MovieChat Forums > Doctor Zhivago (1965) Discussion > The priest speaking to Lara in the churc...

The priest speaking to Lara in the church is Richard Burton

posted 12 years ago by MarsFlyTrap
22 replies | jump to latest

At the 14m45s mark, a priest speaks at the burial of young Yuri's mother. His hair and beard are long and silvery white. I believe this priest is rightly listed on IMDb as "José Nieto (uncredited)," who would have been 63 years old the year Dr. Zhivago was released.

http://800spaghettiwesterns.blogspot.com/2012/01/jose-nieto.html

The following scene, which is less than 30 seconds long, occurs at the 44m09s mark.

Priest: "You know what Our Lord said to the woman taken in adultery?"
Lara: "Yes, Father, he said 'Go, and sin no more.'"
Priest: "And did she?"
Lara: "I don’t know, Father."
Priest: "Nobody does, child. Flesh is not weak; it is strong. Only the sacrament of marriage will contain it. Remember that."
Lara: [Nods, bows and walks away.]

The priest in this scene is clearly not the priest who spoke at the burial. I have no doubt that the actor playing this priest is Richard Burton. The voice absolutely clinches it.

This is a topic that has come and gone and now come again.

If the priest in the church is not Richard Burton, who is he?

Good excuse for watching the movie again.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] MarsFlyTrap 12 years ago

Why did he appear in an uncredited cameo as a man in strip club in What's New Pussycat?

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] MarsFlyTrap 12 years ago

Try just listening to the voice. Unmistakable.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] MarsFlyTrap 12 years ago

The lack of established proof is the reason why I'm bringing it up.
I too had seen the movie many times before I finally recognized the voice. It was a revelation.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] MarsFlyTrap 12 years ago

From http://juliechristie.com/julie-christie-biography/
which appears to be a fan site rather than anything officially associated with the actress, I have just learned that "Christie's mother was a Welsh-born painter and childhood friend of actor Richard Burton…"
If this is true, it may help explain why he would be willing to do such a cameo.

Here's a link to a lively but short-lived and inconclusive discussion of the same topic from nine years ago.
http://ask.metafilter.com/6533/Dr-Zhivago-and-Richard-Burton-question
The most tantalizing link on that page is dead, unfortunately.

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[–] OldAussie 12 years ago

Based on the voice it is Burton....or a very good mimic.
Honestly. this has crossed my mind for years but I dismissed it as TOO unlikely, however.....

"Life clung to me like a disease."

[–] MarsFlyTrap 12 years ago

Are you ready for the closeup?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKfWHhZlIfw

[–] birdeyes304 12 years ago

I do not think it is Burton because I do not see any pock marks on his face, the nose is different, the voice is close but no from me. Thanks for posting.

[–] bridgetjones12002 11 years ago

Absolutely NOT Burton. I would stake my life on it!

Remember us, for we too have lived, loved and laughed

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] Echo_in_big_sky 12 years ago

I've seen this film so many times, but today I was working and not watching it, just listening to it as I was working. As soon as I heard that voice my husband and I looked at each other and said in unison, "IS that Richard Burton?"

It was his voice that caught my attention. Every other time I saw the film it never hit me.

From what I can tell, there is no credit given to him for it, not on IMDB nor elsewhere online can I find anything.

But it is interesting that other people think it sounded like him too.

[To a method actor] Darling, we have a 3 day schedule. There's no time to do anything but to do it.

[–] MarsFlyTrap 12 years ago

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm replying to your post partly as a way of consolidating the links to relevant material I've posted on YouTube, including a new sample of Burton's voice, and partly in response to other posters' comments.
Voice only:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VxaLCyFtTk
Cropped to 320x240 (without resizing or any other adjustment) from highest-resolution (1920x1080) source available to general public (I'm referring to the file I uploaded to YouTube. Resizing does occur in the uploading process.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKfWHhZlIfw
Newly added sample of Burton's voice for comparison, from another movie released in the same year (1965):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC3evTiY6SE
Site which asserts that Burton was a childhood friend of Christie's mother:
http://juliechristie.com/julie-christie-biography/
Whoever the actor in this scene is, he's wearing a lot of makeup, certainly enough to hide Burton's pock marks.
At this late date, I would tend to agree that only Miss Christie herself could tell us who played the priest. Here's hoping that this burning controversy somehow comes to her attention, and that she and Mr. Burton did not solemnly vow never to reveal the secret!

[–] yabbadabbadu2 11 years ago

That is DEFINITELY Richard Burton.

First off, you guys have the wrong priest. I'll explain in a minute.

But - first, look at Nieto's filmography on IMDB - Notice that almost every one is Spanish, considering he was from Spain, Duh. So wouldn't he have an accent? I decided to go find a movie or some clip on YouTube, so I could hear the voice.

Found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JHEjwSI7RY It's the Black Beauty trailer - at 1:43 you can hear Nieto's accent for yourself. There is no way that Nieto is that priest.

The priest in the movie speaks with that perfect Brit accent. There would be some telltale accent in a man who didn't do more than half a dozen English movies.

The priest has blue eyes - and Nieto has brown. There would be no reason to change them to blue for Zhivago, would there? Much less that Nieto has bags under his eyes at around the same time period from comparable photos.

Nieto's nose is also totally different in real life, whereas I have found pictures of Burton around this time period with a very similar nose. The nostrils are really big - and Nieto's are NOT.

And what better way to hide Burton's skin than with that big furry beardy thing and a bad wig?

Why do I say you have the wrong guy? Because Nieto is this guy, eye bags and all, #23: http://movie-dude.co.uk/[Film]%20Doctor%20Zhivago%20(1965).htm

#25 in the unnamed extras is Burton. http://movie-dude.co.uk/[Extras]%20Doctor%20Zhivago%20(1965).htm Julie Christie and Omar Sharif, time to ante up with the truth!

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] jsm-33292 8 years ago

I think it's Rod Steiger imitating Richard Burton's voice.

[–] MarsFlyTrap 8 years ago

The scene in question:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKfWHhZlIfw

Rod Steiger had brown eyes, for one thing:

https://www.google.com/search?q=rod+steiger+doctor+zhivago&num=100&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwix6-ee_PPPAhVnz1QKHdS5AVcQ_AUICCgB#imgrc=-x3HlED--vKHhM%3A

[–] jsm-33292 8 years ago

The priest's face belongs to ..... who knows.....?

The voice sounds like Steiger using his Burton voice - he was brilliant at it.

Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd, who played the two antagonists in BEN HUR (1959), both had blue eyes. The director, William Wyler, thought this an optical unlikelihood, so he made Boyd wear brown contact lenses.