Fans of wartime dramas can now watch a three-part series based on a 1957 novel, available for free on ITVX amongst other masterpieces.
Set during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War that followed, the adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel tells the story of a young Moscow woman whose life becomes entangled with three men who fall for her.
This marks the second English-language screen version of the book, coming after the 1965 film of the same name. Doctor Zhivago stars Black Doves actress Keira Knightley as Lara Guishar Antipova.
Viewers have been sharing their reactions on IMDb, with one user, Jameswj, praising it as “top quality television”, writing: “I have never seen the original Doctor Zhivago film, so I can’t take any prejudged bias.”
“This mini-series is possibly the best UK mini-series I have ever seen and is a sign that perhaps the UK networks are serious about creating some top quality drama television that HBO have been producing for ages!”
“The acting is top quality, however, Sam Neill on top form steals every scene he’s in, and that’s saying something with the quality around him on screen.”
Rogerhboon shared: “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.”
Suggesting the series surpasses the iconic film, Tom Murray added: “I preferred this to the 1965 film, possibly because of the greater time period since reading the book.
“And possibly because it was Masterpiece Theater not Hollywood and probably because four hours gave it a better chance to be true to the book and realistic acting styles have improved since 1965.”
Drawing comparisons to the original source material, booksnob said: “This is a sort of timeless book, yes, in that it’s about the soul and the human condition.
“The characters don’t sound that dissimilar from modern day people with modern day problems which I hadn’t thought of.” In Britain, the serial received a nomination for the 2003 BAFTA Award for Best Drama Serial but was beaten by Shackleton.