivago, and Sharif directed his son as a way to get closer to his character.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filming

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File:Presa de Aldeadávila.jpg
The opening and closing scenes were filmed on location at the Aldeadávila Dam between Spain and Portugal.

Lean's experience filming a part of Lawrence of Arabia in Spain, access to CEA Studios, and the guarantee of snow in some parts of Spain led to his choosing the country as the primary location for filming.<ref name="Filming in Madrid">Template:Cite web</ref> However, the weather predictions failed and David Lean's team experienced Spain's warmest winter in 50 years.<ref name="Filming in Madrid"/> As a result, some scenes were filmed in interiors with artificial snow made with dust from a nearby marble quarry. The team filmed some locations with natural heavy snow, such as the snowy landscape in Strelnikov's train sequence, somewhere in Campo de Gómara near Soria.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Nicolas Roeg was the original director of photography and worked on some scenes but, after an argument with Lean, he left and was replaced by Freddie Young.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Principal photography began on 28 December 1964, and production ended on 8 October the following year; the entire Moscow set was built from scratch outside Madrid.<ref name="afi" /> Most of the scenes covering Zhivago's and Lara's service in World War I were filmed in Soria, as was the Varykino estate. The "ice-palace" at Varykino was filmed in Soria as well, a house filled with frozen beeswax. The charge of the partisans across the frozen lake was also filmed in Spain; a cast iron sheet was placed over a dried river-bed, and fake snow (mostly marble dust) was added on top. Some of the winter scenes were filmed in summer with warm temperatures, sometimes of up to 25 °C (77 °F). Other locations include Madrid-Delicias railway station in Madrid and the Moncayo Range.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The initial and final scenes were shot at the Aldeadávila Dam between Spain and Portugal. Although uncredited, most of those scenes were shot on the Portuguese side of the river, overlooking the Spanish side.

Other winter sequences, mostly landscape scenes and Yuri's escape from the partisans, were filmed in Finland near Joensuu.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Winter scenes of the family traveling to Yuriatin by rail were filmed in Canada. The locomotives seen in the film are Spanish locomotives like the RENFE Class 240 (ex-1400 MZA), and Strelnikov's armoured train is towed by the RENFE Class 141F Mikado locomotive.

One train scene became notorious for the supposed fate that befell Lili Muráti, a Hungarian actress, who slipped clambering onto a moving train. Although she fell under the wagon, she escaped serious injury and returned to work within three weeks (and did not perish or lose a limb).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lean appears to have used part of her accident in the film's final cut.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Music

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Release

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Theatrical

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Released theatrically on 22 December 1965, the film went on to gross $111.7 million in the United States and Canada across all of its releases, becoming the second highest-grossing film of 1965. It is the eighth highest-grossing film in history, adjusted for inflation.<ref name=mojo/> The film sold an estimated 124.1 million tickets in the United States and Canada,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> equivalent to $1.1 billion adjusted for inflation as of 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In addition, it is the ninth highest-grossing film worldwide after adjusting for inflation.<ref name="guinness">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The film sold an estimated 248.2Template:Nbspmillion tickets worldwide, equivalent to Template:US$ adjusted for inflation as of 2014.<ref name="guinness"/> It is the most popular film of all time in Italy with 22.9 million admissions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was the highest-grossing film in Germany with theatrical rentals of 39 million Deutschmarks from 12.75 million admissions<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and also the most popular film of all time in Switzerland with over 1 million admissions.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In the United Kingdom, it was the most popular film of the year with 11.2 million admissions<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was the third-highest-grossing film of all time in Australia with theatrical rentals of A$2.5 million.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The film's 2015 limited re-release in the United Kingdom grossed $138,493.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In May 1966, the film was entered into competition at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="festival-cannes.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

Home media

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On 24 September 2002, the 35th Anniversary version of Doctor Zhivago was issued on DVD (two-disc set),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and another Anniversary Edition in 2010 on Blu-ray (a three-disc set that includes a book).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Critical reception

