"The Eighth Highest Grossing Film of All Time" -- WHAT?!

I watched Doctor Zhivago the other day, all the way through, and went to read up on it at the IMDb trivia section.

I found this trivia note:

"As of 2010, adjusted for inflation, this is the eighth-highest grossing film of all time."

Now we can figure that in the 13 years since, a few big hits(like The Avengers) have knocked Doctor Z down the list. On the other hand, movies like The Avengers score so high BECAUSE of inflated ticket prices today and access to worldwide markets(like China) that didn't exist when Doctor Z came out in 1965.

Still, that's a pretty big hit and evidently in 1965, Doctor Z was only beaten by the BIGGER hit, The Sound of Music in grosses. (Or maybe Thunderball? That was big.)

But here's the thing. OK, this was before the blockbusters of the 70's with violence(like The Godfather and The Exorcist),before the effects blockbusters(Star Wars), before the comic book movies(from Superman in 1978 to Batman in 1989 to Marvel today) but still...

...audiences LIKED Doctor Z enough to make it a "Jaws" like box office hit?

It was a different time, to be sure. Word is that college students -- evidently a more intellectual art house bunch back then -- went gaga for "Lara's Theme" and the tragic love story of cheating lovers who cannot get back together. There is certainly an epic sweep to the movie(David Lean's late career specialty)...though not REALLY a lot of action or battle scenes. And maybe audiences of 1965 sought an education on Communism given that it was the bogeyman(in America at least) that was driving the Cold War and several hot ones (Vietnam.)

Still, overall, its a pretty mature, adult, DULL, and rather overlong movie and its amazing to me that it took hold as a great big giant box office hit.

It was a different era...

PS. Rod Steiger OWNS this movie. It only really comes alive when he appears in all his glowering, flamboyant hammery. Everybody else is pretty mopey and starry eyed or grim.