Analysis of the Movie Doctor Zhivago

Analysis of the Movie Doctor Zhivago

Doctor Zhivago is a historically accurate movie. It is a love story that takes place during the Russian Revolution, World War One, and the Russian Civil War. Doctor Zhivago is historically correct because of the events it represents, the people the actors portray, and the level of detail put into the setting.

At the beginning of the movie, there is a scene showing a man handing out flyers asking workers to join him in a peaceful march to protest against the Tsar. The man’s name is Pasha. He is an ordinary worker who believes to reform Russia there must be a complete revolution of thought and action. Pahsa, when asked if he was part of the Bolshevik party, claims no allegiance. The Bolsheviks were people who were attempting to gain a much more favorable lifestyle for the working class. The Bolsheviks were lead by Lenin, who would end up leading Russia. Since someone questioned if Pasha was a Bolshevik because of his actions, one would believe that the Bolsheviks were doing the same thing; trying to get people to revolt against the Tsar.

When the workers who received the flyers join Pasha in the peaceful march, they are attacked Russian soldiers. The soldiers charge at them and the people turn and run. Those unable to escape are killed or injured. In the movie, this event took place in Moscow, but it was representing “The Bloody Sunday Massacre” which took place in St Petersburg, January 22, 1905.

Doctor Zhivago portrayed this event very well. They have the march during the winter of 1905, which is the actual time that the “Bloody Sunday” event took place. Also, both the people marching in the movie and the people marching in real life wanted the same things. They wanted bread, better working conditions, and eight-hour days. The setting of the massacre scene in front of the Russian palace is correct because in actuality, the massacre took place in front of the Winter Palace. Doctor Zhivago also uses one of its characters to represent one of the historical figures who was involved in the “Bloody Sunday Massacre”.

After the massacre, Pasha escapes with only a cut to his face. He goes to his fiancée, Laura, to ask for help. She asks how he got injured and he tells her about the massacre. He describes how the soldiers slaughtered women and children who only asked for bread to eat. Since he was the...

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...go is quite accurate in it’s portrayal of the facts. Everything from the ideas about the revolution to details on the buildings were historically correct. Names and locations might have been changed, but what they represented is factual. Even though the movie’s focus is on the love story and not the revolution, the details for the revolution seem to be accurate.

Bibliography

1) Adams, Arthur E. The Russian Revolution and Bolshevik Victory: Why and How? Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1960.

2) “Bloody Sunday.” Spartacus Educational. 2002. Spartacus Educational. October 15, 2004

3) Field, Daniel. Rebels in the Name of the Tsar. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976

4) Moorehead, Alan. The Russian Revolution. New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1958.

5) Oliva, L. Jay. Russia and the West: From Peter to Khrushchev. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1965.

6) Roark, James L. and others. The American Promise: a History of the United States: Second Compact Edition. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.

7) Vernadsky, George. A History of Russia: Fourth Edition, Completely Revised. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954.