Movies

Great performances, story and cinematography - you could gaze into, fall into the eyes of the protagonists all day and be mesmerised by their beauty and charm, along with the passionate and heartfelt performances. A love story set among a complex and continuously evolving social and cultural landscape with a fair bit of coincidence and luck - we all need a slice of that. Some of the most impressive scenes, scenery and camerawork you're ever likely to come across. It all makes for a film that can truly class itself as epic and classic but, in the modern era the exceedingly long duration and the traction required to get up a head of steam renders it a rarely revisited history lesson of the limited attention spans of contemporary times, albeit something that should grab your attention on at least one occasion during your cinematic journey.

Omar Sharif remains indelibly associated with Dr. Yuri Zhivago, a Russian physician-poet who participates in the Bolshevik Revolution, only to have political history affect him against his will. Julie Christie is beautiful as ever as Lara Antipova, Zhivago's true love."Doctor Zhivago" certainly pulled off a coup by showing the conditions that led to the revolution: the czar's despotic rule, the crushing poverty, and forced conscription (especially since the generals cared nothing about the men under their command). Then, of course, the Russian people thought that they would have a workers' society, but it didn't turn out that way. The theme song "Lara's Theme" kept the movie going every step of the way. Maybe not the greatest historical drama of all time, but this is a movie that I recommend to everyone.

This is a Russian epic before and around the time of the revolution. Doctor Yury Zhivago (Omar Sharif) is a surgeon and a poet. Lara (Julie Christie) is a sweet naive girl beholden to the wealthy Victor Komarovsky (Rod Steiger). Pasha (Tom Courtenay) is a revolutionary in love with Lara who would become a powerful man. Yury marries Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin) but he's drawn to Lara. Yury is sympathetic to the revolution at first but is soon overwhelmed.Can a song make a movie? Maurice Jarre's "Lara's Theme" certainly comes close. It expresses the vast romanticism of the story. David Lean's Russian epic is very long and very epic. It is old fashion Hollywood grand. The great actors are able to lift the melodramatic material to its epic proportions. It's almost 200 minutes of big romance and it doesn't drag for me. That's a big accomplishment.