22 Movies You’ll Regret Not Watching
21. Doctor Zhivago
Loosely based on the novel by Boris Pasternak, “Doctor Zhivago” was nominated for Best Picture in the year it was released.
While it didn’t win the Best Picture Oscar, it did pick up five others including Best Cinematography. The acting is superb in this film that also features Alec Guinness.
The story opens to reveal young Zhivago who is newly orphaned. He grows up with wealthy friends of his mother’s and eventually marries their daughter. When the war erupts, Zhivago goes off to work as a doctor in the fields. He meets Lara who will become his mistress and love of his life. Their relationship and the upheaval it causes is depicted against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution.
The music, costumes, and characterization make this film an extraordinary experience. The supporting cast rounds out the film. The music is also unforgettable. Like other epic films, “Dr. Zhivago” is as long as winter, but watching is worth the investment of time.
A beautiful and haunting film, there is nothing quite like it and certainly no films that come close to it today for sheer scope and majesty.
