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DR ZHIVAGO review
Tonight I was supposed to write about RUSH HOUR. I
had decided that this morning. I was going to go out with
friends, check out DR ZHIVAGO and come home and
write up the world premiere of RUSH HOUR.
How anyone could go see DR ZHIVAGO and come home
to write about anything else I will never know, because I
certainly can’t. So I’m hoping, that by exorcising my
thoughts on DR ZHIVAGO, I may find the ability to write
about other films, as I do have many reviews I need to
write.
Usually, as you know, I write about my day before the
review, but here... here I have but one thing to write about.
I saw this film, this day, with Dad and Tom Joad. We were
in the minority in the audience. Most everyone was a lady
or a couple, very few single guys. We guys are tougher
than Zhivago we like to think. We like to call it a girly
movie. DR ZHIVAGO is, in reality, a lover’s film. And I
mean that in the sense that anyone who loves, will love or
wants a love, loves DR ZHIVAGO.
The three of us walked into the Paramount Theater, a place
built to show movies like this one, and I found my way to
my usual aisle, only to find a lone woman sitting there. I
don’t know her name, I sat slightly behind her and to the
left. No husband came to her side, no boyfriend. She sat
closer to the screen than any other, she sat center. Who is
she? I don’t know, but she haunted me throughout the
film.
You see, for me, DR. ZHIVAGO is a film about regrets,
missed opportunities, tragedy and love. She caught my
eye, because as I entered my row our eyes met, just for a
bit, but they met all the same. The opening music played
upon a blank screen, and I shut my eyes. I’ve seen this film
perhaps 30 times, it’s a movie that was meant to be seen
often.
The music carried images of beautiful snow drenched
landscapes, of moisture upon Julie Christie’s bottom lip,
and a wine droplet hanging from her chin. The music
carried the snow cracked face of Omar Shariff, the timbre
of Alec Guinness’ voice and of course the frozen hand with
the barbed wire above. Memories of Zhivago, that’s what
this music was. I opened my eyes, and there was the girl.
She sat there... eyes closed. Was she thinking the same
things I was, seeing the same images? Or was she
remembering past loves and the hopes of everlasting loves?
That too was there in my lobes.
As the film begins, I edge to the front of my seat. I rest my
arms on the back of the chair in front of me, and my chin
upon the crossed hands. I love this film. Not in a trivial,
one night sort of way. There are several types of movies,
but I’m going to talk of two. The one night stands and the
everlasting loves. The first happens most often. It’s the
film that comes along and hits you atop the heads and
shoulders. It dangles there and your eyes open wide to take
it in. You find yourself enraptured by it, you go home that
night filled with wonderful things to say about it, you call
your friends, you tell them of the film describing each and
every little nuance of it to them. You have an excited tone
in your voice. But as the days drip by, you find yourself
not mentioning it. You stop thinking about it, you can’t
remember the lines, you can’t hum the tune. If someone
mentions it, you talk well of it, but not with that tone you
did that first night.
Everlasting film loves... well... they are quite a bit different.
With them you love longer, deeper and forever. For me, Dr
Zhivago is one of these. It’s a movie I can’t imagine not
being fed into a projector every second of every day of my
life. It’s a movie that makes life better. You see, I don’t
want to live the life of Dr Zhivago... no... And I don’t
think very many want to live Lara’s life. But what this
movie does make us lovers do is stay alert.
Sitting one row behind me and on the end was a lady I’ve
known for years. We’ve been friends for years. Our lives
intertwine for moments, usually at film screenings. Often
we see each other at film lover’s films. The last time was
THE TINGLER, the time before that was TIME
BANDITS, and now here with ZHIVAGO.
There’s a part of me that during this film wandered along
the parallel thoughts, the ones that run while the majority
of your brain watches the film. These parallel thoughts
were wondering if perhaps this person was that Lara. Then
I wondered if Lara lived in Oklahoma, or perhaps the row
in front of me, or perhaps she was the girl at the RUSH
HOUR party that ‘Loved my movies’.
