It was among the last of those big, sprawling movies. And remember, the novel and Pasternak were banned in the Soviet Union when it came out.
Pasternak's disagreement with Soviet Communism was not actually political but rather based on his aesthetic views - he couldn't fully accept official literary doctrines developed from a theory of class struggle but instead followed his own principles - which I have to admit the book is not bad. The movie, however, is terrible in my opinion.
Interestingly, the book won the Nobel. Russky authorities told Pasternak he could go accept the prize, but not to return. Pasternak loved his country so much he refused to leave...a great patriot, imho.....