Anderegg, Michael A.. David Lean / Michael A. Anderegg. [0805792988 (alk. paper)] Boston : Twayne Publishers, 1984.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1998.A3 L3792 1984

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    My main focus of interest after watching Doctor Zhivago was the manner in which the film recreated the novel. Boris Pasternak had his novel published for the first time in Italy in 1957, and was continually restricted from distributing it at home due to its subversive themes in the context of a Communist Russia. David Lean, a prominent Hollywood director of the modern era, read the book on a hiatus between movies and decided to make the film version in 1965. Michael A. Anderegg has published a novel, David Lean, that closely analyzes the works of the Hollywood director. In chapter 8 of the novel, entitled Doctor Zhivago and Ryan's Daughter, Anderegg comments on the various techniques that David Lean and Robert Bolt (scriptwriter) incorporated in order to tailor the novel into a story fit for the screen. In essence, Anderegg argues that the film version enhances a story that was poorly constructed for readers; "Pasternak's novel never really comes to life. His characters are crudely sketched; his plot meanders; his ideas are shallow and labored; his structure is haphazard and confusing. Doctor Zhivago, in short, is a very bad book" (David Lean, pg. 122). The novel attempts to distinguish between the romanticism of life, and the realities of a brutal and destructive Russian Revolution. But how does a director capture these themes onto the medium of film? Anderegg states that Lean employs some creative techniques in order to truly bring the novel to life on screen. He says that Lean brilliantly uses the idea of a transparent barrier, the window, to represent this division between romanticism and reality. Several scenes in the film are shot through windows, and the viewer is suddenly and uncomfortably aware that he is peeking into the private happenings of other people's lives. For instance, Anderegg references the scene in which Dr. Zhivago (Omar Sharif), peeks into Lara's (Julie Christie) bedroom, and sees the silent image of her crying in relief after Komarovsky (Rod Steiger) has told her that her mother will live. Similarly, viewers watch through a window as Lara tell Pasha (her lover) that she is carrying Komarovsky's child. We see Pasha (Tom Courtenay) cry out of devastation, and we see Lara's face contort into something less beautiful, because of the shame she feels in confessing her infidelity. Several other scenes are carried out in this manner, and the audience sees entire clips carried out in silence as we observe from the outside. Anderegg argues that utilizing this physical barrier is a brilliant way of capturing the novel's intentions onto film. Often, Lean keeps us on the outside looking in. This reminds us of the dual nature of life; romanticism vs. realism. Throughout the novel, Anderegg uncovers a number of other ways in which Lean has improved the story of Doctor Zhivago through his film adaptation .