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Tonight at the Gene Siskel Film Center, the Northwest Chicago Film Society presents Ernst Lubitsch’s Ninotchka, screening in a new 35mm print. One of the most important voices of classic Hollywood, Lubitsch was a master of pre-Code comedy, adept at sizzling dialogue and sexually charged characterizations. On its website, the film society describes Ninotchka as “the ultimate Lubitsch picture,” which it very well may be—in fact, I’m hard-pressed to find any Lubitsch film that’s anything less than great. Granted, I haven’t seen everything (virtually all of his silent work is unknown to me), but I feel genuine affection for the dozen or so that I’ve watched, something I can’t say about the work of filmmakers I enjoy more than Lubitsch overall. Needless to say, listing this top five was incredibly simple. You can see my picks after the jump.
- The Shop Around the Corner (1940) As he proved throughout his career, Lubitsch was a superb director of actors, and the performances he draws from Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart in this romantic comedy help elevate a film that in many ways is rather banal. The story relies on contrived character misunderstandings for laughs, but the way both Sullavan and Stewart are alternately sympathetic and detestable, aggravating and endearing is a testament to Lubitsch’s ability to coax myriad moods from a single story and multiple dimensions from his actors.