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Upon its initial release, Doctor Zhivago was criticized for its romanticization of the revolution.<ref name=ebert /> Bosley Crowther of The New York Times felt that the film's focus on the love story between Zhivago and Lara trivialized the events of the Russian Revolution and the resulting Russian Civil War, but was impressed by the film's visuals.<ref name="movies.nytimes.com">Template:Cite news</ref> Also critical of the film was The Guardian's Richard Roud, who wrote: "In the film the revolution is reduced to a series of rather annoying occurrences; getting firewood, finding a seat on a train, and a lot of nasty proles being tiresome. Whatever one thinks of the Russian Revolution it was certainly more than a series of consumer problems. At least it was to Zhivago himself. The whole point of the book was that even though Zhivago disapproved of the course the revolution took, he had approved of it in principle. Had he not, there would have been no tragedy."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Brendan Gill of The New Yorker called the film "a grievous disappointment ... these able actors have been given almost nothing to do except wear costumes and engage in banal small talk. Doctor Zhivago is one of the stillest motion pictures of all time, and an occasional bumpy train ride or crudely inserted cavalry charge only points up its essential immobility."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The best one can say of Doctor Zhivago is that it is an honest failure. Boris Pasternak's sprawling, complex, elusive novel is held together by its unity of style, by the driving force of its narrative, by the passionate voice of a poet who weaves a mass of diverse characters into a single tapestry. And this is precisely what David Lean's film lacks. Somewhere in the two years of the film's making the spirit of the novel has been lost."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Among the positive reviews, Time magazine called the film "literate, old-fashioned, soul-filling and thoroughly romantic".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Arthur D. Murphy of Variety declared, "The sweep and scope of the Russian revolution, as reflected in the personalities of those who either adapted or were crushed, has been captured by David Lean in 'Doctor Zhivago,' frequently with soaring dramatic intensity. Director [David Lean] has accomplished one of the most meticulously designed and executed films—superior in several visual respects to his 'Lawrence of Arabia.'"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times called the film "as throat-catchingly magnificent as the screen could be, the apotheosis of the cinema as art. With Spain and Finland doubling, absolutely incredibly, for Moscow and the Urals in all seasons, we are transplanted to another land and time ... if you will brace yourself for an inordinately lengthy session—intermission notwithstanding—in a theater seat, I can promise you some fine film-making."<ref>Scheuer, Philip K. (24 December 1965). Template:" 'Zhivago'---a Poetic Picture". Template:Webarchive. Los Angeles Times. Part II, p. 11. Retrieved 24 December 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Template:Open access</ref> Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post called it "Visually beautiful and finely acted." He identified the film's length as its "greatest drawback" but wrote that "we weary of the long train ride or become impatient with individual scenes, but, thinking back on them, we perceive their proper intent."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Clifford Terry of the Chicago Tribune wrote that director David Lean and screenwriter Robert Bolt "have fashioned out of a rambling book, a well controlled film highlighted by excellent acting and brilliant production."<ref>Terry, Clifford (28 January 1966). "Acting Excellent, So Is Production in 'Doctor ZhivagoTemplate:' ". Template:Webarchive. Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 13. Retrieved 24 December 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Template:Open access</ref>

Reviewing it for its 30th anniversary, film critic Roger Ebert regarded it as "an example of superb old-style craftsmanship at the service of a soppy romantic vision", and wrote that "the story, especially as it has been simplified by Lean and his screenwriter, Robert Bolt, seems political in the same sense Gone with the Wind is political, as spectacle and backdrop, without ideology", concluding that the political content is treated mostly as a "sideshow".<ref name=ebert>Template:Cite web</ref> Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent reviewed the film for its 50th anniversary and noted director David Lean's "extraordinary artistry" but found the film bordering on "kitsch". Macnab also felt that the musical score by Maurice Jarre still stood up but criticised the English accents.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating 84% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The critical consensus reads: "It may not be the best of David Lean's epics, but Dr. Zhivago is still brilliantly photographed and sweepingly romantic."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2013, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck cited Doctor Zhivago as an influence on the 2013 Disney animated film Frozen.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The February 2020 issue of New York Magazine lists Doctor Zhivago as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Awards and nominations

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Both Doctor Zhivago and The Sound of Music received the most nominations at the 38th Academy Awards (ten each). Both films won five Academy Awards apiece, but The Sound of Music won Best Picture and Best Director. Julie Christie was not nominated for her role in Doctor Zhivago, but won Best Actress in the same year, for her performance in Darling.

Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards Best Picture Carlo Ponti Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
<ref name="The New York Times">Template:Cite web</ref>
Best Director David Lean Template:Nom
Best Supporting Actor Tom Courtenay Template:Nom
Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium Robert Bolt Template:Won
Best Art Direction – Color Art Direction: John Box and Terence Marsh;
Set Decoration: Dario Simoni 		Template:Won
Best Cinematography – Color Freddie Young Template:Won
Best Costume Design – Color Phyllis Dalton Template:Won
Best Film Editing Norman Savage Template:Nom
Best Music Score – Substantially Original Maurice Jarre Template:Won
Best Sound A. W. Watkins and Franklin Milton Template:Nom
British Academy Film Awards Best Film from any Source David Lean Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Best British Actor Ralph Richardson Template:Small Template:Nom
Best British Actress Julie Christie Template:Small Template:Nom
British Society of Cinematographers Awards Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film Freddie Young Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cannes Film Festival Template:Lang David Lean Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
David di Donatello Awards Best Foreign Production Template:Won
Best Foreign Director Template:Won
Best Foreign Actress Julie Christie Template:WonTemplate:Efn
Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Drama Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Omar Sharif Template:Won
Best Director – Motion Picture David Lean Template:Won
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture Robert Bolt Template:Won
Best Original Score – Motion Picture Maurice Jarre Template:Won
Most Promising Newcomer – Female Geraldine Chaplin Template:Nom
Golden Screen Awards Template:Won
Grammy Awards Album of the Year Doctor Zhivago – Maurice Jarre Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Best Instrumental Performance (Other Than Jazz) Template:Nom
Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show Template:Won
Laurel Awards Top Drama Template:Won
Top Male Dramatic Performance Omar Sharif Template:Nom
Top Male Supporting Performance Tom Courtenay Template:Nom
National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Films Template:Draw <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Best Actress Julie Christie Template:Small Template:Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Director David Lean Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Online Film & Television Association Awards Film Hall of Fame: Productions Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
People's Choice Awards Favorite All-Time Motion Picture Song "Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme)" Template:Won

American Film Institute recognition

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See also

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Notes

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References

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Books Cited

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Further reading

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