Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Aspen Orson There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

John Allard Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I haven't read the book, and only remember fleeting glimpses of Shariff and Christie in the original. It does have a distinct "TV-film" feel to it, but the pace, script and acting are good, the sets look reasonably authentic, and there is good use of archive film where appropriate and the management of crowd scenes with minimal extras is cleverly done. Hans Matheson is excellent as Yuri, and Kris Marshall does a good job as Pasha. The stand-out performance for me is Alexandra Maria Lara as Tonya, who affects an understated Russian accent very well. Sam Neill turns in a fair performance as the evil (rather smug) Viktor, but the disappointment is Knightley, who gives the standard performance of Keira Knightley saying someone else's words that we've all become very familiar with. I do feel that the film fails a little in that it seems to want to show the story in all its glory, but without shocking *too* much ... so we have people dying in battle and skirmishes, with bloody wounds, but rather sanitised. The possible exception is in the 3rd episode, where a recent amputee is shown, but even then, we are spared the worst, which dilutes the impact for me, of what is a powerful story set in barbaric and inhumane times. It is a similar story with the bedroom scenes, which are an odd mixture of explicit sexual content with virtually no nudity to speak of. I admire the intent of the film(s) - the spreading of the story over three episodes, each over an hour long - which allows the characters to develop over time as I'm sure they must do in the book. With a little more willingness to shock for added realism, and a more convincing performance from Knightley, this would have been quite wonderful.

Desertman84 Doctor Zhivago is a television movie that stars Hans Matheson,Keira Knightley,Sam Neill and Kris Marshall.The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the 1957 novel of the same title by Boris Pasternak.It was directed by Giacomo Campiotti. Doctor Zhivago is the story of the young and beautiful Lara,who is involved with three men: a revolutionary, a mogul, and a doctor. Their lives become intertwined with the drama of Russian revolution when Doctor Zhivago is still married when he meets Lara. Their love story is unfolding against the backdrop of revolution which affects the doctor's career, his family, and his romance with Lara.Doctor Zhivago television movie is a better adaptation of Pasternak's novel as compared to the 1965 film.Also,it was electrifying in its presentation of the ardor of guilt, betrayal, and love.And most of all,it has a first-rate script and vital direction.And most of all,special mention should be given to Keira Knightley for her performance as Lara.

blood_summit POSSIBLE SPOILERSIt clearly goes without saying that this is in the shadow of the original David Lean film and understandably as it is a hard act to follow. It would be easy to condemn this as being "amateurish" but I have to say that I strongly disagree. This production dealt with the setting and period in a more subtle and understated manner and it's in the format of TV which is completely different to the big screen and less cinematic. Despite this being early on in Keira Knightley's career, she does a good job portraying Lara as being a well rounded character. Kris Marshall was another one who stood out for me as his character of Pasha Antipov as his character development was not only well portrayed but more jarring as he turns from an idealistic and optimistic revolutionary to a brutal and merciless Bolshevik General.This also portrays the Russian Revolution in more of a "Warts and all" kind of way as opposed to the romanticised depiction given originally and is executed in a very compelling way. There is an interesting use of archive footage (remeniscent of the use of archive footage in the 1978 TV series "Secret Army") that adds some extra depth to the portrayal of 1910s/1920s Russia.] I'd say that you should listen to what Anna Rust has said and give it a look.

aussiebrisguy I'm not sure why Doctor Zhivago was remade as the David Lean film was quite brilliant. I do think the mini-series had its moments but it will always sadly be compared with the earlier film with the most beautiful Julie Christie as Lara and the incredibly dashing Omar Sharif as Zhivago. Who after all can outdo these two I ask myself? This is the battle the leads in the mini-series have to constantly face as everybody wants to see Christie and Sharif rather than their new counterparts. I still enjoyed it all but not nearly as much as if the earlier film had not been made. Pasternak's story remains powerfully strong and deeply moving. Sometimes I think remakes are made because creative forces are not imaginative enough to find new projects to work on. It would seem this was the case with this good remake.