Based on the novel of the same name by former Soviet writer Boris Pasternak. After the novel was written, it was refused publication by the Soviet authorities. The author cooperated with an Italian bookseller and smuggled the manuscript out of the country. It was published in the Western world in 1957 and quickly sold well. Under the operation of the CIA and others, Pasternak was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature the following year and eventually won, which is undoubtedly a great irony of the Soviet censorship system. Under the threat of KGB, Pasternak gave up the award. Two years later, he died gloomily in the homeland he loved in his old age. The book was not officially serialized in the Soviet Union until 1988, and the following year Pasternak's son went to Stockholm to receive his father's Nobel Prize.
So, in 1965, such a film of course had nothing to do with its "client" - the Soviet Union. The film is actually led by Italian producer Carlo Ponti (Sophia Loren's husband), with the main creators (director David Lean, screenwriter Robert Bolt, cinematographer Freddie Young, arranger Maurice Jarre) of the hugely successful "Lawrence of Arabia" three years ago. etc.) as the team, the actors are mostly from the United Kingdom, filmed in Spain and Finland, and finally released by MGM in the United States. Similar to the fate of the book, the film was an immediate success, but was not lifted in Russia until 30 years later.
The film begins with Zhiwago's childhood loss of his mother, and takes the ups and downs of Zhiwago and Lara's love as the main line (the two pass each other in the 20th minute, and the first conversation took another hour), until Zhiwago died alone. And throughout Zhiwago's life, is a series of major events in Russia in the first half of the last century: the First World War, the February Revolution, the October Revolution, the Russian Civil War, the outbreak of typhoid fever, the Cheka (the predecessor of the KGB), the Red Army guerrillas , until the great purges during the Stalin period (the campaign to eradicate counter-revolutionaries). The love-hate intertwining joys and sorrows in the epic background has always been the audience's favorite subject, and this is one of the themes of this film (book): the difficult breathing of individuals under the torrent of history, and it is so difficult to even follow the flow. From an aspiring youth to a murderous demon, Pasha's tragedy is of course related to his radical ideas; but a politically neutral doctor like Zhiwago, and ordinary women like Lara and Tonya who don't care about the world but only want to stay with their lover, but also failed. The ending of the wandering world. Although the author does not express obvious political inclination towards a particular event, he has deep concerns about the contradictions, revenge, hypocrisy and madness in the historical process of the motherland. Wars, revolutions, movements, purges may often be in the name of justice, but in the end the victims are always the common people. When purity is distorted, when kindness is exploited, when love is contained and hatred is amplified, when history is repeating the same mistakes, it is time to reflect. After taking so many detours, the Russians should be thankful that such a famous book can be circulated and carried forward. What about us?
The plot of the movie is generally faithful to the original, and the main changes are to highlight and romanticize the love between the hero and heroine Zhiwago and Lara, such as downplaying the love between Lara and Pasha, enhancing Yuri's guilt towards Tonya, not mentioning Zhivago's remarriage in his later years, not letting the two daughters hate them (but forget their identities) etc. The flashback by Zhiwago's brother looking for his niece as an introduction works well, and the last tram encounter and miss echoes the beginning very well. The only thing that puzzles me is the scene where Victor rapes Lara, both Victor's lines and Lara's actions seem to imply Lara's initiative, which is incoherent with Lara's subsequent assassination. Probably the director wanted to add complexity to Lara's character. In addition, Victor's conscience at the end is a bit sudden, and the novel is relatively gradual.
At the Oscars that year, the film and "The Sound of Music" were nominated for 10 nominations, and finally won 5 each (this film is best adapted screenplay, best soundtrack, best cinematography, best costume design, best art Guidance), it is an even split. But the latter won best picture and best director, and heavier in weight. Interestingly, the box office of this film and "The Sound of Music" are currently in the top ten in film history after correcting the inflation rate, and the latter is slightly higher. The only gratifying thing is that the film hit all five nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, tied for the first place in film history.
Looking at the casting process, the film originally hoped to gather a super-strong cast of Paul Newman, Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren (or Jane Fonda), but in the end a group of famous relatives such as Omar Sharif, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Julie Christie Lesser powers send actors to take the lead. Egyptian actor Omar Sharif has also played an important role in "Lawrence of Arabia" before. It was a lot of pressure to be the protagonist this time, but he finally lived up to the expectations and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Geraldine Chaplin, who plays Tonya, is the daughter of the famous Chaplin, and the film is her famous work, which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Newcomer nomination. The names of Rod Steiger, who plays Victor, and Julie Christie, the heroine who plays Lara, may be a little unfamiliar, but they actually won the Oscar and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and Best Actress nominations for two other films in the same year as this film, and Julie even won the title. After success (Oscar). Also impressive are Tom Courtenay, who plays Pasha/Strelnikov, who has the biggest personality change, and Alec Guinness, the director's choreographer, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Lara's Theme, composed by Maurice Jarre, plays a dozen times in the film, and is remembered along with the Russian balalaika that runs throughout. The famous American musician Paul Francis Webster wrote the lyrics to "Somewhere My Love", further expanding its popularity. Maurice Jarre also won the Oscar and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
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