Lean wanted to follow the action and adventure of Lawrence with something more intimate and romantic; the result was another epic, one that still holds a position in the top ten highest-grossing films ever made. Set in Russia (for which location shooting in Spain implausibly doubled) during WWI and the years following the 1917 Revolution, it is a beautifully mounted film that follows the intertwining lives of Zhivago (Omar Sharif) and Lara (Julie Christie, luminous). The two meet at a field hospital and, though already married, fall in love. Despite returning home to their spouses, their story has not ended.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of The Films of David Lean season.