Doctor Zhivago: 45th Anniversary Edition

Based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago covers the years prior to, during and after the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of poet/physician Yuri Zhivago ( Omar Sharif ). In the tradition of Russian novels, a multitude of characters and subplots intertwine within the film's 197 minutes, plus intermission. Zhivago is married to Tonya ( Geraldine Chaplin ), but carries on an affair with Lara ( Julie Christie ), who has been raped by ruthless politician Komarovsky ( Rod Steiger ). Meanwhile, Zhivago's half-brother Yevgraf ( Alec Guinness ) and the mysterious, revenge-seeking Strelnikoff ( Tom Courteney ) represent the "good" and "bad" elements of the Bolshevik revolution. Composer Maurice Jarre received one of Doctor Zhivago's five Oscars, with the others going to screenwriter Robert Bolt , cinematographer Freddie Young , art directors John Box and Terry Marsh and set decorator Dario Simoni , and costumer Phyllis Dalton . The best picture Oscar, however, went to The Sound of Music . — Hal Erickson