IMDb > Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Doctor Zhivago
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Doctor Zhivago (1965) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   40,586 votes »
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Director:
Writers:
Boris Pasternak (from the novel by)
Robert Bolt (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Doctor Zhivago on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
31 December 1965 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Tagline:
The entertainment event of the year! See 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 » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won 5 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 10 nominations See more »
NewsDesk:
(180 articles)
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User Reviews:
One of the Best Epic Films Ever Made See more (233 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Omar Sharif ... Yuri

Julie Christie ... Lara

Geraldine Chaplin ... Tonya

Rod Steiger ... Komarovsky

Alec Guinness ... Yevgraf

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 ... Hospital Inmate (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 (from the novel by)

Robert Bolt (screenplay)

Produced by
Arvid Griffen .... executive producer
Carlo Ponti .... producer
 
Original Music by
Maurice Jarre 
 
Cinematography by
Freddie Young (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Norman Savage (film editor)
 
Casting by
Irene Howard (uncredited)
 
Production Design by
John Box 
 
Art Direction by
Terence Marsh 
 
Set Decoration by
Dario Simoni 
 
Costume Design by
Phyllis Dalton 
 
Makeup Department
Anna Cristofani .... hairstylist (as Anna Christofani)
Grazia De Rossi .... hairstylist (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
Stanley Goldsmith .... production manager (uncredited)
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)
Tom Jung .... poster designer (uncredited)
Mickey Lennon .... chargehand dressing prop: Spain (uncredited)
Julián Martín .... painter (uncredited)
Mickey O'Toole .... assistant property master (uncredited)
Gil Parrondo .... associate art director (uncredited)
Wallis Smith .... draughtsman (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Paddy Cunningham .... sound recordist
Winston Ryder .... sound editor
Van Allen James .... sound editor (uncredited)
Franklin Milton .... re-recordist (uncredited)
William Steinkamp .... re-recordist (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 .... second unit photography
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)
Nicolas Roeg .... cinematographer: some scenes (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: original music
Leo Arnaud .... orchestrator (uncredited)
Bob Bain .... musician: balalaika (uncredited)
Maurice Jarre .... orchestrator (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Barbara Cole .... continuity
Hugh Miller .... dialogue coach
Andrew Mollo .... consultant (uncredited)
Julián Benito Navarro .... equine consultant (uncredited)
Lee Turner .... continuity: second unit (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


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Additional Details

Also Known As:
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for mature themes (re-rating) (1995)
Runtime:
197 min | UK:192 min (1999 re-release) | UK:193 min | UK:200 min (1992 re-release)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 See 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) | 6-Track Stereo (Linear PCM)
Certification:
Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | 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 (video rating) (1987) | UK:A (original rating) (1966) | UK:PG (video rating) (1992) (1999) | UK:PG (2008) | UK:PG (tv rating) | Japan:PG-12 | USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:14 (orginal rating)
Filming Locations:

Did You Know?

Trivia:
The inside of the ice palace was mostly made up specifically formed wax.See more »
Goofs:
Continuity: The frame story (where Zhivago's half-brother finds his and Lara's daughter and tells the story) is set in the 1960s, but the daughter, who was born around 1920-1921, is only in her early 20s. In the novel, the frame story is set in World War II, which makes more sense.See more »
Quotes:
Komarovski:I think you do. There's another kind. Not high-minded, not pure, but alive. Now, that your tastes at this time should incline towards the juvenile is understandable; but for you to marry that boy would be a disaster. Because there's two kinds of women. There are two kinds of women and you, as we well know, are not the first kind. You, my dear, are a slut.See more »
Soundtrack:
Prelude in G minor, Op.23-5See more »

FAQ

Was Dr Zhivago a real person?
Why did Pasha change his name to Strelnikov after joining with the Bolsheviks?
Was Yuri related to Tonya?
See more »
90 out of 128 people found the following review useful.
One of the Best Epic Films Ever Made, 7 March 2003
Author: Casey Machula (csm23) from Flagstaff, AZ

I can't remember the origin of the quote, but I remember it distinctly. A Communist Party official of the Soviet Union, justifying the Bolshevik destruction of Tsarist Russia, told a foreign observer, `If you want to make an omelet, you've got to break some eggs.' The visitor replied, `I see the broken eggs, but Where's the omelet?' Dr. Zhivago is set at the time when the Bolsheviks, feverishly ideological, were creating their socialist state. The epochal drama that unfolds is the age-old question about whether the ends justify the means.

As materialists (matter precedes spirit, not vice versa), the Bolsheviks believed that they had found the holy grail of human progress in Marxism-Leninism, and were now able to assume the reins of history in their own hands. They believed that their violence was not only justified, but necessary, oblivious to the fact that they, too, somehow felt the angel of medieval teleology smiling over their shoulders.

In contrast to the Bolsheviks, Zhivago's ethos, if he had one, was almost identical to Kant's `categorical imperative,' which had just one axiom: treat people as ends in themselves, and not as ends to a mean. There couldn't be a sharper moral contrast.

There's a fabulous scene midway through the movie that highlights the difference in moral attitude. Dr. Zhivago confronts a communist functionary who has ordered the destruction of a village, a hamlet suspected of aiding the Mensheviks by selling them horses. To the Bolsheviks, if you weren't 100 percent behind them, you were a `counterrevolutionary,' sorta like Dubya's idea that you're either for us, or against us. And so Strelnikov, the passionate Bolshevik, glibly justifies his actions to Dr. Zhivago as easy as if he were tossing his hair aside, saying that the annihilation of the village, however cruel, is necessary to make a point. Zhivago replies: `Your point; their village.'

I love this film, a timeless epic. If there's a more beautiful heroine in all of movie-making history than Julie Christie (Lara), I'm not aware of it. And Omar Sharif is stunning as Iuri Zhivago, who heals the body with emetics, scalpels, antiseptic, and gauze, while he heals the soul with his poetry. Although the movie is three hours and 20 minutes long, the cinematography is so efficient, evocative, and densely layered that one hardly notices. This is, in my opinion, one of the best films of all time.

Was the above review useful to you?
See more (233 total) »

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
The priest speaking to Lara in the church is Richard Burton MarsFlyTrap
why dr zhivago didn't leave russia with lara, If he loved her so much? erfanall
Role of Lara's Theme Two-Spacer
If you close your eyes and listen . . . frog-34
What happened to Amelia (Lara's mother)? cjcairns02
Worst Movie I Have Ever Seen spbutters
See more »

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