Although perhaps the weakest of David Lean's famous epic's such as Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on The River Kwai (technically not an epic but clearly a precursor to his later style), it is nevertheless a film that must be seen for it's stunning cinematography and stirring recounting of history. Get your popcorn, you're going to be sitting there for a while, but it is ultimately an entertaining and worthwhile piece of cinema.
Doctor Zhivago is a love story that takes place against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. As a historical epic it is a grand and majestic depiction of events full of beautiful imagery and roiling drama. Unfortunately, as romance it's less successful. The problem is that we are never shown just WHY these two are in love. After spending some time together, all of a sudden they profess their love for each other and without any evidence to the contrary we just have to take their word for it. The romantic leads don't display much in the way of tender moments or anything that might be called chemistry. This being the heart of the film, it makes the proceedings overall fall a bit flat.
Make no mistake there's nothing mediocre about this movie, it's just that in it's breadth and scope it clearly aspires to be one of the greatest movies but is only merely good. It's strength is clearly in the smaller historical vignettes that serve to provide the setting in which the movie takes place: the violent suppression of a political demonstration, a mob of deserters leaving the eastern front to join the revolution, a train of exiles being sent to the Urals. This is the real reason I would recommend this movie. It's billing as a great romance doesn't ever truly pay off.
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