Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A Czar Is Born", September 18, 2004
Maurice Jarre created a sound-track classic-for-all-time . . . and for all times with the soundtrack for the 1965 film "Dr. Zhivago". This was an epic movie of an epic love and demanded an epic musical score. This soundtrack transcended that demand. While it was the perfect accompnyment to every scene of the film . . .it stands on its own as well, even now almost forty years later.
The recurring "theme" - "Lara's Theme" (popularly known as 'Somewhere My Love'- as lyrics were added for pop radio) is today, instantly recognizable to everyone. (I can't hear that theme without "falling in love all over again" with Julie Cristie, who played the role of Lara - or who WAS Lara!)
Another memorable track is the "Kontakion" from the Kievan Russian Orthodox Requiem Liturgy. This hymn is emotionally moving in every Eastern Orthodox funeral or memorial service for the dead . . . it was just as emotional in the film setting as the young boy Yuri (Zhivago) attends his mother's funeral and interment. Just listening to the track today, brings memories of that scene . . . and to any Orthodox familiar with his/her own spiritual tradition, evokes prayerful memories of every funeral of any loved ones who have departed this life. This track alone makes this disc worthwhile owning.
This 1995 "Thirtieth Anniversary Edition" is expanded to include much music hich was not included on the oiginal 1995 release . . . all of it worthy. Also, three variations of "Lara's Theme" (not on the film score) are also added "bonus tracks" - one jazz, one rock, and one swing -- all interesting and enjoyable, though out of the film context . . .but they demonstrate just how adaptable and viable "Laras Theme" actually is and can be. (I must admit that the "rock" version sounds more like "Dixieland to my hearing.)
This is a more than worthwhile album to own and to listen to over and over again. Even if you never saw the movie,"Dr. Zhivago", you will enjoy this album . . . and maybe even be inspired to read Boris Pasternak's book . . . and maybe even get a copy of the film to watch . . . again and again . . . and possibly fall in love with Julie Christie (Lara).
(p.s. - Boris Pasterak actually meant this "love story triangle" to represent being torn between the love for "Mother Russia" with the "Czar" and "The Revolution" and all that it entailed and hoped to build for a new Russia and all that Revolution ruined and destroyed . . . Zhivago, Tonya, Lara, Strelnikov, Komarovsky are all "symbols" of the love/longing/strife/war of Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary Russia.)
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best soundtracks., December 30, 1999
After watching the movie "Doctor Zhivago" (which I recommend, it was a lovely movie), I just had to go out and buy the soundtrack to it. Maurice Jarr's score is breathtaking. The balalaikas are wonderful, it adds a very Russian feel to it all. My favorite piece is the 'Main Title' and the other slower, more romantic tracks, which feature the famous "Lara's Theme." A nice edition for Doctor Zhivago fans or just for anyone who enjoyed the music. It won the Academy Award in 1965. Get the 30th Anniversary CD, since it has some interesting facts and also has some pieces that were cut out of the finished movie.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of all possible soundtracks, April 30, 2001
Maurice Jarre's stunning score to the film DOCTOR ZHIVAGO ranks as one of the finest soundtracks ever composed. Grand, memorable, and powerful, Jarre's acheivement captures the agony of revolutionary Russia and complements brilliantly the epic production of Metro Goldwyn Mayer.Jarre's score involves a use of several leitmotifs, Lara's Theme being the most famous, which bind each piece into the larger whole of the film. That Jarre was able to accomplish this is all the more surprising because, as he states in the CD booklet, he had only 6 weeks to compose the film score. The production of the soundtrack is crystal-clear and strong. The drums are crisp and reverberant, and the elements of the orchestra is balanced on the recording. For those who loved the film and its score, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is essential
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