You see, that’s the real plotting of the film. It’s reason for
being. It’s there to make you think about the direction your
life is headed. Sure we aren’t in a revolution, and we
haven’t been recruited by the Bolsheviks to mend wounds.
However, we are humans... we do love... and we think
about love.
What is it? Do we have it? I would hope that if I were
married and I saw this film, I would look at my wife and
say to myself, this is my Lara. And if I looked over and I
didn’t would I try to fool myself into thinking I have, and
what then. What then if I do find Lara, and I’m married
and I have a kid? Do I leave them behind to pursue that
perfect love or do I go about my life...
typing...writing...digging a ditch..whatever my life may be,
but knowing that my life, whatever it is, is my life without
Lara.
That’s the key. If you hear a tune when you think of them.
If you think of her/him when you see the sun peak out from
behind a cloud, when you see an old couple snuggle.
When birds fly, and children giggle. When you look at a
blank page do you see their name. This... This is what this
movie means. It’s about Love, it’s about those moments
where you think of love, about living without it, and
pursuing it.
This is a movie for every moment of your life. It’s there
tucked away for me. I have it with me. I’m one of them
suckers that believes in destiny, that believes I wouldn’t
have sat one seat too early. That I won’t be trapped on a
trolley. I want a true love. I haven’t had it yet. I’ve fooled
myself a couple of times, I’ve thought it was there, but so
far... no.
Will I go about life without true love, I hope not, I don’t
think so, but do any of us truly think that we won’t find it?
Perhaps I missed it tonight. Perhaps that lady sitting there
by herself, one row up. Perhaps she was the one and my
cowardice.. my procrastination.. my lack of initiative has
cursed me forever.
Jesus what an evil movie DR ZHIVAGO is! It gets you
introspective as all hell. It makes you ponder the issues
closest to your heart, and it makes you doubt the direction
of your life. These are not trivial things. They are of the
most dire consequences. It’s about you. Where you are.
All three of us left the theater. We watched the beautiful
women walking by, and we thought. My father
remembered his love of long ago, before my mother.
Joad... he didn’t speak of it. And me. Well, you see where
I’m at.
I love this film because it forces me to look at myself. It is
fuel for the soul. It makes you want to love, no matter how
hard it may be, no matter what you must climb and endure,
love is there...somewhere, and you must find it. Why?
Because it’s why we breathe, why we exist from one instant
to the next.
The movie? Well, it’s brilliant. It’s the film that casts a
shadow over TITANIC. You all know how much I love
that film, but really... DR ZHIVAGO exists on a higher
ethereal plane. Why?
Watch for the moments that carry no meaning, but mean
everything to you.
The moment where Omar Shariff is completely enveloped
in shadows, and just a glisten of light is visible...just the
vaguest of shadows define his being. And Lara... she’s in
Technicolor. Omar defines the look of love here. This shot
kills me. Buckets of tears, a trembling bottom lip, and a
glance at the girl in front of me, who has a hand stilling her
heart, clutching her chest. Yes, it is this moment that rules
the film.
The scene where the wolves howl, where he sees them and
waves them away to return to the lone flame of the candle,
the blank page of paper and his thoughts for Lara. This...
this is what love is.
To close this out, this is what I’m hoping PRINCE OF
EGYPT is. I know I’m probably setting myself up for a
letdown, but dammit, this is what I’m hoping. I hope this
is what I get... a movie that I carry all the days of my life,
and I won’t know that for sure till I die. That’s the real list
of films. The ones you take with you in your thoughts.
I love movies. They can contain such magic. Recently I
was talking to a studio guy, a person that makes decisions
that affect what gets made. This person hadn’t seen DR
ZHIVAGO, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA or SPARTACUS.
When I chastised him for this, he said, “We don’t make
movies for the sixties.”
“We don’t make movies for the sixties”
The funny bit is, neither did David Lean or Stanley
Kubrick. This person, though, was making movies for the
nineties. And that... that is the problem. Lean and
Kubrick, they made movies for all time. That’s why we
still watch them.
