It is a film that blends pratfalls and a sophisticated comedy of manners.
Ninotchka (1939)
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Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 23
Rotten:0
Average Rating: 8.3/10
Consensus: With Greta Garbo proving her comedy chops in the twilight of her career, Ninotchka is a can't-miss classic.
Runtime: 2 hrs 35 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Ninotchka is a stern, straightlaced Communist Party member sent to Paris to finish the sale of Grand Duchess Swana's jewels for the Soviet government. But, while studying the frivolous materialism... Ninotchka is a stern, straightlaced Communist Party member sent to Paris to finish the sale of Grand Duchess Swana's jewels for the Soviet government. But, while studying the frivolous materialism of Paris, Ninotchka meets Leon, Swana's lawyer and sometime lover, and the two become enamored with one another -- without knowing each other's identity. The Grand Duchess, in the meantime, is suing the USSR for ownership of the jewels. What follows is a delicate web of intrigue and deception as Swana tries to blackmail Ninotchka into leaving Paris. Soon the two lovers have to overcome political hurdles and cross borders just to be together. [More]
Starring: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Bela Lugosi, Ina Claire
Starring: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Bela Lugosi, Ina Claire, Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, Alexander Granach, Gregory Gaye, Dorothy Adams
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Producer: Ernst Lubitsch
Composer: Werner Richard Heymann
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Release:
Sep 6, 2005
Reviews for Ninotchka
Selection of Ernst Lubitsch to pilot Garbo in her first light performance in pictures proves a bull's-eye.
The satire may be mostly a matter of easy contrasts, but the lovers inhabit a world of elegance and poise that is uniquely and movingly Lubitsch's.
This was Garbo's first comedy and second last film. And it's a unique role for her, first because she starts off as a dour, cold comrade with no sense of humour, and second because she laughs herself into a love of capitalist vices.
MGM announced to the world: Garbo Laughs! In a major departure from her screen image, Garbo brings incredibly sensual abandon to her role of a glum, scientifically trained Bolshevik envoy who succumbs to Parisian decadence of romance and champagne.
It's still consistently amusing, and Garbo throws herself into the fray with engaging vigour.
...thanks to Garbo, its supporting cast, and director Ernst Lubitsch's magic touch, it remains one of Hollywood's most sparkling products.
While Ninotchka may lack something for the masses, it must be catalogued as a triumph for all concerned.
entertaining and worth seeing for Garbo, one of the first magnetic screen presences
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