IMDb > Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Doctor Zhivago
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Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   25,782 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 14% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
David Lean
Writers:
Boris Pasternak (novel)
Robert Bolt (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Doctor Zhivago on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 December 1965 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance | War more
Tagline:
The entertainment event of the year! more
Plot:
Life of a Russian doctor/poet who, although married, falls for a political activist's wife and experiences hardships during the Bolshevik Revolution. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 5 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(37 articles)
Exclusive Interview: Chris Weitz (New Moon Director) - Part I
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MGM Sounds a Death Rattle; Auctions Imminent
 (From Atomic Popcorn. 12 November 2009, 5:50 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Magnificent Film! more (204 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Omar Sharif ... Dr. Yuri Zhivago

Julie Christie ... Lara
Geraldine Chaplin ... Tonya

Rod Steiger ... Komarovsky

Alec Guinness ... Gen. Yevgraf Zhivago
Tom Courtenay ... Pasha
Siobhan McKenna ... Anna
Ralph Richardson ... Alexander
Rita Tushingham ... The Girl
Jeffrey Rockland ... Sasha
Tarek Sharif ... Yuri at 8 years old
Bernard Kay ... The Bolshevik
Klaus Kinski ... Kostoyed
Gérard Tichy ... Liberius (as Gerard Tichy)
Noel Willman ... Razin
Geoffrey Keen ... Medical Professor
Adrienne Corri ... Amelia
Jack MacGowran ... Petya
Mark Eden ... Engineer at Dam
Erik Chitty ... Old Soldier
Roger Maxwell ... Beef-Faced Colonel
Wolf Frees ... Delegate
Gwen Nelson ... Female Janitor
Lucy Westmore ... Katya
Lili Muráti ... The Train Jumper (as Lili Murati)
Peter Madden ... Political Officer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Luana Alcañiz ... Mrs. Sventytski (uncredited)
Assad Bahador ... Colonel of Dragoons (uncredited)
José María Caffarel ... Militiaman (uncredited)
Emilio Carrer ... Mr. Sventytski (uncredited)
Catherine Ellison ... Raped woman (uncredited)
Pilar Gómez Ferrer ... (uncredited)
Víctor Israel ... (uncredited)
Inigo Jackson ... Major (uncredited)
Gerhard Jersch ... David (uncredited)
Jari Jolkkonen ... Siberian boy (uncredited)
Leo Lähteenmäki ... Siberian husband (uncredited)
María Martín ... Gentlewoman (uncredited)
José Nieto ... Priest (uncredited)
Ricardo Palacios ... Extra (uncredited)
Ingrid Pitt ... Extra (uncredited)
Robert Rietty ... Kostoyed (voice) (uncredited)
Mercedes Ruiz ... Tonya at 7 (uncredited)
Aldo Sambrell ... (uncredited)
Virgilio Teixeira ... Captain (uncredited)
Brigitte Trace ... Streetwalker (uncredited)
María Vico ... Demented woman (uncredited)
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Directed by
David Lean 
 
Writing credits
Boris Pasternak (novel)

Robert Bolt (screenplay)

Produced by
Arvid Griffen .... executive producer
Carlo Ponti .... producer
 
Original Music by
Maurice Jarre (original music composed by)
 
Cinematography by
Freddie Young 
Nicolas Roeg (some scenes) (uncredited)
 
Film Editing by
Norman Savage 
 
Casting by
Irene Howard (uncredited)
 
Production Design by
John Box 
 
Art Direction by
Terence Marsh 
Gil Parrondo (uncredited)
 
Set Decoration by
Dario Simoni 
 
Costume Design by
Phyllis Dalton 
 
Makeup Department
Anna Cristofani .... hair stylist (as Anna Christofani)
Grazia De Rossi .... hair stylist (as Gracia de Rossi)
Mario Van Riel .... makeup artist (as Mario van Riel)
 
