Doctor Zhivago (1965)

David Lean lets history keep pulling Yuri Zhivago and Lara apart. World War I and the October Revolution decide when they can meet, and the film is built around how rare and precious those stretches are. Omar Sharif plays Zhivago as a watcher swept along by events, while Julie Christie gives Lara the hard edge of someone who has had to survive on her own. The abandoned, frozen country estate where they share their final days of happiness is one of the most romantic sets ever built, a refuge that works because you know it cannot last. At over three hours it is a commitment, but Lean paces it like a novel, and the long separations are what make each reunion hit.