Sunday, March 20, 2011

The Red Shoes (1948)


The Red Shoes (1948)
The Red Shoes (1948)

Genre: Drama
Director: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Starring: Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring
Duration: 133 min.
Rating: 8.6/10

Summary:
A young ballet dancer is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina.


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The Red Shoes is from the highly influential directorial team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, known as The Archers.  Loosely based on a Hans Christian Andersen tale, it tells the classic dilemma of choosing between career and family, in an atmosphere of pure technicolor bliss and hyper glamorized 1940's settings.

Most of the cast were professional dancers, including Moira Shearer in the starring role as Victoria.  All three leads perform quite well, but it is Anton Walbrook's performance that steals the show, as the powerful, confident and charming Boris.     

Recently digitally restored beautifully in high definition by the Criterion Collection, the Blu-Ray is clean, sharp, and vivid, without any trace of damage or markings.  The colors are restored wonderfully, especially the most important color for this title, the reds, which pop out deep and vibrant.  Also the soundtrack and dialogue are clear and crisp, without any of the distortion or noise you would expect from a 60 plus year old film.  

Don't be turned away by the subject of this film, I am by no means a fan of ballet, last time I fell asleep on a date watching The Nutcracker, yet I still love this film.  The Red Shoes is really a timeless brilliant classic.


The Red Shoes (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)

4 comments:

Onlooker said...

Check this out for more screen captures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100279309717903.2861802.2252673&type=1&l=94c91caa7f

Jack L said...

Great!
I love this film, the end is unforgettable...

Beasts in Human Skin said...

It looks beautiful. I'm not a fan of ballet but this might be worth watching.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

It gets me every single time.

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