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Ninotchka (1939)

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100

Average Rating: 8.3/10
Reviews Counted: 24
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 0

With Greta Garbo proving her comedy chops in the twilight of her career, Ninotchka is a can't-miss classic.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 0

With Greta Garbo proving her comedy chops in the twilight of her career, Ninotchka is a can't-miss classic.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 5,958

My Rating

Movie Info

"Garbo Laughs!" declared the ads for Ninotchka. In the face of dwindling foreign revenues, MGM decided to put Greta Garbo, a bigger draw in Europe than the US, in a box-office-savvy comedy, engaging the services of master farceur Ernst Lubitsch to direct. The film opens in Paris during the aftermath of the Russian revolution. A trio of Russian delegates (Sig Rumann, Felix Bressart, and Alexander Granach) are sent to Paris to sell the Imperial Jewels for ready cash. Grand Duchess Swana (Ina

R, 1 hr. 50 min.

Drama, Romance, Classics, Comedy

Melchior Lengyel, Charles Brackett

Sep 6, 2005

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (25) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (0) | DVD (8)

Selection of Ernst Lubitsch to pilot Garbo in her first light performance in pictures proves a bull's-eye.

February 3, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

February 3, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

One of the sprightliest comedies of the year.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Great, but kids may need historical context.

December 26, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

The masterpiece among Lubitsch's later films.

November 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | Comment
Antagony & Ecstasy

It is a film that blends pratfalls and a sophisticated comedy of manners.

February 3, 2009 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

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.

April 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile

It's Garbo's next-to-last film and first American comedy.

February 20, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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.

September 11, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

Garbo laughs ... and the rest of us revel in a comedy delight.

March 3, 2006 Comment
Las Vegas Review-Journal

It's still consistently amusing, and Garbo throws herself into the fray with engaging vigour.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

It's a delightful affair, full of sparkling wit and wisecracks. (Greta Garbo Signature Collection)

September 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

...thanks to Garbo, its supporting cast, and director Ernst Lubitsch's magic touch, it remains one of Hollywood's most sparkling products.

September 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Garbo does laugh! Delightful political musings.

October 30, 2004 Comment

Its legend isn't really justified, but it's good

July 30, 2002 Comment
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Ninotchka

This predictable romantic comedy disguises itself as a story about relations between Russia and France, but that story takes a back seat to the romance in the end. I found this movie contrived and boring. I liked the more comedic remake, Silk Stockings (1957), better than the original.

September 5, 2010
ajv2688

Super Reviewer

Greta Garbo stars in the title role in this pre-cold war look at the Soviet Union. When three emissaries come to Paris to sell the royal jewelry confiscated during the revolution, Leon (Melvyn Douglas), representing the Duchess, attempts to reclaim the jewels in her name. The no-nonsense Ninotchka, a high-ranking

February 15, 2010
Mr Awesome
First Last

Super Reviewer

    1. Ninotchka: Must you flirt?
    2. Count Leon Dalga: Well, I don't have to, but I find it natural.
    3. Ninotchka: Suppress it.
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)
    1. Count Leon Dalga: Ninotchka, it's midnight. One half of Paris is making love to the other half.
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Ninotchka (1939) (UK)
  • Ninotchka (1939) (CA)
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