This is a four hour film and thus one hours longer than the great David Lean Zhivago of 1965, and thus this one comprises more of the novel. Hans Batheson is actually better than Omar Sharif, he has made many equally very interesting parts, while Keira Knightely is good enough in comparison with Julie Christie. What you miss here is Ralph Richardson as the father professor and Alec Guinness as Yevgraf, Zhivago's half brother, who is the one who tells the story. He is compensated here by Zhivago's best friend Misha played by the Italian Daniele Liotti, while Alexandra Maria Lara is perfect as Tonia and better than Geraldine Chaplin. Instead of Rod Steiger as Komarovsky we have here Sam Neill, who honours the part, although yoo would miss some of Steiger's virtuosity. What you also miss is the monumental landscape and screening, the large format on the big screen and Lara's theme - the music here is minor, although it occasionally reaches some important momentum. Instead you have the more careful abiding by the book, there are many details here from the book that the 1965 version just skipped, and the end sequences are just overwhelming in beauty.
On the whole. it's a great tragedy, revealing the plight of an individualist-idealist against the very severe conditions of the revolution mass society, which comes imposing itself on an ideal world and civilization, tearing it all asunder in a universal violation of human rights. The film conveys the great tragic pathos of the book amd even better than the 1965 film. Giacomo Campiotti is not to be compared with David Lean, but he manages to bring forth the entire story in a better way in his smaller format than David Lean in his great epic version. The story is the same, but here it is more profound and more devastating.
On the whole. it's a great tragedy, revealing the plight of an individualist-idealist against the very severe conditions of the revolution mass society, which comes imposing itself on an ideal world and civilization, tearing it all asunder in a universal violation of human rights. The film conveys the great tragic pathos of the book amd even better than the 1965 film. Giacomo Campiotti is not to be compared with David Lean, but he manages to bring forth the entire story in a better way in his smaller format than David Lean in his great epic version. The story is the same, but here it is more profound and more devastating.