Doctor Zhivago (Доктор Живаго) is a story of a man torn between two women, set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, best known from the 1965 epic film adapted by Robert Bolt from the original novel by Boris Pasternak. The novel is named after its protagonist, Yuri Zhivago, a medical doctor and poet.

The novel

Although it contains passages written in the 1910s and 1920s, Doctor Zhivago was not completed until 1956. It was submitted for publication to the journal Novyi mir but, thanks to Pasternak's difficult relationship with the Soviet government, it was rejected. The following year, it appeared in an Italian translation, and this publication was partly responsible for the fact that the author was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958. The book was finally published in Russian in 1988, ironically in the pages of Novyi mir.

Zhivago is sensitive and poetic nearly to the point of mysticism. He is distracted by the beauty of ice crystals on a window pane. In medical school, one of his professors reminds him that bacteria may be beautiful under the microscope but do ugly things to people. Yuri Zhivago's idealism stands in brutal contrast to the horrors of the Russian Revolution. He must witness cannibalism, dismemberment, a young man shot dead for wanting to see his family. Even the love of his life Lara (sometimes called Larisa) is taken from him.

The film

The film was directed by David Lean and starred Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Tom Courtenay, Siobhan McKenna, Ralph Richardson, Rita Tushingham and Klaus Kinski. It was nominated for and won numerous Academy Awards. It is said that Omar Sharif was not nominated for best Lead Role despite a magnificent and widely acclaimed performance because the actions of his character, who cheats on his wife, were not acceptable at the time and provoked controversy.

• Won:
  • Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color (John Box, Terry Marsh, Dario Simoni)
  • Best Cinematography, Color
  • Best Costume Design, Color (Phyllis Dalton)
  • Best Music, Score - Substantially Original (Maurice Jarre)
  • Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Robert Bolt)
• Nominated for:
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tom Courtenay)
  • Best Director (David Lean)
  • Best Film Editing (Norman Savage)
  • Best Picture
  • Best Sound (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Carlo Ponti)

Doctor Zhivago is also a miniseries with Hans Matheson and Keira Knightley, first appearing on Masterpiece Theatre in 2002.

There is also an eight-part Russian miniseries expected in 2005.

External links

• Doctor Zhivago (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059113/) at the Internet Movie Database
• Masterpiece Theatre | Doctor Zhivago (http://www.pbs.org/neighborhoods/arts/feature/redir/wgbh/masterpiece/zhivago/)
• Pasternak, Boris: Doctor Zhivago (http://mchip00.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/pasternak291-des-.html)
• Борис Пастернак/Доктор Живаго (http://pasternak-boris.viv.ru/cont/jivago/1.html)
• Сериал Доктор Живаго (2005) (http://www.serials.ru/main/ru/doktor_zhivago.html)