Doctor Zhivago (2002) |
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Doctor Zhivago (2002) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Interviews-Cast & Crew |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2002 | ||
| Running Time | 226:06 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
No/No Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Giacomo Campiotti |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Hans Matheson Keira Knightley Sam Neill Alexandra Maria Lara Kris Marshall Daniele Liotti Bill Paterson Celia Imrie Anne-Marie Duff Hugh Bonneville Maryam d'Abo |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $39.95 | Music | Ludovico Einaudi |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Boris Pasternak's weighty novel, Doctor Zhivago, is considered a twentieth century literary classic. David Lean and Robert Bolt's 1965 film adaptation of it is a sweeping epic movie, a cinema classic, and a brilliant DVD. So what can a re-make possibly offer? The 2002 mini-series cleverly ignores the film, and charts its own course. Andrew Davies has written an adaptation that takes a slightly different look at the story, with some interesting results.
As I wrote in my review of the original Doctor Zhivago, found here: "In the rich tradition of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Boris Pasternak wrote the weighty Russian novel, 'Doctor Zhivago'. Inspired by his own life, Pasternak spent ten years writing the novel. It was smuggled out of Russia in 1957 and published in Italian. Soon, however, the novel was translated and published in a number of languages. In 1958, Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his achievement in literature, but the Soviet Government would not allow him to accept the award. The novel was banned in Russia, and it only became available in 1988. Indeed, the movie could only be legally screened there from 1994. The novel 'Doctor Zhivago' is a love story, and not a political story. However, as the story is set largely during revolutionary and post-revolutionary Russia, it caused quite a stir, as the novel did not paint life in the idealised Communist model. Rather, the story featured flawed characters, making do in a flawed Socialist State."
"There are a number of characters, so my plot synopsis will be a little simplistic: Set in pre-revolutionary Moscow, Zhivago is a doctor, and a passionate poet. He marries the devoted Tonya, and they live a comfortable life of some luxury. WWI breaks out, and Zhivago finds himself as a doctor on the front line. There he meets the beautiful and kind nurse, Lara, and finds himself drawn to her. The Russian Revolution effectively ends Russia's involvement in WWI, and Zhivago returns home to find that his family are now living in squalor. He and his family flee Moscow for the country. In a small town, Zhivago happens to meet Lara again. She now finds herself in a loveless marriage, with an absent husband. Zhivago, a devoted family man, wrestles with his conscience, as his feelings for Lara deepen."
So what's different about this version? The mini-series includes a few more story elements of the book, missing from the film, such as Zhivago's father's suicide. I always thought this was a crucial part of the novel, for to me it explains Zhivago's blind optimism and love of life, and even his passion for becoming a doctor. The biggest difference is that the possessive and obsessive relationship between Komarovsky (Sam Neill) and Lara (Keira Knightley) gets a lot more attention. Indeed, Hans Matheson is a rather bland Zhivago, lacking the passion and fire of Omar Sharif. Sam Neill slithers into his role as the villainous, exploitative, and sleazy snake Komarovsky, and completely steals the show. One could be forgiven for thinking that he is the main character at times. I also found Keira Knightley a bit dull and wooden as Lara. While she portrays the young Lara adequately, she's completely out of her depth in the later scenes, trying to portray a woman who has seen and experienced the very worst that life has to offer. Kris Marshall, however, is surprisingly good as the idealistic and misguided Pasha.
Overall, the transfer is good, albeit very grainy.
The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced.
The sharpness is okay, but some scenes look a little soft. The shadow detail is poor. For example, consider the interior scenes at 31:34 (Disc 1) and 8:58 (Disc 2). The colour often appears drab and washed out, which might be an artistic choice. It certainly suits the mood of the story.
There are no major problem with MPEG artefacts, such as the picture breaking up, but the image did look a little pixelated at times. There were no problems with film-to-video artefacts. Small film artefacts appear throughout.
There are no subtitles present. The mini-series is presented in two parts, on two single-sided, single-layered discs.
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Not surprisingly for a television production, there is only one audio option: English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s).
The dialogue quality and audio sync are fine.
The musical score is credited to Ludovico Einaudi, and it is quite simple and minimalist.
As a stereo track, there is no discrete surround or LFE activity, but I should note that this is a pretty good stereo track, exhibiting a good dynamic range, with some serious bass.
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There is one extra.
An animated menu, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, there are a number of short interviews which can be viewed separately or all together:
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Doctor Zhivago (2002) was released on DVD in Region 1 in November, 2003.
The Region 4 DVD misses out on:
The Region 1 DVD misses out on:
I would still call it even, as I don't see these extras as anything special, and I would certainly still prefer our superior PAL formatting.
Unlike the novel and film that inspired it, Doctor Zhivago (2002), the mini-series, is not a classic. It is, however, a reasonably good mini-series, and well worth a rental if you're a fan of the original movie.
The video quality is acceptable.
The audio quality is limited but good.
There are few extras.
| Video | |
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| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output |
| Display | Grundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Sony STR DE-545 |
| Speakers | Sony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer |