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Ballets Russes
Zeitgeist Films


9.3

based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA 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)

GENRE(S):	Documentary
WRITTEN BY:	Daniel Geller Dayna Goldfine Celeste Schaefer Snyder Gary Weimberg
DIRECTED BY:	Daniel Geller Dayna Goldfine
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: September 12, 2006 Theatrical: October 26, 2005
RUNNING TIME:	118 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

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...

100

Chicago Tribune Sid Smith

May not be the greatest dance documentary ever made, but it could well be the most accessible and touching.

100

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.

100

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.

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.

Washington Post Sarah Kaufman

An electrifying documentary.

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."

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

A feature-length documentary, by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, of absolutely breathtaking sweep and joyous energy.

Variety Scott Foundas

Enormously absorbing.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Nothing short of majestic.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

The documentary traces the fiery history of Ballets Russes -- which for a time consisted of two warring companies.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ballets Russes Zeitgeist Films

Ballets Russes
Zeitgeist Films