David Lean is one of my top five favorite directors of all time.  His movies are epics, and I was fortunate to review Doctor Zhivago, Warner Bros. 40^th Anniversary DVD, which is available now at Warner Bros. 

The 1965 film captures the essence of Boris Pasternak’s Russian novel of remarkable passion and sweeping grandeur, presenting an intimate and deeply emotional story against the enormous backdrop of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution. 

Omar Sharif stars in the title role of Doctor Zhivago, portraying the surgeon-poet over a half-century period.  Zhivago, who is married to Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), an aristocratic girl with whom he raises a family, is also in love with Lara (Julie Christie), a nurse whose life has been destroyed by tragedy.  Repeatedly brought together and separated from each woman by war and revolution, Zhivago is torn apart by conflict.  He loves Tonya deeply but his poetic soul belongs to Lara.  Much like his beloved country, Zhivago’s spirit becomes battered by the devastation of war as he struggles to maintain his individualism in the face of overwhelming odds.  

Yes, Alex Guinness, a frequent actor of David Lean’s movies, also stars as the half-brother of Zhivago. 

My two favorite scenes are the daffodils as vivid as ever and the library scene where Zhivago meets Lara, again, by chance.