Why is this not up there with Citizen Kane, Vertigo, 8 1/2, The Godfather, 2001 a Space Odyssey, Jules and JIm etc?
I just watched it and am just awestruck. This is right up there in my all time favourite list. What a movie. I am reading the book now and I am going to revisit this once I am done with the book.
Two words. Too long.
Great movie, though. Definitely in my top 50 of all time.
Just saw it again. Hadn't seen it in years. This film has aged so badly. It was embarrassingly bad. How could David Lean have done this? The acting was hammy. The story itself played out like a soap opera. Must contain Alec Guinness' worst ever performance.
shareIf YOU consider this to be one of the greatest films of all time, then that should be the only thing that matters.
Who cares what critics or the public think about any of this stuff? I certainly don't!
This is not a good movie--that's why.
First of all, the framing device is done horribly. The entire movie is based on a "mystery" with a shocking twist, but you couldn't care less about it because you're not given time to get to know the daughter, and the twist is poorly set up. Also, the entire movie is told from Zhivago's half-brother's perspective, and there are events in this movie that he couldn't possibly have been privy to.
The "love affair" is unconvincing, unethical and too pedestrian to be worth an epic retelling. The main character is an asshole who dumped his perfectly loving, doting wife and family for a blonde tramp who just happened to be hotter than she was. There's nothing remarkable about this type of affair; it happens all the time. Why is this an epic love story for the ages and worth committing to screen for over two hours? Why are we supposed to root for them?
There are some shots in the movie that are laughably amateurish.