If you haven’t seen DR ZHIVAGO, do. Every video store
in the civilized world has a copy. There’s a reason. Go
find out.
As for me, I’m here in my room alone with my thoughts.
Scanning my life, thinking of every lady I’ve ever thought
about. What a wonderful thing to have on your mind. I
hope... someday.. to think of only one. That would be the
greatest thought of all.
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You had to do it, didn't you? You had to write about everlasting love, regrets and hope just in time to see me losing the one I thought the love of my life. Just in time to see me with my hand in my hair with regret of not trying hard enough (or too hard) to be how she liked me.
You know what I have to do now, don't you...
I have to watch Zhivago tonight... And I haven't had any sleep for the last 2 weeks... So there won't be any tonight.
Sigh... -
Dr. Zhivago was the first movie I remember seeing and it marked me for life. I was five years old when it first came out and my parents wanted to see it. Rather than get a baby-sitter, they took me with them to an evening show, figuring that it would be all right, that I wouldn't understand it and that I would just sleep. Well, I didn't really understand it, but I didn't sleep. Those amazing images were burned into my brain. The frozen palace, the train...... They formed a non-verbal vocabulary in my brain that has stayed with me always. I saw the movie later of course, as an adult, and understood the plot, the nuances, etc. But that first experience was simply unforgettable - it was the raw power of great filmmaking. Thanks for reminding me again.
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Dear Harry,
Thank you so much for your lovely review/commentary on Dr. Zhivago. This is my favorite movie of all time. I remember seeing it as a child and being absolutely mesmerized/terror-striken/heartbroken. It sparked my love of movies for the rest of my life.
This film has EVERYTHING. Incredible cinematography, music, acting, art direction. It's a love story, a war story, an adventure story. There are so many, many wonderful moments, but I think my favorite is when Strelnikov asks Zhivago what he intends to do when he reaches his family's dacha. "Just LIVE!" is the reply.
Greatest movie ever made.
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Harry, you've got a way with imagery! You must have loved someone deeply in order to convey
those thoughts. When describibg the true loves, you hit it right on the nose. That is exactly what I feel when children are laughing,
or when I see an old couple together. And yes I do see her name, STACY PHILLIP, when I stare at a blank page. Thanks for articulating that. By the way I've
finally acknowledged the film geek
in me, and I'll be adding Dr.Zhivago to my library...right after the Deer Hunter and before Taxi Driver! Peace. -
Just about my favorite film. It was my first "grownup" movie (I saw it "reserved seats" at the old Loew's Capitol Theatre in NYC around Christmas of '65 (I was 12 going on 13.
I still whisper to myself, "Yes...that's Strelnikov" whenever a train passes by really fast when I'm on a railroad platform (just imagine the looks I get - who cares - F*** 'em!).
Thanks for the vote of confidence on this, surely one of the greatest films ever made (just imagine what "Nostromo" or the two-part Bounty saga would have been like (F*** Pauline Kael too!)
Regards,
Bob Hager (boha@sprintmail.com) -
You've choked me up. So many wondrous things in this movie. Lara squinting up from an ironing board with a bar of light across her eyes...the twig tapping on the window as the little boy Zhivago tries to sleep..."I am the only free man on this train!"...and yet, and yet, I've got one quibble. The theme song repeats itself RELENTLESSLY through this movie. I got tired of it -- though I'll never tire of the images and characters.
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Harry, through your sight I have gone from a movie goer to movie participant. Probably like you, movies have gone from entertainment to social experiance. When the list of the top 100 movies of all time came out I decided I needed to filled in some of the gaps in my movie experiances. Just last week I got around to seeing Dr. Zhivago. I didn't know what it was about, its story line or its hipe. I just sat down and watched it with little or no expectation. I didn't love it. The question that has lingered with me since I saw it and was refreshed when reading your review is this; What makes a poet who has a seamingly great wife and child wander to a woman like Laura? I know most people see this movie as a great love story, but I didn't. A poet, a husband, and a father shares the beauty that those roles bring, and still is willing to forsake them for another woman. I saw the bitter cold of Russia warm compared to the Dr. I also saw the political chaos as a symbol of the confusion of Dr. Zhivagos own heart. I am married to a wonderful woman. I can't think of any greater sin upon my soul than destroying that blessing by having an affair with anyother woman. . .
