December 22, 1965 –
David Lean’s Russian epic, Dr Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Courtenay, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson, Siobhán McKenna, and Rita Tushingham, opened in the US, on this date.
Critics tore the film apart upon release. Newsweek commented about “hack-job sets” and “pallid photography“. Director David Lean was so deeply affected that he swore he would never make another movie. Thanks in part to MGM’s marketing campaign and strong word of mouth, this became the second highest-grossing movie of 1965, behind The Sound of Music.
The Haus of Dcaligari 