Ballets Russes
Zeitgeist Films | Release Date: October 26, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
May not be the greatest dance documentary ever made, but it could well be the most accessible and touching. Read full review
100
Seattle Post-IntelligencerR. 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
100
Baltimore SunMichael 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
90
VarietyScott Foundas
Enormously absorbing. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyElla 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
90
Washington PostSarah Kaufman
An electrifying documentary. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A captivating film that truly elevates the spirit, Ballets Russes is the most emotionally satisfying documentary since "Mad Hot Ballroom." Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A feature-length documentary, by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, of absolutely breathtaking sweep and joyous energy.
89
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Nothing short of majestic. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsElizabeth 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
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa 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
80
The New York TimesDana 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
80
SalonAndrew 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
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The documentary traces the fiery history of Ballets Russes -- which for a time consisted of two warring companies. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland 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
75
San Francisco ChronicleSteven 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
75
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
70
The A.V. ClubNoel 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
70
Village VoicePhyllis 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
70
The Hollywood ReporterSura 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
70
Chicago ReaderFred 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
60
EmpireDavid 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
50
Film ThreatBob 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
More From This Movie

81 Critic Reviews

8.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL