MovieChat Forums > Doctor Zhivago (1965) Discussion > Gads, the repetitive soundtrack!

Gads, the repetitive soundtrack!

posted 11 years ago by FierceCritter
3 replies | jump to latest

I'm currently on a marathon of watching films I've never seen in my 45 years. Such as Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago.

I'll admit I'm not very critical of films. I take them as entertainment and don't ask too much of movie makers. But I do recognize artistry, and don't have to like it to appreciate it.

THAT SAID...

Speaking strictly in regard to soundtrack. I did like Jarre's work on LoA. Lawrence's theme was recognizable. And yes, did repeat frequently.

However, the repeat over and over and over again of the balalaika Lara's Theme in Dr. Z was so annoying, I found myself distracted and aggravated.

For one thing, it's really a somewhat "up" tune - positive notes, pretty. And I found it really inappropriate in scenes that could have used a more serious tone.

I really think it took away quite a bit of the mood of the film for me.

[–] palisade-1 11 years ago

If it's any consolation, Maurice Jarre would probably agree with you. He wrote several other themes for the film which he liked better, one that David Lean thought was "too serious" and another that DL rejected for some other reason. I'm sorry those weren't included at least in places because the film could have used some melodic variety, but Lean wanted to emphasize the love story over the political and social change aspects of the film.

[–] jimmypage195 11 years ago

I acutally liked the use of music and i found it to be comforting and in some scenes marvelous but lawrence of arabia had the better soundtrack.

[–] wwestar 11 years ago

Lara's theme was incredibly popular in the 60's. They added lyrics to the theme and released it as a single which was a huge hit.