Movies

You Won’t Believe What Inspired Sir David Lean’s Epic Film

BBG News

Sir David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago which has a running time of more than three hours is one of the greatest but also one of the longest films ever made.

But letters published for the first time today show that the epic tale of romance set against the backdrop of the Russian revolution might have been even longer if it had not been for the hit sixties drama Z-Cars.

Sir David, who directed the movie told his screenwriting partner Robert Bolt that he hoped to keep the running time of the film down by emulating the story telling techniques used by the BBC cop drama.

In April 11, 1964, he mentioned that he had been watching some TV shows recently and was quite impressed by an episode from Z-Cars. The content itself wasn’t particularly remarkable, but the fast pace and ability to stay one step ahead of the viewers outshone most movies.

It’s quite fascinating to notice similarities between these productions and some classic television films like ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’. Given their era, it’s almost possible to predict each scene, including the camera movements.

Sir David, widely regarded as Britain’s greatest ever film director was 56 at the time of the correspondence and desperate to keep his forthcoming adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago down to a running time of two hours and fifty minutes.

His admiration for Z-Cars belied a crisis of confidence in his own techniques which he thought were a little old fashioned.

He wrote: ‘Makes me even more frightened of the rails I’m always talking about because those old slow techniques are still somewhere in my blood and I have to fight against them, consciously all the time.’

Sir David, having recently watched the 1963 spy movie “The Prize” featuring Paul Newman, expressed his astonishment by saying, “Movies like ‘The Prize’ still bear a striking resemblance to ‘Zenda’. I find it hard to believe!

He added: ‘I hate obscurity and muddle as far as the audience is concerned and I am not sure how some of these modern young chaps do it. I think it’s that the more daring cuts and moves forward are done with great neatness and clarity in the actual joining.’

The idea of Sir David having a crisis of confidence will surprise many.

Prior to beginning work on Doctor Zhivago he had directed some of the greatest films ever made including Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia.

During that period, “Z Cars” with its well-known theme song was one of the toughest and most watched programs on television.

It is not known how Bolt responded to Lean’s suggestion about Z-Cars. There is some evidence to suggest he may have caught at least one episode of the show. In one undated letter to Lean he suggested that an unknown Judi Dench be considered for the pivotal role of ‘the girl’ who is the daughter of Zhivago and Lara.

In her late twenties, the actress, often mistakenly called Judy, had just a few stage and television appearances under her belt at that point.

She had, however, won favourable reviews playing a rebellious young woman in a 1963 episode of Z-Cars called Made for Each Other.

In a letter, dated unknown, he clarified to Lean that the character should possess a natural allure instead of being an overwhelmingly beautiful bombshell.

To get us started, I believe an actress like Judi Dench could be suitable. By the way, I think the character should have a fair complexion instead of being dark. What makes this character intriguing to me is her inner depth and hidden life, which she guards fiercely, giving a sense of mystery and complexity.

Dame Judi was not, however, screen tested for the big screen role and the part went to rising star Rita Tushingham.

Doctor Zhivago which starred Omar Sharif, Julie Christie and Sir Alec Guinness opened in the United States in December 1965 with what even its own trailer conceded was a ‘monumental’ running time of three hours and twelve minutes.

At first, it was met with a somewhat indifferent response from critics who argued that it didn’t measure up to David Lean’s 1962 movie “Lawrence of Arabia.

remarkably, even critics who weren’t fond of the film commended its ability to compress the novel into a sequence of swift, impactful moments.

A critic for the Daily Mirror noted: ‘the screenplay subtly retains the spirit of Pasternak but tosses away pretty well everything else except a handful of basic characters. It couldn’t have worked out any other way short of the film running for about fifteen hours.’

The movie that ultimately won six Academy Awards, with one of those awards going to its script, was undeniably immune to criticism and swiftly turned into a massive hit at the box office.

The movie, which celebrates its sixtieth birthday this year remains the eighth most successful film ever made when box office takings are adjusted for inflation.

A spokesperson for Dame Judi said: ‘If Judi was considered [for the film] she was unaware of it and certainly never screen tested for it and never met David Lean.’

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2025-03-16 03:28

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