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I was in Russia recently, actually two days in St. Petersburg on a cruise ship, my preparation inclu-
ded several books (Solzhenitsyn, Gogol, Turgenyev) and 3 movies: Alexander Nevsky, Nicholas and Alexander and Zhivago..,
The first two are cartoons (Nevsky a rather sinister one: he's just won his victory and his speech is about sending those not 100% with him off to prison...who ordered that this film be made, Joe some-
thing.
But Zhivago...whew...What so called paradise was ever worth eating up people that way. How many stunted Yuris and Laras did I pass on the streets of Petersburg? History, alas, happens to people. -
Sorry to rain on the lovefest, but Dr. Zhivago is very good, but not great. The two biggest faults are 1) The movie is obviously OF the 60's. It is not timeless, it reeks of the era in which it was made (The women's hairstyles alone, UGH!). 2) The theme music is overwrought, simplistic, and, worst of all, INTRUDING. There were times I actually giggled when the music came up as it seemed a parody on cliche movie music.
By the way, I too saw it on a HUGE movie screen and the cinematography was tremendous (the train with the Red Star, the protest march and banners, the massacre in the poppy field, and, of course, the Ice House.) Very good, not great. Sorry. -
Zhivago is a timeless movie - it transcends us. I had seen it when I was pubescent, and liked it, but watched it because I was named for the haunting Julie Christie's Lara. My mom was pregnant with me when she watched that movie the first time - I just watched it again, and was so struck by the beauty, the music, the haunting quality. It sticks with you...and must have stuck with me on a deeper level long ago, as I found out - I had named my daughter, now three, "Anna" - she has the same name as Zhivago's daughter. This movie and I are profoundly linked! Names mean things! It will be interesting to see what you name your eventual children, Harry!
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Here's a little family story to remind people of the background that they may not know about. My folks took my grandmother to see this movie in the theatre many years ago. My grandfather had just died, and my parents wanted to get Grandma out of the house. But towards the end of the movie, as tragedy draws near, they worried that the movie was a bit sad for someone who had just suffered great loss. But as the royal family and those around them are lost, my grandmother shouted to the whole theatre in the stage whisper of newly deaf: "Get the bastards!" Like millions, she had been a victim of pogroms led by the Czars, and she knew there was more to the story than presented there. A tragedy? Perhaps, but certainly not to all.
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wow!what a great commentary/review of a great movie. I first saw this movie as a high schooler on the Disney channel after a painful breakup with a High school sweetheart...I thought a good classic movie would be a great escape and I sw that it was on so I wached it, by the end I was crying...I didn't now what to feel about this movie...I hated it becasue it brought forth a flood of memories and yet I loved it for it's beauty. The only other time I was moved so profundly was doing a stage version of Anton Checkov's "Uncle Vanya", another russian tale of unrequited love.
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forget lawrence of arabia, please don't mention titanic. this is it! it's one of a select few for all time, and epic never looked so eloquent. someday this movie will rot and wither away, but it was actually filmed "back in the sixties" as austin would say - it exists in those that cherish and remember. it lives. forever isn't as long as you'd think. only regret is longer.
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Harry,
I wondered what you thought of Lock Stock and Barrels. I was saddened. I thought the film was shallow, stereotypical (I'm actually from the East End, where the film is supposedly set) and almost (but for the enforcer-and-son characters) entirely without feeling; all coated with a thin veneer of pop-promo style. I couldn't get why you thought it was so great. Then I read your response to Zhivago. It's a big world, with many stories. Some movies are fun, entertaining, and you quietly forget about them at the end of that day (Lock Stock..). Others you go back to. Seeing things you never saw before. Great work gets better the more you look at it.
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