I am in the process of watching all of the 100 Greatest movies according to AFI. The current film I just watched is Doctor Zhivago, which is #39. This movie is also on the 100 Greatest Romances list (#7).
Taking place during the Russian Revolution that overlaps with the first World War, the story follows General Yevgraf Zhivago, played by Alec Guinness, as he searches for his long lost niece, the daughter of his half-brother Doctor Yuri Zhivago, played by Omar Sharif. Although narrated in parts by Guinness, the movie moves along fairly consistently through the life of Yuri Zhivago as well as the person identified in the beginning as the mother to Yevgraf's niece, Lara, played by Julie Christie. Created in 1965, the movie does not present the life of Lara in the most favorable light. She is often the victim of abuse, rape, and a whole host of other problems that she seems unable, or unwilling, to stop or change. It is a tragic love story between these two star-crossed lovers who can't seem to make it work between themselves. The videography throughout the movie was simply gorgeous, often over emphasizing some small detail within the scenery, such as a candle melting the ice crystals on a window. The acting was great as well, even though Sharif's overly glassy eyes throughout the movie made it appear as he had tears in his eyes non-stop throughout the movie. But it is a long movie, and one that I don't think modern day audiences will overly enjoy. It took about half-way through the movie before I was fully invested, and by that time it had been a long movie and I was just looking for a break. Overall, not bad, but the story was clearly dated and could have been "four hours shorter" in the words of my wife (the movie is only 3 hours and 20 minutes). I am interested in reading the book however, which hopefully would shed more light on the many of the plot details that the movie seemed to skip over.
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