I finally got around to watching this David Lean epic after loving Lawrence of Arabia for decades and I was somewhat underwhelmed. While I never got bored, I found that it did not really live up to its outstanding reputation. But the music was beautiful.

A classic that I can view over and over.

Doctor Zhivago certainly lives up to its reputation as an epic tale of romance and war with its captivating cinematography, beautiful score, and remarkable performances. Yet for all its admirable qualities, the film is undeniably tedious.

If this film were an original work I would have rated it 5 Stars. But the screenwriters who adapted it gutted Pasternak's novel, then changed what remained into a sappy love story that became the ersatz focus of the plot. It gives me no pleasure saying this because I always loved Omar Sharif. Ironically, he was also a good friend of a client of mine

There are two main things that stand out when thinking of Doctor Zhivago. The one is the music, for 1965 the two rivals were "Sound of Music" and "Doctor Zhivago" both were long wartime epics with a focus on music and romance. Both walked away with 5 Academy Awards a piece. Where I definitely prefer "Sound of Music" (that is just an all-time great), Dr. Zhivago did rightfully win the "Best Music, Score- Substantially Original". The Second thing that comes to mind is its length. This is a long movie, and it feels like a long movie. There's a lot going on, but it maintains a pretty precise focus. There's a lot of good in the movie, it just takes a long-time investment to get to those scenes. I believe the romance. I like all the characters involved. I love the music and cinematography. I mean when the scenes are cold, you can feel the ice as you watch it. The movie may have a little too much going on, there is a lot of war-time stuff that is used to set the stage of their conflicted romance. I may not be a doctor, but if you are feeling symptoms of wanting to watch a good epic romance, I recommend taking this film.

I first saw this when I was 17- just caught it again last night- still think it's a great film in so many ways-for a hopeless romantic

One of the great novels of the 20th century brought to film. The screenplay by Robert Bolt is excellent: he achieves in brief exchanges what others cannot convey in a whole film.

greatest film masterpiece of any subject/topic ever made.

Take the lovely Julie Christie out of this and you have an Arab pretending to be a Russian for three hours.

This film retains all its romance and mystery even after all these years--Christie and Sharif are so beautiful to see and the acting and scenery absolutely captivating.

Love during the WWI, the Russian Revolution and the Communist Regime.

Gorgeous, timeless.

Such a wonderful movie. It is long - basically two movies. Just wonderful - my favorite of all time.

From a story perspective, the film is your relatively standard "sweeping romantic epic set against the backdrop of real history" but David Lean directs the hell out of it, per usual. There are too many amazing shots to count and the cast is fantastic from Omar Sharif right down to those that only have a few lines (Klaus Kinski is unforgettable even in a tiny part). I'm still not sure why it was blasted by critics in it's day, but I suspect that they wanted this film to fail because of Lean's past successes. Upon noticing a weaker narrative structure and a love story they began a feeding frenzy of nitpicking criticisms.

A great drama about a person's life affected by Russia's transition from an empire into a communist country.

You feel the weight early on as the film can lose focus and take its time early in the first half. But as things go on everything starts to fall in place. The final 5-10 minutes does a very good job at bringing everything together and made me feel for everyone stronger than I expected. This is worth making the investment once for sure. Omar Sharif did a excellent job in this and I slowly but surely liked his character. Everything in this slowly builds along with sweeping visuals and detailed intimate shots. It's not flawless (I would have liked a faster pacing early on) but it still is a All Time Classic.

At 200 minutes, Doctor Zhivago is a commitment that would be distressing to most movie-watchers. This is really a cinephiles film, as it lacks in action and even as a historical accounting of the Russian Revolution. That being said, if a grand, elegant, brooding Russian epic films sounds fitting for the winter, it might be the film for you. There are gorgeous shots (the funeral scene, the protests in the streets, the fancy parties, the cavalry charge) that are a joy to see on screen. The plot unravels largely over the course of 10 years. During this time, we follow Yuri Andreyevich (Omar Sharif), who loses his parents in the Urals and is taken in by a family friend, who moves him to Moscow. He becomes a doctor, and throughout the mayhem of revolution and civil war, Yuri's possessions and influence as a medical professional wains as his love for Lara (Julie Christie) grows. It's a romantic story of repressed passions and the burning ardor of love even in the face of compounding evil. The "Reds" become more authoritarian and less sympathetic as the movie rages on. What I appreciated is that Yuri isn't a perfect character either — he continues an affair with Lara even after his wife, Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), is pregnant. I did have pretty high expectations for this movie and am disappointed it didn't possess the gravitas I expect with a film of its stature. I think it belongs in that category of recommends that isn't for mass appeal, but for a viewer who wants to absorb portrait shots of protest and barrenness, for someone who wants to watch a man stripped of his property and dignity, but never letting it get the better of him, somehow. The best scene comes at the end, when Yuri is rushing through the house that is covered in snow even on the inside, like something out of a fairytale, so he could get one final glimpse of Lara before she disappears over the horizon.

Too ****ing long, and y!!!!!!!!!!

Beautifully shot with amazing acting and wonderful score, definitely one of the best movies of the 20th century. Thing I most liked, are the characters, which are real and colorful and you care about them.

A historical love epic that, if anything, captures the harrowing details of a relatively unknown part of world history, Doctor Zhivago's scope is just above the level of its romantic melodrama.