{"id":25369,"date":"2012-04-18T11:21:23","date_gmt":"2012-04-18T18:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25369"},"modified":"2020-12-19T12:57:14","modified_gmt":"2020-12-19T19:57:14","slug":"ninotchka-1939","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25369","title":{"rendered":"Ninotchka (1939)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Don&#8217;t make an issue of my womanhood.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Poster-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-25370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Poster-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Poster.jpg 459w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThree Russian representatives (Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, and Alexander Granach) sent to Paris to sell some jewels formerly belonging to a countess (Ina Claire) are converted into fun-loving capitalists by Claire&#8217;s lover (Melvyn Douglas). When a solemn Russian emissary (Greta Garbo) arrives to rectify the situation, Douglas finds himself smitten with her, and an unexpected romance ensues.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bela Lugosi Films<\/li>\n<li>Cross-Cultural Romance<\/li>\n<li>Ernst Lubitsch Films<\/li>\n<li>Greta Garbo Films<\/li>\n<li>Melvyn Douglas Films<\/li>\n<li>Romantic Comedy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary notes that Garbo &#8220;gives an intelligent, witty performance&#8221; in this &#8220;comedy classic&#8221; by Ernst Lubitsch, which was marketed to audiences as the film in which &#8220;Garbo laughs!&#8221; Peary spends the bulk of his review analyzing the script (by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch), which he claims &#8220;levels so many zingers at bureaucratic Russia&#8230; that one believes [the screenwriters] are unfavorably contrasting it with France&#8221;, at least until it&#8217;s implied that &#8220;the country belongs to aristocrats (we rarely see the common folk) and other decadent elements&#8221;. He argues that &#8220;this is not one of Lubitsch&#8217;s funniest comedies&#8221;, given that &#8220;almost all of the humor is supposed to emanate from poor Russian characters being impressed by what we take for granted&#8221;, and notes that &#8220;the constant barrage of anti-Russian propaganda makes us feel we&#8217;re back in grammar school and having our first (manipulative) political-science lesson (indoctrination)&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s true that the strongly anti-Communist bent of the screenplay feels a bit heavy-handed at times, but it&#8217;s difficult not to be impressed by the filmmakers&#8217; ability to get away with such a bold political satire during a time of increasing turmoil on the global landscape. Meanwhile, what most people remember about the film &#8212; rather than its contextualizing narrative &#8212; is the central romance between Garbo and Douglas (who Peary argues &#8220;is an acquired taste&#8221;; I think he suits the role well). They have fine chemistry together, and while we don&#8217;t quite understand why Douglas falls so head-over-heels in love with icy-cold Garbo at first sight (she&#8217;s nearly robotic in her calculated responses to him), it&#8217;s undeniably charming to see her eventually &#8220;melting&#8221; in the heat of his charms.    <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Greta Garbo as Ninotchka (nominated as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in Peary&#8217;s <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Garbo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Garbo-1024x570.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-25371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Garbo-1024x570.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Garbo-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Garbo-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Ninotchka-Garbo.png 1589w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A fine, witty script by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and Walter Reisch:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The last mass trials were a great success. There are going to be fewer but better Russians.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a genuine comedic classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0031725\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1939\/11\/10\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-ninotchka-an-impious-soviet-satire-directed-by.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/ninotchka\/review\/126328\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/nino.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/347\/ninotchka#articles-reviews?articleId=29874\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/63443\/ninotchka.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t make an issue of my womanhood.&#8221; Synopsis: Three Russian representatives (Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, and Alexander Granach) sent to Paris to sell some jewels formerly belonging to a countess (Ina Claire) are converted into fun-loving capitalists by Claire&#8217;s lover (Melvyn Douglas). When a solemn Russian emissary (Greta Garbo) arrives to rectify the situation, Douglas finds himself smitten with her, and an unexpected romance ensues. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Bela Lugosi Films Cross-Cultural Romance Ernst Lubitsch Films Greta Garbo&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25369\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25369"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58497,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25369\/revisions\/58497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}