Ninotchka
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Movie Reviews of Ninotchka
Movie Review: Ninotchka
Summary: 5 Stars
I think that my 8th cousin, Greta Garbo, did a great performance in this movie.Movie Review: Funny Commies
Summary: 4 Stars
Interesting the way Russians were being presented to America in Hollywood in 1939. The movie begins with three stooges, three Marx Brothers and I don't mean Karl, three Russian representatives on a mission in Paris, all very likeable and comical. No tough Khrushchevs or Stalins, just three softies who are fun to watch.
Then we meet the frigid Ninotchka, their supervisor. She is adorable in her frigidity, and soon enough she begins to melt and become romantic with Melvyn Douglas.
But there are some negatives in this film about Russians. Bela Lugosi plays a rather tough Russian higher-up, with a small part. The main negative is that during the scenes in Moscow the people are spied upon and feel the lack of freedom. And Ninotchka reminds us of Khrushchev when she tells Melvyn Douglas that western culture will be buried.
The very serious issue of exploitation of the majority of the people of the world by the wealthy and powerful is treated as a bit of a joke, as is communism, but it is no joke at all, as the present regime in the USA shows plainly. Just why is it that college expenses have skyrocketed to the point that nobody of the working class can afford to send their kid to college anymore without sinking into enormous debt?
No, the way the wealthy of America have shirked their tax responsibility and been allowed to milk us for every dime they can is no joke. The way they have colluded with OPEC to force up the price of oil is no joke. The fact that they are allowed to hide their billions in offshore accounts simply to avoid having to pay taxes is no joke. The IRS gets all over our butts for every dime but these rich misers have a free ticket.
The way they sell us out to the pharmaceutical industry, forcing up our health insurance premiums, the way they allow the pharmaceutical industry to drug our babies while hiding the dangers of those mind altering drugs, the way they squeeze every damn dime they can out of us, is no joke.
The way they have taken over America is no joke, and Ninotchka has some very legitimate beefs with the pigs who rule this world of ours.
In any event, this movie has some great laughs in it and a lot of romance as well. It's really sweet, and funny in parts too.
One of these days we may see a movie made in America that tells the truth about the selfish misers who have taken control of our country, who have won themselves their precious tax cuts on stock dividends, whose obvious aim is to constantly widen the economic gap between themselves and the rest of us, and who are traitors to the American people, Bush, Cheney and Coors being three of the leading players in this assault on us all. So while we laugh at the Russians in Ninotchka we better realize that the joke's on us. Because American capitalism sucks almost as bad as Russian communism.
As Ani DiFranco says (talking about the NRA) they'll make a pretty penny on us and then they'll go to hell.
Meanwhile, here we are laughing at the silly commies. What a bunch of dummies they were to put up with communism, huh? Not us, boy, we're no suckers. Yeah, right.
Movie Review: A definite classic and great to see Garbo in a comedy film but the DVD is pretty much barebones...
Summary: 4 Stars
"Ninotchka" is an enjoyable film featuring a splendid performance by Greta Garbo. With a wonderful pairing with director Ernst Lubitsch, when you think about the time this film was made, you can understand why it made such an impact to viewers.
With the Cold War looming (which begins in 1945) and World War II just beginning, the film was a hit around the world (not in Russia where the film was banned). During this time period, people wanted comedy to make them laugh, knowing that USA and other countries were heading into a deadly war. Over 70-years-later, for those not so familiar with how much tension there was during the war, what people had for entertainment was cinema.
Greta Garbo who was always seen as a serious romantic actress was in her first major comedy and she is able to play this deadpan character so perfectly. Although, in today's worlds, the way that Leon (Melvin Douglas) falls for Ninotchka so quickly and will do anything to be with her may seem too "classic Hollywood" for their tastes (where in today's world and films, a man like Leon would be seen as an opportunist interested in a one night stand), it's this hot and cold relationship between the two that is so endearing. And wondering when the two will actually be on even footing. Two people from different countries and backgrounds and showing how Leon the capitalist can even with the iron heart of Ninotchka.
