Doctor Zhivago (1965) – Filming Locations
Drama / Romance / War · Directed by David Lean · Starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie
The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.
Where was Doctor Zhivago filmed?
- Madrid, Spain, Madrid – Moscow street scenes and city exteriors representing pre-revolutionary Russia. David Lean used Madrid's architecture and streets as a substitute for Moscow, filming extensive crowd scenes and establishing shots of the Russian capital
- Toledo, Spain, Toledo – Russian countryside and village sequences during the civil war period. Toledo's medieval architecture and landscape were used to represent Russian provincial towns and rural areas during the Russian Revolution and civil war
- Segovia, Spain, Segovia – Siberian landscapes and rural Russian scenes. The harsh Castilian landscape substituted for the frozen steppes of Siberia in the film's central section
- Palencia, Spain, Palencia – Russian steppe and winter landscape sequences. Northern Spanish landscapes were used to depict the vast Russian steppes and winter scenes of Yuri and Lara's journey
- Barcelona, Spain, Barcelona – Additional urban and architectural sequences. Barcelona's urban landscape was used for various Moscow street scenes and establishing shots of the Russian capital
- Finland – Winter landscape and snow sequences. Finland's natural winter landscape was used for the film's most visually striking snow scenes and Siberian journey sequences