Doctor Zhivago (film)

Doctor Zhivago
Theatrical release poster design by Tom Jung
Directed by	David Lean
Produced by	Carlo Ponti
Screenplay by	Robert Bolt
Based on	Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Starring	Geraldine Chaplin Julie Christie Tom Courtenay Alec Guinness Siobhán McKenna Ralph Richardson Omar Sharif Rod Steiger Rita Tushingham
Music by	Maurice Jarre
Cinematography	Freddie Young Nicolas Roeg (Uncredited)
Edited by	Norman Savage
Production company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Carlo Ponti Production Sostar S.A.
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	22 December 1965 (1965-12-22) (US) 26 April 1966 (1966-04-26) (UK) 10 December 1966 (1966-12-10) (Italy) 28 September 1999 (1999-09-28) (US re-release)
Running time	193 minutes(1965 release) 200 minutes (1992 re-release)
Country	United Kingdom Italy
Language	English Russian
Budget	$11 million
Box office	$111.7 million

Doctor Zhivago is a 1965 British-Italian epic romantic drama film directed by David Lean. It is set in Russia between the years prior to World War I and the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922, and is based on the Boris Pasternak novel of the same name. While immensely popular in the West, the book was banned in the Soviet Union for decades. For this reason, the film could not be made in the Soviet Union and was instead filmed mostly in Spain.

The film stars Omar Sharif in the title role as Yuri Zhivago and Julie Christie as his love interest Lara Antipova. The supporting cast includes Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Tom Courtenay, Ralph Richardson, Siobhán McKenna and Rita Tushingham.

Contemporary critics were generally disappointed, complaining of its length at over three hours, and claiming that it trivialized history, but acknowledging the intensity of the romantic drama and the treatment of human themes. Over time, however, the film's reputation has improved greatly. At the 38th Academy Awards, Doctor Zhivago won five Oscars: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography (Color), Best Art Direction (Color) and Best Costume Design (Color); it was nominated for five others (including Best Picture), but lost four of these five to The Sound of Music. It also won five awards at the 23rd Golden Globe Awards.