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Amazon.co.uk Review
David Lean's wintry adaptation of Boris Pasternak's melodramatic Russian Revolution romance, Doctor Zhivago, is a masterpiece of epic filmmaking, but one that risks leaving the viewer cold. Though none of the film was shot in the then USSR, Lean's assured technique nevertheless illuminates the breathtaking backgrounds magnificently: from the snowy wastes of the Urals to the strife-torn streets of Moscow, Lean stages a series of wonderful set-pieces showing war, revolution and its terrible aftermath. The problem lies in the foreground. Omar Sharif's entirely passive Zhivago is, we are told, a romantic poet of great sensitivity who internalises all his emotions and expresses them in verse. The trouble is the audience never gets to see a line of his poems, not even the centrally important "Lara" cycle. Thus Zhivago at the end of the picture is as much an emotional blank to us as he was at the beginning. His affair with the idealised beauty that is Julie Christie's Lara is also taken for granted by the filmmakers rather than set up in any convincing way, their mutual attraction remaining a mystery that creates a vacuum at the core of the picture. Given that none of the central characters with the exception of Rod Steiger's fire-breathing lecher Komarovsky ever give way to strong emotions, the romantic heart of the film remains oddly frigid. Matters are not helped by composer Maurice Jarre's incessant "Lara's Theme", which many will find teeth-grindingly irritating. Still, any David Lean epic, even a flawed one, is always going to be a first-class cinematic experience, and Zhivago is assuredly that.
On the DVD: A stunning anamorphic widescreen print is the ideal way to appreciate David Lean's craftsmanship and this movie's glorious, wintry cinematography. Maurice Jarre's "Lara's Theme" and the rest of his patchwork score can be heard in a music-only track, while Omar Sharif is joined by Lean's widow Sandra and Rod Steiger for an intermittent commentary. The second bonus disc contains a good hour-long making-of documentary plus 10 shorter contemporary documentaries giving various insights into the location shooting and the cast and crew. But it's the sheer beauty of the picture that will astonish and make this disc forever treasurable. --Mark Walker
Special Features
English
Region 2
Region 2
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
84 of 87 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I first saw this film about 10 years ago. I was an impressionable teenager and was swept away by the intensity and romanticism of this film. Coming to it again after all these years,I wasn't sure how I would react. But to say I was NOT disappointed would be an understatement. The first thing to say is that this film looks even more stunning on DVD - the breathtaking cinematography is served well by the transfer to DVD. I was struck again by the visual beauty and lyricism of this film, and I must disagree with the amazon review - I thought Omar Sharif and Julie Christie's performances were brilliant in a subtle, understated way. There is none of the cheesy overacting which mars so many films produced in the mid-sixties. Sharif is mesmerising - he brings a quiet, sensitive soulfulness to his role as Zhivago. This film is so long that the DVD actually contains an "intermission", but with such an intriguing, involving story, you don't notice the hours pass. I am generally not one for Hollywood epics, but after watching this again it's reinstated as one of my all-time favourite films. DVD was invented so that we can have the privilege of seeing these beautiful, classic films in all their intended glory.
