Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The first must-see film of the year.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This movie is amazing! It truly is better than most of the today's Hollywood output. It starts of wonderfully and it manages to get you into a good mood! Greta Garbo plays very well! She is a close to perfect cast! And the rest of the cast is great as well. ************SPOILER ALERT************The dynamic between Ninothcka and Leon is very very good! The scene where he tries to get her to laugh in the high point of the movie. After that everything changes. And that scene is really magical!So, she goes from being stern to being happy! The only thing I would change is I would make the transition just a notch more gradual. Because it really went from 0 to a 100 in a split second. But nonetheless, it worked great and I am happy it happened relatively soon, so that the movie has a dynamic range, and goes into lot's of different "moods". Besides wanting to see a more gradual and believable transformation of Ninotchka, I really have nothing more to say against it. I enjoyed it a lot! Wow! And this was made in 1939! Goes to show you, that really was the year when filmmakers got it all figured out. One of the best years for cinema to this day.Delightful! Funny! Engaging! Enjoyable! Real rating: 8.2MY RATING SYSTEM:9.4 - 10 = rating 10 ***** 8.6 - 9.3 = rating 9 ***** 7.8 - 8.5 = rating 8 ***** 7.1 - 7.7 = rating 76.1 - 7.0 = 6 5.1 - 6.0 = 5 4.1 - 5.0 = 4 3.1 - 4.0 = 3 2.1 - 3.0 = 2 1.0 - 2.0 = 1

My introduction piece to the screen goddess Greta Garbo actually is her penultimate film, under Lubitsch's guidance and paired with a rakish but urbane Melvyn Douglas, Garbo is Ninotchka, a Russian envoy sent to Paris to deal with a jewelery trade, which is involved into a lawsuit thanks to her inadequate comrades. Though one has to wait for a good 20 minutes before Garbo's first appearance in the movie, the foreplay is jocund and pitches the overall comedic atmosphere in the sheer disparity between capitalism and communism. The opening gambit of three communists Iranoff (Ruman), Buljanoff (Bressart) and Kopalski (Granach), from heatedly conversing about whether or not stay in a luxurious hotel for the sake of the priceless jewelery they are taking with, until they unanimously decide to takes the royal suite since it has a big enough safe to contain the whole set, is the quintessential Lubitsch's touch, liberating lighthearted humor but with grace and sophistication, pinpointing the foibles of human nature with inviting proprieties, where in contemporary comedies, we have almost lost it all. When Garbo arrives (perfectly in her European accented English), she immediately dampens the farcical atmosphere with her icy sternness, but when she meets Leon (Douglas), the debonair Count who instantly falls for her in the very first glance, her communist root is going to be shaken in a romantic swooning which sounds a little impetuous to our narrow- minded fiction if one hold a conservative view on communist disciplines, she doesn't refuse Leon's kiss and even kisses him back in their first night. Then comes the tag-line "Garbo laughs" in the working-class eatery, Leon's jokes are practically duds, only slapstick is without any cultural boundaries. After a must-see wardrobe transformation to give Garbo the essential film star allure in a fancy restaurant and a tête-à-tête for their future plan, the two lovebirds are routinely to face some challenge, Garbo is at the most poignant in the scenes of the farewell phone call in the morning, while she utters her final goodbye, as for him, it just a casual "see you later". Then the film diverges to Moscow, introduces the austere life of Ninotchka under a radically different belief and social system, the non-hierarchic camaraderie and the yearning for western commodities co-exist under the same roof. After a cameo from Lugosi, the film satisfactory brings up the happy ending under a harmless plot device, it is a well-balanced comedy doesn't ruffle the feathers of politics. The film alters Garbo's usual screen persona and comedy is something very rare in her filmography, but it is a successful gamble, she has all the flair and charisma to make audience fall head over heels for her. A big plus is the chemistry between Garbo and Douglas, the latter is a smooth talker and a devout doer, that kind of prince charming in every girl's dream, devilishly likable. The film is a four-Oscar nominee (BEST PICTURE, LEADING ACTRESS included) and generically, a notch below Lubitsch's finest work (e.g. THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER 1940, 9/10) as the peerless conjurer of romance in comedy.

From director Ernst Lubitsch (To Be or Not to Be, Heaven Can Wait), I had heard the leading actress name a few times, I didn't know much about her, especially not that she retired at the age of thirty five after only twenty eight films, and I was looking forward to this title I recognised from her career. Basically in Paris, France, three Russians, Iranov (Sig Ruman), Buljanov (Felix Bressart) and Kopalsky (Alexander Granach), are selling jewellery from the aristocracy that they confiscated during the 1917 Russian Revolution, and arriving they meet Count Leon d'Algout (Melvyn Douglas) who is trying to retrieve her jewellery back for Russian Grand Duchess Swana (Ina Claire). But he corrupts the three men and convinces them to stay in Paris since they have become accustomed to their French surroundings, so special diplomatic agent Nina Ivanovna "Ninotchka" Yakushova (Oscar nominated Greta Garbo) has been sent by the Soviet Union to make sure the sale goes ahead and bring the three men back to Russia. She is stern and non nonsense with her attitude, and for a while she has no time to mess around with pleasure rather than business, but after meeting Leon and being introduced more to the culture of the West she lightens up. Ninotchka and Leon slowly fall in love with each other, and this allows the three Russians to do a kindness for capitalism, and in the end the Russian agent leaves behind her work to have a relationship with the Count, and one of the three men protects that the other two were unfair to him, this is a joke. Also starring Bela Lugosi as Commissar Razinin and Gregory Gaye as Count Alexis Rakonin. Garbo gives a great performance as the first strict and then light-hearted Russian agent, and Douglas is likable as the charming man and love interest, I will confess that I could not understand the political stuff and I could not follow everything going on, but I did laugh when the jokes were simple and well made, the most funny material is during the café scene, and the love story is nice, so it was an fun sophisticated comedy. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Writing, Original Story and Best Writing, Screenplay. Greta Garbo was number 5 on 100 Years, 100 Stars - Women, and she was number 44 on The World's Greatest Actor, the film was number 52 on 100 Years, 100 Laughs. Very good!

Ninotchka (1939)*** 1/2 (out of 4)Terrific romantic-comedy about a stern Russian named Ninotchka (Greta Garbo) who is sent to Paris to look in on three men who were unable to sell some jewelry due to some legal issues. Once there Ninotchka strikes up a relationship with Leon (Melvyn Douglas) who has his own reasons for wanting the jewels. Director Ernst Lubitsch hits all the right moves with this film and turns it into one of the best of its type. It's easy to see why so many people consider 1939 to be the greatest year for movies and this one here is another one of the jewels from that era. Although I'd stop short of calling this a masterpiece, there's still no question that it features a legend at the top of her game and a terrific supporting cast around her. It's funny to see the original advertisements talk about Garbo laughing since this was a very rare thing. Just like her first talking picture, which MGM played up, the moment here when she finally laughs is just a classic scene and one of the most memorable. There are so many classic moments in this film but the majority of the credit has to go to Garbo who is simply wonderful. The stern way she plays this character is just so funny and her line deliveries are flawless. When it comes time for the character to break and have some fun the actress pulls this off remarkably well. It also helps that Douglas is so great in the film and perfectly plays off the actress. Ina Claire, Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, Alexander Granach and Bela Lugosi are also very good in their supporting parts. NINOTCHKA is full of wonderfully funny moments from start to finish and it's easy to see why it's considered such a classic of its genre.