Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

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.

DR ZHIVAGO is definitely worthwhile viewing for TV fans without the patience or interest to sit through the original film epic on the small screen. Yes, of course the film is a 'classic', however its style and production values are now very old fashioned for a modern audience who expect a fresher feel to what they view on TV, so that's why this new adaptation can sit quite happily in the schedule, because it caters for a different type of market who can't be bothered to watch 'old' films on TV no matter how 'classic' they are. I think it's quite pointless trying to make comparisons between the two works, and this offering should be critiqued on its own merits.This adaptation has a lot of plus points. The location photography is picturesque and handles the snow scenes admirably. The performance of Hans Matheson playing 'Yury' is compelling - in many ways reminding me of the style of Christian Bale; with that ability to act beneath the skin and to project powerfully through the eyes. He has a strong screen presence. The refined and understated performance of Keira Knightley playing 'Lara' was very pleasing and reminded me of the style of Kate Winslett, in that her acting portrays a very easy grace and gentleness in her delivery and personification of the character; it's a level of subtle sophistication in acting skill that's easy for people not to fully appreciate. The most astounding performance for me, and I'm sure for any British viewer, came from Kris Marshall - in the UK we're very familiar with him on TV as a 'foolish idiot goof' character in a much repeated sitcom and long-running advert spokesman, and he's very much typecast himself in our consciousness via these choices in his career, so to see him in this adaptation barely recognisable playing 'Pasha Antipov/Strelnikov' was very surprising; more surprising still is the fact that he REALLY can act! Kris Marshall turns in a stellar performance, truly suspending disbelief and losing himself in the role to deliver solid convincing work. It would be marvellous now to see him in further challenging roles. Not all the acting was good however. Sam Neill disappoints big time as 'Victor' in a very lacklustre jobbing-actor performance that lacked heart and conviction. My biggest criticism of the production has to be the interior sound recording, which is unforgivably and astonishingly amateur - the echo on the voices was bearable, however many scenes were in rooms with bare wooden floors and even the tiniest foot movement crashed like the clattering hooves of a horse in its trailer - DREADFUL! And surely so EASY for the Director to rectify - if I'd had this problem I'd have glued soft soles, such as a thin piece of foam to the actors' shoes to help silence them if the sound tech couldn't rectify the issue on location . It was the worst interior sound recording of any professional TV production that I can remember and why it was acceptable to the Director I cannot imagine.Overall, I would certainly recommend this adaptation as worthwhile viewing, especially over the Christmas TV schedule when it was shown in the UK where it fits very appropriately with the season and people have the time to sit back for three hours and watch the full serial epic.

Never having seen the original version of Dr Zhivago I can't really compare,but for me Keira Knightley just doesn't work in the role of Lara. This is a woman that a previously proper moral man would betray his wife for. That just doesn't ring true. Tonya was sweet,beautiful and loving, why would Yury risk that for this Lara? The chemistry just wasn't there. Am I also the only person that thinks that Keira isn't such a great actress? Lots of pouting and over pronunciation isn't a substitute for fine acting. Sam Neil was suitably menacing,though I didn't feel like he had such a hold over Lara. Kris Marshall, an actor that I really like wasn't convincing as the Pasha/strenlikov character. Hans as Zhivago was adequate, but so nice to look at that I can forgive him any acting shortcoming. My favourite performance was from Alexandra Maria Lara as the betrayed wife. I found myself swallowing hard and blinking back tears when she confronts Lara.All in all not a bad way to pass 4 hours of ironing-considering it was a free gift with the newspaper!

This was an utterly compelling interpretation which really captured the spirit of the Pasternak novel.I appreciated the almost architectural beauty and large landscape of the David Lean film of my generation, yet there was an emotional intensity and a depth of character exploration in this version which was missing from the earlier film. The central characters were complex and believable and not understated icons in an icy landscape. Sam Neill as Komarovsky was a compelling figure and this time you could see why Lara was attracted to him despite the abusive nature of their relationship.Pasternak's central character, Yuri Zhivago,was depicted as a passionate but not bombastic hero. Hans Matheson captured the almost passive poetic romantic whose emotions are torn by the situations in which he finds himself which are reflected in the age of political turmoil that surrounds him.Strong performances by Keira Knightley as Lara and Alexandra Maria Lara as Tanya gave real substance to the tensions he experiences.I had never heard of Keira Knightley when I first saw this production and was amazed at the range which her intelligent acting achieved.Her real age was consistent with that of the young Lara yet she convincingly bridged the gap to the young mother of the later part of the novel. The love scenes were tender, yet passionate and Director Giacomo Campiotti is to be congratulated on his sensitive rendering of these.The relationship between Yuri and Lara truly reflected the sadness of Pasternak's poem,"The Parting."I only bought the DVD after almost casually coming across this made for TV movie on the box.It's emotional landscape and authentic sets are strong enough to warrant a proper release at the cinema.I suspect Boris Pastenak would have much preferred it to the David Lean film and so did I !