64 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
David Lean was a filmmaker whose films could range from small budgeted london yarns to huge expensive period epics....and DR.Zhivago was one such huge epic...One look at the film and its scenes and you know that a master is at the helm.. Here are a few sweeping visuals which you'll be hit with... vast expanses of snow white steppes deep in the wild heart of russia...a funeral procession winding its way through the desolation... An orphaned boy after the loss of his mother looks up at a tree and the rustling breeze makes the leaves fly around like poetry in motion... thats how Lean can make his scenes work...immaculate sense of emotion accompanied by dazzling photography and rousing music...its a hook you cant escape..(Maurice Jarre`s Lara`s theme...my mum hums it...and so do I..its unforgettable) Anyways on with the film...its based on Boris Pasternak`s hugely complex novel...and the plot of the movie too is big...its spans across decades one thread holding it tight...Lean`s masterful story telling... I wont give away the story because the visuals of the film will affect you in its own way and i dont want to walk you through it... The performances in the film are good almost as extraordinary as 'Lawrence of Arabia'(Lean`s other small little film)...Omar Sharif and Julie Christie share a great chemistry....supported well by a huge cast especially good is the role of Komarovsky played by Rod Steiger... The camerawork by Freddie Young is flawless...epic in its scope and delicately pristine in its beauty....the snow never looked so good in the movies....see the ice palace...its the most haunting of all movie sets ive ever seen..See the scene where snow flakes melt on a window when the rays of the sun wash over it... There never has been and never will be a filmmaker like David Lean...his loss is a real dent in the world of cinema... Go see Dr.Zhivago...you will know just why...!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Age cannot wither it, nor custom stale its infinite variety. All human (or at least Russian) life is here in a stupendous, rich DVD transfer - spotless and detailed. You get everything, too - they've put in the overture and entr'acte title cards and music so you can have an intermission just as they used to in the cinema. The film is huge and you can really lose yourself in it. Yes, a lot of the book had to be cut. Yes, Omar Sharif never quite fits the role and yes, "Lara's Theme" can grate after a while - but against that you have Julie Christie at her most luminous, Rod Steiger at his most arrogant (but all broken up inside), some of the greatest landscape photography you'll ever see and a historical sweep that somehow remains human in scale. Disc one has the film on both sides - two-thirds of it is on side A (which is DVD-9) and the last third is on side B (which is DVD-5). The second disc (also DVD-5) has plenty of documentaries, archive clips, interviews and reminiscences and shows the astonishing amount of work it takes to make a film like this. You get a lot for your money.
Update: Sometime in the first half of 2009, the image on this page changed to one of a mostly red cover (the one I have and wrote about was mostly white). I'm not sure if it's the same edition.
Update: Sometime in the first half of 2009, the image on this page changed to one of a mostly red cover (the one I have and wrote about was mostly white). I'm not sure if it's the same edition.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
excellent
A classic with historic and romantic themes and of course Laura's theme.
Lovely photography and great acting. Time does not wither it.
Lovely photography and great acting. Time does not wither it.
Published 1 month ago by Existentialist.
The image is less than the word
On a production level this film has everything, wonderful photography, an atmospheric and reflective score, marvellous locations, beautiful costumes, epic scenes of crowds and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by P. Aj Smith
Doctor Zhivago dvd. Doubled sided play.
I found it interesting that it came in 2 disks and yet the whole film was on 1 disk that had to be upside down to be able to play the other side of the film. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Currenr Plus
What cinema was invented for...
Probably the best film ever made. Either this or Lawrence of Arabia. But im not reviewing the latter. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rusty
Special Feature dvd NOT region free
The blu-ray transfer is much better than I had hoped for. Amazing for a film this old. I failed to notice when I purchased this that there is a note stating that the special... Read more
Published 3 months ago by GaryL
Doctor Zhivago, second time round.
I can't believe that I had only seen this film once before, but it's true. Well, I know it worth getting the DVD, as I could still remember scenes quite vividly from that one... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Belfast Barbara
Another winner from Lean.
David leans 3rd historical epic in a row takes place during the Russian Revolution and charts the life of young Dr Zhivago, played by Omar Sharif, during a dangerous time in a... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. G. Robinson
NICE ONE DOC
A full length Blue Ray that includes the overture and official interval screen giving superb extra picture and sound quality that makes this film worth more than a second... Read more
Published 4 months ago by KEN Q XVH
Fantastic Upgrade to a classic film
Purchased this special edition blueray of Doctor Zhivago for my wife for her birthday. Surprisingly she had not seen the film in 1965 or since so this was a first for her. Read more
Published 5 months ago by ChrissieD
Pasternak and Lean combine in a classic
Although I am about to write a good review and the DVD quality is excellent both visually and orally on this remastered version and especially at these prices, I recommend seeing... Read more
Published 6 months ago by RR Waller
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