Doctor Zhivago

Not a frame of David Lean's film was shot in Russia, and none could be: Pasternak's novel was banned in the Soviet Union. Lean went to Spain after his experience there on Lawrence of Arabia, and then the weather betrayed him. The forecasts failed and the production hit Spain's warmest winter in fifty years. Snow was made from marble quarry dust, and some winter sequences were shot in Finland and Canada. Critics were cool at first, with one dismissing the film for reducing history to a series of rather annoying occurrences. The box office answered that. Adjusted for inflation it stands as the ninth highest-grossing film worldwide. At the 38th Academy Awards it took ten nominations and five wins, including screenplay, cinematography and original score. Maurice Jarre's Lara's Theme went on to have a life entirely of its own. The team behind Disney's Frozen named it as one of their inspirations in 2013. Who it is for: viewers who want long, opulent, romantic epic cinema. Who it is not for: anyone hoping for a serious political reading of the revolution. History here is the backdrop to a love story.