| Photos (See all 82 | slideshow) |
| 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) | |
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) | |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section |
David Lean had just directed two of the greatest films ever made ("The Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Lawrence of Arabia"), the more recent of which was easily the greater. As you'd expect "Doctor Zhivago" isn't as good. But this isn't to say that it's flawed in any way; there is, in fact, NOTHING wrong with it.
Of course, the previous two films had exceptionally strong stories; this one, while rich in incident, has almost no story - which would not be interpreted as a defect. The point of the film is to sketch a historical epoch by showing us the thin life-lines of a handful of people who lived through it. It's like looking at a stretch of a vast river and seeing the illuminated pathways of half a dozen or so minute particles. If there seems to be an undue amount of coincidence in the way these pathways repeatedly intersect ... well, we had the whole river to choose from.
It was fashionable to criticise Maurice Jarre's score at the time, but, in addition to being undeniably attractive and catchy, it comes across as a model of intelligent and tasteful scoring today. Bolt's script is based on less promising material than "Lawrence of Arabia" so is less inspired, but still flawlessly crafted. Particularly good are the gaps in the narrative. Some things we simply don't see: anything of Yevgraf's life before he enters the story, anything that happens to Pasha when he isn't in the vicinity of Zhivago ... but we have the material available to infer, and as it happens, it's the fact that we infer rather than see that makes the story feel so convincingly large.
Most of all, this is a beautiful film, with some of the most breathtaking location footage (it doesn't matter that it's Spain and Finland standing in for Russia) ever shot. As always, the real test is whether the characters look like they're really there (Moscow, the distant Russian countryside), their feet really touching the ground and leaving footprints. If "Doctor Zhivago" had done nothing but convey this impression so well it would still be a masterpiece.