film

Romance, revolution, and personal tragedy swirl together in David Lean's 1965 epic. The movie is adapted from the equally great Boris Pasternak novel which won the author the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, much to the chagrin of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union - Pasternak was a critic of the October Revolution and the novel was refused publication in the USSR, and only saw the light of day because the manuscript was smuggled to Italy and the book published there.

Set against the tumult of early 20th--century Russia, Dr Zhivago's intricate plot centres on Omar Sharif's eponymous poet and physician, whose life is profoundly affected by the chaos of the times and his passionate, ill-fated love for Lara (Julie Christie). Superb lead performances, Lean's meticulous, highly visual storytelling, and Maurice Jarre's haunting score add up to one of the more brilliantly realised novel adaptations of the 20th century.