Ina Claire does do a fine job as Grand Duchess Swana, although a short role, she does play a feisty woman who is not afraid to confront Ninotchka in regards to her stolen jewelry and the different ideals between Ninotchka's country and her own. Bela Lugosi also has a short role but does a great job playing a Russian officer.
Sure "Ninotchka" does make fun of the old Soviet Union specifically communism and tries to portray capitalism in the best light as possible but considering the time this movie was released, with people having to go through an economic slump a decade earlier and now having to deal with love ones and their country going to war, comedy is what people needed and sure enough, "Ninotchka" shined.
Overall, the DVD could have been much better and if this film is considered for Blu-ray or a re-release, hopefully there will be more special features included. But at this time, this version of "Ninotchka" is the best there is and if you want to experience Greta Garbo's films, I definitely recommended the Greta Garbo Signature DVD box set.
Movie Review: "Ninotchka, it's midnight. One half of Paris is making love to the other half."
Summary: 4 Stars
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
"Those were the days, my friends" back in 1939 when Hollywood made the comedies that were funny, classy, and sparkling. Ernst Lubitsch directed the screen legend, the dramatic star Greta Garbo in her first and the best remembered comedy, "NINOTCHKA". In the title role Garbo plays a Soviet envoy sent to Paris to check up on the lack of progress in a sale of the jewels that used to belong to the Grand Duchess Swana, the relative of the last Russian Tsar who now lives in exile in Paris. Initially a fanatical "Bolshevik" and the Ice Queen who never smiles, as the movie progresses, Comrade Ninotchka falls in love with Swana's good friend, playboy Leon d'Algout ( Melvyn Douglas) who tries to interfere with a sale. The first half of the film is among the funniest I've seen. The dialogs and remarks by Billy Wilder are simply sparkling:
Ninotchka: We don't have men like you in my country.
Leon: Thank you.
Ninotchka: That is why I believe in the future of my country.
Count Leon D'Algout: Do you like me just a little bit?
Ninotchka: Your general appearance is not distasteful.
Ninotchka: Don't make an issue of my womanhood.
Ninotchka: The last mass trials were a great success. There are going to be fewer but better Russians.
When Ninotchka began to thaw, it became a little silly for my taste but the Moscow episodes (the omelet-dinner scene at Ninotchka's overcrowded apartment and her conversation with Bela Lugosi's Commissar Razinin) and the end were perfect again. Overall, if anyone had to make a funny and classy comedy making fun of the Russian Politics and fanatic "Bolsheviks", Lubitch, Wilder, and Garbo were the perfect artists for the task.
4.5/5 or 9/10
Movie Review: Garbo laughs, and so do we...
Summary: 4 Stars
Greta Garbo racked up the last of her four Oscar nominations with `Ninotchka', where she plays a Soviet Official by the name of Ninotchka who is sent to Paris to delay the sale of some jewels. While she is there she is wooed by a charming man named Leon who is, unsurprisingly, her adversary of sorts. The jewels belonged, at one time, to a Grand Duchess Swana, who happens to have her heart set on Leon, and her eyes set on those jewels. Despite Ninotchka's cold demeanor, and obvious mechanical viewpoint of love, Leon is set on swaying her, and he manages to do so; just in time for everything to fall apart. There isn't anything in `Ninotchka' that you haven't seen before, but it is a delightfully fun ride, and all three key players are brilliant in their performances. Greta Garbo's nomination wasn't a fluke. She is stern and witty and oddly charming throughout, and her character's emotional shifts are truly felt by the viewer. Melvyn Douglas is also very good here, charming the pants off the audience with ease. Truly though, the star here is Ina Claire, who just sizzles as the Duchess Swana, fawning all over her jewels and her `man' and seething at the teeth with jealousy over the homely Ninotchka and her apparent hold on Leon. See it for the performances and the witty banter, for `Ninotchka' is a film that knows how to rise above its flaws.