Production Management
John Palmer .... production supervisor
Agustín Pastor .... production manager (as Agustin Pastor)
Douglas Twiddy .... production manager
Tadeo Villalba .... unit manager (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roy Rossotti .... second unit director
Roy Stevens .... assistant director
Pedro Vidal .... assistant director
Peter Beale .... second assistant director (uncredited)
José María Ochoa .... assistant director (uncredited)
Michael Stevenson .... second assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Ernest Archer .... assistant art director
Fred Bennett .... construction
William Hutchinson .... assistant art director (as Bill Hutchinson)
Gus Walker .... construction
Roy Walker .... assistant art director
José María Alarcón .... assistant set decorator (uncredited)
Benjamín Fernández .... assistant art director (uncredited)
Mickey Lennon .... chargehand dressing prop: Spain (uncredited)
Julián Martín .... painter (uncredited)
Wallis Smith .... draughtsman (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Paddy Cunningham .... sound recordist
Winston Ryder .... sound editor
Van Allen James .... sound editor (uncredited)
Franklin Milton .... sound director (uncredited)
William Steinkamp .... sound (uncredited)
A.W. Watkins .... supervising sound editor (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Eddie Fowlie .... special effects
 
Visual Effects by
Gerald Larn .... matte painter (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Manuel Berenguer .... photographer: second unit
Ernest Day .... camera operator
Miguel Sancho .... chief electrician
Anthony Busbridge .... focus puller: second unit (uncredited)
John Crawford .... clapper loader (uncredited)
John Crawford .... clapper loader (uncredited)
Kenneth Danvers .... still photographer (uncredited)
Jim Dawes .... grip (uncredited)
Jim Kane .... grip (uncredited)
John Kerley .... clapper loader: second unit (uncredited)
Dennis C. Lewiston .... camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Anthony B. Richmond .... clapper loader (uncredited)
Alex Thomson .... camera operator (uncredited)
Kenneth J. Withers .... focus puller (uncredited)
Ted Worringham .... camera maintenance (uncredited)
 
Editorial Department
John Grover .... assistant editor (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Maurice Jarre .... conductor
Bob Bain .... musician: balalaika (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Barbara Cole .... continuity
Hugh Miller .... dialogue coach
Andrew Mollo .... consultant (uncredited)
Lee Turner .... continuity: second unit (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for mature themes.
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
197 min | UK:192 min (1999 re-release) | UK:193 min | UK:200 min (1992 re-release)
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Russian
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints) | DTS (re-release) (35 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm optical prints)
Certification:
Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:GP (re-rating) (1971) | Canada:PG (video rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (1995) | UK:15 (1987) | UK:A (1966) | UK:PG (1992) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11
Filming Locations:
Alberta, Canada more
Company:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to Freddie Young, before he reluctantly agreed to take the director of photography job following an exhausting collaboration on Lawrence of Arabia (1962), David Lean had a major falling-out with the previous director of photography, Nicolas Roeg, over creative differences. After Young took over, an additional two weeks of photography was required to re-shoot the scenes that Roeg had shot. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Yuri runs to a window in the Varykino estate to watch Lara leave with Komarovsky, he brushes against a banister covered in icicles. The icicles swing, revealing that they are made of wax. more
Quotes:
Pasha: The private life is dead - for a man with any manhood.
Zhivago: I saw some of your 'manhood' on the way at a place called Mink.
Pasha: They were selling horses to the Whites.
Zhivago: It seems you've burnt the wrong village.
Pasha: They always say that, and what does it matter? A village betrays us, a village is burned. The point's made.
Zhivago: Your point - their village.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in True Romance (1993) more
Soundtrack:
Prelude in G minor, Op.23-5 more

FAQ

When is the story set?
Why did Pasha change his name to Strelnikov after joining with the Bolsheviks?
Who does Pasha tell Lara slashed his cheek during the "peaceful" demonstration?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
41 out of 51 people found the following comment useful.
Magnificent Film!, 17 January 2002
10/10
Author: jhclues from Salem, Oregon

Within the heart and mind of the true poet resides a grasp and perception of life and the human condition unequaled in it's purity by any other art form. From Rimbaud to Frost to Jim Morrison, he will in a few words or lines create or recreate an experience, thereby enabling his audience to know that experience, as well, albeit vicariously. The poet, of course, will choose the medium through which he will share his vision. For director David Lean, that medium is the cinema; and with `Doctor Zhivago,' a film of sweeping and poetic grandeur, he reveals that within, he harbors the heart and soul of the poet. Indisputably, this is the true nature of David Lean; and it is evident in every frame of this film from the beginning to end.

