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This film, Dr. Zhivago, was always a favourite of my mother's even though she wasn't a real film goer in my childhood. The only other two films she ever insisted on going to see because she wanted to was My Fair Lady and, in total contrast, the film version of All Creatures Great and Small which I also saw and have the 600'er on super 8. She did take me to see things occasionally as a child growing up in the 60's and early 70's. Mostly Disney and that type of thing. She even did something even rarer than going to the cinema to see a film SHE wanted to see....... she bought a vinyl single...... the soundtrack theme to the film! She definitely had a crush on Omar Sharif which I think was the main reason for seeing it. Strange, but I cannot remember her ever getting particularly enthusiastic over Lawrence of Arabia (that was my dad.... but NOTHING to do with Omar Sharif I can assure you)!
I was always told that it was a really long film, which it is, and that there was no point watching it as I would not understand it, being an adult film.
As a child and teenager, I carried this notion in my head for many many years. One could call it a brainwashed, I suppose. But, hey ho, eventually the big day arrived when there was a huge announcement that it was going to be given its television premier. I think it must have been BBC 2 one Christmas years before Sky, Netflicks and Pay TV don't forget.
My mind was made up. I was going to watch this thing come hell or high water to decide for myself what it was like. So I did, even though it was on a "huge" (in those days) 25inch TV. Don't forget, it was academy ratio pan and scan at best in those days. They wouldn't have dared broadcast with huge black bars at the top and bottom as there would have been an outcry. I don't think the general public had been educated in those days about screen ratio's.
So, I sat down to watch. Oh my goodness......how annoying! How frustrating mum and dad DID know what they were talking about after all! How boring! What a yawn! I just couldn't understand it at all, so after about 45 minutes lost interest and did something else.
Fast forward 35 years or so. Somewhere along the line the dvd fell into my hands and straight onto the shelf to be watched (maybe) at some point in the future.
Fast forward a few years later. Ebay. For Sale 3x 400' super 8 Dr. Zhivago. I put in a reasonable offer and surprise, surprise, I won !
On viewing it, it seemed slightly more interesting than I remember as a youngster. The story didn't quite make sense but realizing that it was a very heavy edit from the full length, I had to make allowances for that. Watched it several times. It only became luke warm at best.
Fast forward to six months ago. Ebay. For sale 3x 400' super 8 Dr. Zhivago - Cinemascope! Being always on the lookout for scope super 8, I put my bid in and lo and behold, I won it again ! Even though the edit was exactly the same as the earlier flat version, this cinemascope version showed the image in its true glory and actually made it a greater pleasure to watch, which it was, several times over, and the storyline fell a little bit more into place.... but not quite as much as I would have liked. Still good to see on super 8, though.
Fast forward to this morning. Saturday. Pouring with rain. Not too much to do. Time to take the bull by the horns and finally see this film in its entirety on dvd so I can form an adult judgement on it once and for all. After all, I have not seen a bad David Lean film.
Here I am 3.5 hours later.
Verdict? A really good film! Definitely worth watching. Virtually everything fell into place, made sense and was very entertaining. Beautifully photographed, too. Time very well spent. I will certainly watch it again in the not too distant future as I know I always do miss little bits or subtle remarks, nuances etc on first viewing. Schindlers List is a prime example for me.
I think my journey through time with this film throws up a couple of facts. Firstly, as one matures, one sees things from a different angle and opinion can change. Secondly...... the one that all parents know......and their kids don't........and that is that mums and dads are always right! Mine will be looking down now thinking "I told you so !"
.
I was always told that it was a really long film, which it is, and that there was no point watching it as I would not understand it, being an adult film.
As a child and teenager, I carried this notion in my head for many many years. One could call it a brainwashed, I suppose. But, hey ho, eventually the big day arrived when there was a huge announcement that it was going to be given its television premier. I think it must have been BBC 2 one Christmas years before Sky, Netflicks and Pay TV don't forget.
My mind was made up. I was going to watch this thing come hell or high water to decide for myself what it was like. So I did, even though it was on a "huge" (in those days) 25inch TV. Don't forget, it was academy ratio pan and scan at best in those days. They wouldn't have dared broadcast with huge black bars at the top and bottom as there would have been an outcry. I don't think the general public had been educated in those days about screen ratio's.
So, I sat down to watch. Oh my goodness......how annoying! How frustrating mum and dad DID know what they were talking about after all! How boring! What a yawn! I just couldn't understand it at all, so after about 45 minutes lost interest and did something else.
Fast forward 35 years or so. Somewhere along the line the dvd fell into my hands and straight onto the shelf to be watched (maybe) at some point in the future.
Fast forward a few years later. Ebay. For Sale 3x 400' super 8 Dr. Zhivago. I put in a reasonable offer and surprise, surprise, I won !
On viewing it, it seemed slightly more interesting than I remember as a youngster. The story didn't quite make sense but realizing that it was a very heavy edit from the full length, I had to make allowances for that. Watched it several times. It only became luke warm at best.
Fast forward to six months ago. Ebay. For sale 3x 400' super 8 Dr. Zhivago - Cinemascope! Being always on the lookout for scope super 8, I put my bid in and lo and behold, I won it again ! Even though the edit was exactly the same as the earlier flat version, this cinemascope version showed the image in its true glory and actually made it a greater pleasure to watch, which it was, several times over, and the storyline fell a little bit more into place.... but not quite as much as I would have liked. Still good to see on super 8, though.
Fast forward to this morning. Saturday. Pouring with rain. Not too much to do. Time to take the bull by the horns and finally see this film in its entirety on dvd so I can form an adult judgement on it once and for all. After all, I have not seen a bad David Lean film.
Here I am 3.5 hours later.
Verdict? A really good film! Definitely worth watching. Virtually everything fell into place, made sense and was very entertaining. Beautifully photographed, too. Time very well spent. I will certainly watch it again in the not too distant future as I know I always do miss little bits or subtle remarks, nuances etc on first viewing. Schindlers List is a prime example for me.
I think my journey through time with this film throws up a couple of facts. Firstly, as one matures, one sees things from a different angle and opinion can change. Secondly...... the one that all parents know......and their kids don't........and that is that mums and dads are always right! Mine will be looking down now thinking "I told you so !"
.
​ cant exactly remember as it was long ago., in saying that it must have been one of the first soundtracks I ever bought. Jump forward a million years to 2011, where we ran four of David Lean's films. One title a week, all on 35mm. the print of Dr Zhivago looked good. Young Chris our part time projectionist ran that one upstairs, while I came in on my days off to watch it on the big screen. My thinking then, that this would be the last time I would get the chance to watch it on actual film.
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