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By
NICK ZEGARAC
A monumental epic often
referred in the same breath as Gone With The Wind
(1939), David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago (1965) is an
exhilarating – if lengthy – soap opera. Yet in
retrospect, the film represents something of a
lost opportunity for its director; a last stand as
the purveyor of this sort of sprawling spectacle,
but one that falls short of Lean’s usual sterling
expectations. Though lavishly mounted, and with
impeccable performances throughout, Lean seems
somewhat disengaged during the latter half of the
story; strangely rushed and, at the same instance,
meandering.
Based on the Pulitzer prize-winning novel by
Russian author Boris Pasternak, the plot begins in
earnest with a nameless dam worker (Rita
Tushingham) summoned to her boss’s office by Gen.
Yevgraf Zhivago (Alec Guinness). The general
suspects ‘the girl’ to be his long lost niece;
heir apparent to his late brother, Dr. Yuri
Zhivago’s (Omar Sharif) poetic legacy. The girl,
however, has her doubts.
Told in one gigantic flashback, the narrative
digresses to the days before the Russian
revolution; Yuri’s childhood and youth. After his
own mother’s death, Yuri is raised by a wealthy
Moscow doctor, Alexander Gromeko (Ralph
Richardson). His wife, Anna (Siobhan McKenna) has
already decided that Yuri will marry their
daughter, Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin). However, at a
Christmas party Yuri becomes fascinated by a young
woman who attempts to murder, Viktor Komerovsky.
The woman, Lara Antipova (Julie Christie) used to
be Viktor’s mistress.
The narrative jumps ahead to the beginning of the
war and the end of Yuri’s settled existence.
Called upon to assist in stitching the wounded on
the battlefield, Yuri is reunited with Lara who
has joined the service as a nurse. His passion for
her grows steadily and eventually the two become
lovers.
Yuri’s anguish at betraying his wife is basically
at the crux of the rest of the story. He and Lara
set up house in the small village of Yuriatin, but
are forced to flee to a cottage when the Red Army
marches into town. Komerovsky reappears with a
means of safe passage for all of them. However, at
the last moment Yuri changes his mind. He sends
Lara off with Komerovsky, knowing he will never
see her again.
Unable to film in Russia, Lean shot most
everywhere else in Europe, capturing the flavor
and atmosphere of a doomed world’s ruptured
collapse, but occasionally losing sight of his
main characters in the process. Given the
director’s usual methodical pacing and allowances
for characterization elsewhere, primarily during
the first two thirds of his film, the last act
plays as almost montage – made largely cohesive by
Alec Guinness’s voice-over narration. To be
certain, Doctor Zhivago is grand and resplendent
entertainment. But upon further reflection the
film just seems to lack something of Lean’s usual
overriding and pervasive sense of vision.
Warner Home Video’s DVD is above average. Sourced
from restored elements, the anamorphic image
exhibits superb color fidelity with fine details
evident throughout. Blacks are deep and velvety;
whites are generally bright and pristine. Age
related artifacts are kept to a bare minimum.
Unfortunately, there is a considerable amount of
edge enhancement throughout, causing fine details
to shimmer. The audio is a 5.1 Dolby Digital
effort that is quite strident and lacking in bass
tonality. Extras include a thorough ‘making of’
documentary, audio commentary, vintage featurettes
and theatrical trailers. |