To borrow a line from the more recent `Moulin Rouge,' this is a story bout `love.' A love story set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. Dr. Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif) is a general practitioner, but he is also a poet; through his vocation as a man of medicine, he tends to those in need in everyday real life. But it is through his avocation as a poet that he expresses what he sees. He marries Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin) and has children; but the War and revolution intervene, and it is during these tumultuous times that his life becomes inexorably intertwined with a government official, Komarovsky (Rod Steiger), a young revolutionary, Pasha (Tom Courtenay), his half-brother, Yevgraf (Alec Guinness), and finally, Lara (Julie Christie). It's desperate times for Russians from all walks of life, and Zhivago does what he can to do what he can to keep the fragile threads of his life-- and of those around him-- intact. But fate plays a hand, and in the end, even Zhivago must go where Destiny leads.

With `Zhivago,' David Lean has crafted and delivered a magnificent and monumental motion picture of epic proportions that at the same time is disarmingly intimate, rendered as a world within a world, with each a vital part of the other. Lean blends actors, cinematography, story and music with his own compassionate perspective to create a true work of art; a work of true poetry. In telling his story, he offers breathtaking visuals, like the awesome vistas of the snow-covered Urals, or a long shot of a wide open Russian plain with a solitary figure in the distance trudging through the snow, juxtaposed against the enormity of the landscape.

Often, however, what he doesn't show you, but suggests, is even more effective and emotionally stirring. Consider the scene in which a complement of mounted dragoons, sabres drawn, ride down upon a crowd peacefully demonstrating in the city streets; Lean sets it up so that you understand what is about to happen, then trains his camera on Zhivago, watching from a balcony overlooking the street as the carnage unfolds below. And in Zhivago's eyes, in the expression on his face, in his reaction to what he is witnessing, there is more horror because of what Lean has established in your imagination-- and which significantly enhances the impact of it-- than anything the most graphic visual depiction could have produced. Similarly, when the Czar and his whole family are shot, Lean does not take you there; instead, you learn of it and realize the impact of it through the reaction of Alexander Gromeko (Ralph Richardson), Tonya's father, and it places it into a context that makes it all the more effective. This is filmmaking at it's best, and an example of what makes Lean's films so memorable.

Put a talented actor into the hands of a gifted director, and results of more than some distinction can be expected; and such is the case with Omar Sharif and David Lean. In 1962, Sharif received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work in Lean's `Lawrence of Arabia,' and in `Zhivago,' Lean's next film, Sharif gives a sensitive, affecting performance for which he should have received a Best Actor nomination, but inexplicably, did not (It was Lee Marvin's year for `Cat Ballou'). Still, as Yuri Zhivago, he has never been better. Sharif successfully manages to convey his deepest, internalized emotions, expressing them through the genuine compassion with which he imbues his character. Lean allows his star the time he needs to share with his audience his appreciation of the beauty he perceives in the world around him, and it's in those pensive moments that we, in turn, perceive the inner beauty and poetic nature of the man. You have but to look into Zhivago's eyes to know his sense of joy in all living things. It's a wonderful collaboration between actor and director that so vividly and poignantly brings this character to life.

1965 was a career year for Julie Christie; she received the Oscar for Best Actress for her work in `Darling,' yet in this film created an even more enduring and memorable character in Lara (aided in no small part by the hauntingly lovely `Lara's Theme,' by Maurice Jarre, which indelibly etched Christie/Lara in the consciousness of `Zhivago's vast, international audience). Lara's beauty is obvious, yet of a kind that goes much deeper than what you see on the surface; her station in life has made her vulnerable to misuse, but at the same time has endowed her with a strength born of necessity. And Zhivago sees in her a quality and a resourcefulness that fulfills his romantic notions of perfection, and with a beguiling screen presence and a performance to match, Christie makes those notions credible and believable.

Guinness, Richardson and Courtenay are exceptional in their respective roles-- Lean without question knows how to get the best out of his actors-- and also turning in noteworthy performances are Siobhan McKenna (Anna), Rita Tushingham (The Girl) and Klaus Kinski, who is unforgettable as Kostoyed, manacled and designated for forced labor, yet the `Freest man on this train!' One of Lean's greatest films. 10/10.

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