Doctor Zhivago [1965] [Region Free]

Good movie. A bit long but okay.

This review is for the WARNER HOME ENT BLU RAY 45th Anniversary. How many viewers have actually read Pasternak's novel? I tried some 40 odd years ago and to my shame (perhaps) gave up halfway through. So my enjoyment is thanks to assorted geniuses in their field - Director David Lean, screenplay by Robert bolt - what a task he had!, Photographer Freddie Young, and by no means least, composer Maurice Jara. "Lara's theme" remains one of the most haunting pieces of film music I have ever heard. Then there is the casting...Every part from the stars to the smallest bit seems to have been so carefully chosen - did Eric Chitty ever have such a role in such a film? Rod Steiger resists any tempation to overact and is so right for Komarovsky - charming and ruthless. I won't go into the whole cast, but concentrate on Julie Christie and "Cairo Fred" Sharif. Was there ever a more beautiful actress than Christie in her prime (and now). She just hypnotises me when she is on screen, and the perfect match- perhaps not everyone's choice - Omar made the good Dr his very own. You truly care for them both, which doesn't always happen in today's cinema. Highlights can be spoilers, but the Cavalry charge on the demonstraters, the train ride to the Urals, Strelnikov's appearence ion his train, the scenes in the Urals, and surely not a dry eye in the house at Rita Tushingham's last word to Alec Guiness. I am sure you have guessed that I love all 200 minutes of this one, so much so I see I have not mentioned the quality of the BLU Ray - It really is excellent and an upgrade to the very good anyway DVD 2 disc special of 2007. Good subtitles, some different extras. But I did find the sound a bit tinny, but that could be my TV/Blu Ray player. At this current price you can't go wrong.

I loved this film when I first saw it on the big screen in 1966 and I love it still. The Blu-ray release doesn't disappoint. It is a great transfer and a great price.To all those who deride the film for not being a true representation of Pasternak's novel, I have also read the book and you could not compress the entire novel into a film that runs for only 200 minutes. Robert Bolt's screenplay gives us the love story from the novel and the film tells this very well.Television is the only medium that could possibly do justice to the whole of Pasternak's novel because they are not restrained by time. However, television with their limited budget would lose the epic sweep of the novel, which the 2002 television mini series clearly demonstrated.For all those who love David Lean's film and own a Blu-ray player, don't hesitate to throw out your DVD copy and buy the Blu-ray release.I have added the Blu-ray Video, Audio and Subtitle information into the product's forum; below.

The Bolshevik rebellion as seen through the eyes of poet/doctor Zhivago(Omar Sharif) and his myriad relationships with notably his wife Tonya(Geraldine Chaplin),wily entrepreneur Komarovsky(Rod Steiger),rebellion leader Pasha Antipov(Tom Courtney) and most tellingly of all Antipov's estranged wife Lara(the radiant Julie Christie).Handsome production with brilliant production design by John Box is a triumph of storytelling being beautifully intimate for the most part while set against the epic backdrop of stunning vistas and wonderful set pieces- notably the railway journey through the Urals being the pick of the bunch.Performances are excellent with Steiger dialling down his usual bombastic style to very good effect probably the pick of the bunch and alhough nearly 200 mins in length it never sags and Lean can be forgiven the regular contrivances of the narrative and the heavy use of symbolism to convey messages and mood changes because there is a richness of atmosphere and a sense of history that permeates the whole film.Freddie Young's dazzling work as DP is truly extrodinary.I can't be the only one to have never watched D Zhivago before and plumped for the blu even though i've had the 2 disc stan def for a couple of yrs now and i wasn't disappointed.Popping in the stan def after,the blu is certainly an improvement on it with the interiors looking wonderful and the sunflower in the hospital is quite beautiful as is Chaplin captured so exquisitely as she alights the train resplendent in her pink military style coat.The dts 5.1 sound is excellent too emphasising Maurice Jarre's now legendary score and the sequence of the charge across the ice is both an auditory and visual highlight.A very worthwhile investment in a superb film.

If any film deserves the blu-ray treatment, "Dr Zhivago" certainly does, because it is visually such a beautiful film, and one was expecting (hoping!) it would look good in this new edition.The drums at the start of the overture made me jump!- the sound-track is powerful, rich in tone, clear in detail, and with well-modulated volume levels.The opening scene, the Prologue, is visually downbeat: a Soviet industrial site, where Yevgraf is looking for Zhivago's daughter. The setting is just a manager's cluttered office, but- it is now glorious to look at! The subtlety and extraordinary variety of colour-tones, the brilliant quality of the light, and the sharp freshness of the image, were surprising. This movie has never looked so good!David Lean was a director incapable of shooting a scene that wasn't:a) superbly composed,b) interesting to look at,c) probably beautiful!He would have been thrilled to see "Zhivago" looking as wonderful as it now does, in this blu-ray edition. Highly recommended.