Search - Doctor Zhivago on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1965 DVD Release: 11/06/2001 Format: DVD - Letterbox for TV Edition: Dual Layered,Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 3 hrs 20 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 41 Genres: Epic, Romance, Period Film, Historical Epic, Romantic Epic See Also: Doctor Zhivago [Special Edition]

Based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago covers the years prior to, during, and after the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of poet/physician Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif). In the tradition of Russian novels, a multitude of characters and subplots intertwine within the film's 197 minutes (plus intermission). Zhivago is married to Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), but carries on an affair with Lara (Julie Christie), who has been raped by ruthless politician Komarovsky (Rod Steiger). Meanwhile, Zhivago's half-brother Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) and the mysterious, revenge-seeking Strelnikoff (Tom Courteney) represent the "good" and "bad" elements of the Bolshevik revolution. Composer Maurice Jarre received one of Doctor Zhivago's five Oscars, with the others going to screenwriter Robert Bolt, cinematographer Freddie Young, art directors John Box and Terry Marsh, set decorator Dario Simoni, and costumer Phyllis Dalton. The best picture Oscar, however, went to The Sound of Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Omar Sharif - Yuri Zhivago
Julie Christie - Lara
Tom Courtenay - Pasha Strelnikov
Geraldine Chaplin - Tonya
Rod Steiger - Komarovsky
Alec Guinness - Yevgraf

The six hours of content that make up the double-disc edition of the 1965 romantic action-adventure classic Doctor Zhivago include nearly three hours of contemporary (1965-contemporary) documentaries and interviews. Naturally, some repetition of footage and information is expected, so it's no surprise to see and hear the same content in several of the self-cannibalizing documentaries. Of the new content around the feature on disc one, the highlight is the wall-to-wall commentary by stars Omar Sharif, always eloquent and insightful; Rod Steiger, the American Method actor who had to go up against an international cast of heavyweight stage veterans; and Sandra Lean, director David Lean's wife. The letterboxed digital transfer from "refurbished elements," according to Warner Home Video, is jaw-droppingly perfect; the snowscapes of Russia (shot in Spain) are blinding in their vivid white; and, in general, the Oscar-winning cinematography is showcased at its best advantage. There also is an isolated track containing Maurice Jarre's Oscar-winning score. Of the ten vintage documentaries on disc two, "Doctor Zhivago: The Making of a Russian Epic," made for the 30th anniversary in 1995, is exhaustive yet well-paced, but the most interesting are the black-and-white "This Is" profiles of Julie Christie and Geraldine Chaplin, which capture the flavor of the Op Art, very '60s Mod world from which these go-go-booted women emerged. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide