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Ballets Russes
Universal acclaim
Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
Daniel Geller
Dayna Goldfine
Celeste Schaefer Snyder
Gary Weimberg
Directed by:
Daniel Geller
Dayna Goldfine
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 26, 2005
DVD: September 12, 2006
Running Time: 118 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Marian Seldes (narrator), Irina Baronova, Yvonne Chouteau, Frederic Franklin, Nathalie Krassovska, Alicia Markova, Marc E. Platt, and Tatiana Riabouchinska
Unearthing a treasure trove of archival footage, filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine have fashioned a dazzlingly entrancing ode to the revolutionary twentieth-century dance troupe known as the Ballets Russes. What began as a group of Russian refugees who never danced in Russia became not one but two rival dance troupes who fought the infamous "ballet battles" that consumed London society before World War II. (Zeitgeist Films)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site Film Forum Profile
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Tribune Sid Smith
May not be the greatest dance documentary ever made, but it could well be the most accessible and touching.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer R. M. Campbell
It captures the heart and spirit of one of the 20th century's most fabled ballet companies, with a history that stretches continents and decades.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
It gives you such an intense hit of creativity that afterward you may find yourself trying to jete out of the theater and into the street.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
The meat of the film is their wittily edited interviews with company members, now in their 80s and 90s and scattered around the world, many of them still active as teachers and consultants.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
A captivating film that truly elevates the spirit, Ballets Russes is the most emotionally satisfying documentary since "Mad Hot Ballroom."
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
A feature-length documentary, by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, of absolutely breathtaking sweep and joyous energy.
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Goldfine discover so many fascinating themes within their seemingly narrow subject that anyone with the slightest interest in history or human nature will find it absorbing.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The archival footage is so breathtaking, the reminiscences so piquant, that even a stranger to dance can't help but be swept up by this peek into such exquisite, now vanished glamour.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
Ballets Russes does tell a marvelous story of midcentury show business, encompassing both the most exalted expressions of pure art and the sometimes grubby commerce that sustained it.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
It's a profoundly optimistic and delightful movie, for balletomanes and neophytes alike. It made me happy for days afterward.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Paula Citron
Ballets Russes should find a wider audience beyond dance aficionados. Like all good documentaries, the human element is the glory of Ballets Russes.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
The documentary traces the fiery history of Ballets Russes -- which for a time consisted of two warring companies.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
You don't have to know an arabesque from an alligator handbag to enjoy Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine's loving documentary about the various incarnations of the Ballet Russe.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Steven Winn
If this documentary never quite makes the case for the deeper artistic or cultural imprint of the Ballets Russes, it does convey its enduring presence in these dancers' lives.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Fred Camper
The troupe veterans interviewed, most in their 80s and 90s, are wonderfully passionate; the affecting ending shows them still working as dance teachers and archivists all over the world.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Phyllis Fong
The documentary Ballets Russes enacts its drama with a light editorial hand and unavoidable sentimentality, rather like a roll call of the NBA's "50 Greatest Players."
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Sura Wood
A captivating if somewhat conventional documentary, Ballets Russes is a paean to the groundbreaking, 20th century ballet troupe that began as a loose group of Russian refugees, metamorphosed into the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and eventually split into two competing companies.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
Geller and Goldfine have assembled a vital historical document, covering a cultural era now mostly lost, corrupted imperceptibly but permanently when fledgling ballerinas started dreaming about Broadway and Hollywood instead of Swan Lake.
Read Full Review >Empire David Parkinson
One of the finest documentaries ever made about the performing arts, this magisterial history of the companies that danced under the name Ballet Russe will enchant dance aficionados and novices alike.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Bob Westal
This very conventional PBS style videodoc should not be viewed before operating heavy machinery. However, there's plenty to fascinate devotees of the dance.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Paul D. gave it a9:
Excellent documentary that acts as a valentine to a bygone age. The dance footage is marvelous, and made me want to see extended versions of some of the performances. Dancing must be good for your health and spirit, since many of the Ballet Russes' dancers worked well into their 80's and even 90's. Inspirational and entertaining at the same time.
Nancy S. gave it a10:
brilliant, divine characters- honest, raw, poignant- ageing bodies,the mask of ageing- inside young vital passionate. Inspiring- this is how life should be lived- engaged, alive. The film carefully constructed and very emotional- pulling out all the stops.
Linda M. gave it a10:
What a Joy! I wished that it would go on forever. A fabulous look in to the origins of 20th century ballet. How wonderful to see the archival footage of those fabulous ageing dancers. To see them then and now. There bodies old now, but a spirit that is still young and full of life and joy of dance. How wonderful to have a look into what a dancer's life was like when dance itself began to change and evolve. Many of these wonderful people have passed away since this film was released. If this film was never made, so much of what they had to say would be lost to us forever. I can't wait to own the DVD!
Duane T. gave it a10:
As inspired as it gets. A ballet movie for people who don't even like ballet. You can't help but walk out dancing, even if it's only inside and you'll wake up dancing the next day.
Phoebe W. gave it a10:
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Thanks to all who had the vision and expertise to research and produce this fabulous documentary. I learnedso much this evening about the ballet artform/genesis/history and baby ballerinas. Thank you and I can't wait to own my very own copy (and a few for gifts).
ali m. gave it a10:
The best this year.
Peter S. gave it a9:
Bob Westal of Film Threat calls this a "conventional PBS style videooc." Well, it's structure is conventional, but the interplay of contemporary interviews with historical dance footage, carefully (yes!) choreographed with appropriate ballet music is a brilliant piece of edfiting and rivets one's attention. People who think they might like dance should see this, because then they'll know that they do. Mea Culpa: Okay, I know the directors, but I'd say this even if I didn't.
