since Nov. 26, 2004."Doctor Zhivago" was an impressive and interesting film to critique. Impressive, due to its epic proportions, convincing actors and powerful score. This film was the third of director David Lean’s epic masterpieces, following the successful "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Bridge Over the River Kwai." All three received the Best Picture Academy Award [sic], though Zhivago is clearly Lean’s finest work.
This film was interesting in many ways, the most prominent being the similarities to Lawrence. Though based on Boris Pasternak’s novel, Zhivago, like Lawrence, is a period film, set during a historical era or event, in this case, the Russian Revolution. Though the characters aren’t real, the events that forever changed Russia and the personal turmoil they endured were realistic. Both films also have epic scores, ones that stay with the audience long after the movie ends. Zhivago’s contains “Lara’s Theme”, a beautiful piece that is played constantly throughout the film, like the main theme in Lawrence. The films also share the same types of shots in scenes with crowds and two-person conversations. The camera never seems to get too close to the actor(s) during close-ups, and deep-focus extreme long shots are used when shooting crowds.
Other similarities to Lawrence: a shot of the dark train moving across the countryside with snow all around, long shot in the lower third of the frame--similar to the scene with Lawrence’s caravan moving across the desert as silhouettes in the lower third of the frame; the character of Pasha Antipov is similar to Lawrence in the sense that he starts out as a good guy, then goes crazy, and then goes into obscurity.
Some interesting things I noticed while watching Zhivago: color scheme seems to consist mostly of neutrals--brown, grey, black, white (clothing), pale pink, dark green--occasional splash of brightness--red (Lara’s dress), yellow (daffodils in spring), blue (sky), and white (scenes with a lot of snow); the film begins with the overture, then goes into the credits, then the first scene, then the flashback; scenes tend to blend together--shots of the same location from winter into spring, an extreme close-up of a daffodil into Lara’s face lit up by the sun; sunflowers in the hospital are first seen blooming when Lara is around, then are shown dying when Lara leaves; the second half of the film begins as a black screen with the sounds of train, then a tunnel opening appears, small at first and gets larger as the train gets closer.
To make a long critique short, I think Zhivago is a fine masterpiece and highly recommend it to anyone studying films or looking for an epic to enjoy.
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since Nov. 26, 2004.