A brilliant film that helped define a genre

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

For years I had heard of how many directors had been influenced by the 1948 film by directing team Michael Powell, and Emeric Pressburger. The story about a young ballet dancer who wants nothing else in the world than to dance, until she meets her first true love is set against a beautiful score and glorious Technicolor. Starring Moira Shearer & Anton Walbrook The Red Shoes is a remarkable classic and one that the audience is fortunate enough to have restored for years worth of enjoyment. Martin Scorsese, one of the notable directors to have been inspired towards filmmaking because of the film The Red Shoes, had the film restored with painstaking detail, then screened at Cannes in 2009; audiences owe a great deal to his efforts for guaranteeing the film lives on nearly 70 years after its release.Victoria Page is a young dancer absolutely smitten with ballet, believing it to be the reason she is on planet earth; what else is life but to dance, she often ponders. When she meets, quite by chance, Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook) a well-known ballet impresario of a famous ballet company, she sees her dreams finally coming true when given a chance to dance in his company. The catch with Mr. Lermontov is that he requires full devotion from his dancers. Mr. Lermontov even becomes enraged when the young dancers in his troupe become engaged and leave dancing to build families. Mr. Lermontov demands fierce loyalty of those who work for him, in exchange, he gives them a chance to become world renown dancers and an unlimited artistic potential for their craft. Victoria has no problem devoting herself to Mr. Lermontov because she sees no other purpose in life but to dance. She is living her dream and gaining notoriety as one of Mr. Lermontov's dancers, especially when she dances The Red Shoes Ballet. It is through her quest for perfection, however, that Vicky grows to know The Red Shoes composer, Julian Craster (Marius Goring). After working together to make sure the ballet is perfect, the two grow to love each other, earning the wrath of Mr. Lermontov. Seeing that his next star ballerina is no longer solely loyal to him, he fires Julian, which leads to the resignation of Victoria Page. Torn between her love and being loyal to Julian and her devotion to her craft, Victoria Page must decide if marriage and true love will overrule what she believes to be her reason for life, ballet dancing.This film is every bit of the perfection I have always been told that it is. The pacing is perfect, enrapturing the audience from the opening scene of young people rushing into watch a ballet of Mr. Lermontov's. The camera work utilized in The Red Shows was nothing short of incredible. The turning cameras as Victoria dances, the close ups on the posters announcing each ballet, the panning of the cameras as the red shoes are being selected for the ballet, and the brilliant overlays all go to show the directorial prowess of Powell, and Pressburger. What brings the whole film together is the character of Boris Lermontov. The character that may be one of the most wonderfully complex characters to ever grace the screen, Anton Walbrook played the part with extreme skill. The God-like character of Mr. Lermontov brimming with his various frustrations that can not easily be named is a fantastic illustration of good filmmaking. The character demanded loyalty and was so careful to present the image that he was secure in himself and self-assured, yet overwhelmed with questioning doubts of his worth after the curtains of his ballets dropped. It wasn't simply sexual frustrations that enraged Mr. Lermontov when his dancers left him, there seemed to be a deep abandonment complex that filled his soul, that the audience is never fully made aware of, and oddly, that lack of knowledge is forgivable. We don't have to know why Lermontov is how he is, we're simply blessed with the opportunity to examine such a brilliantly complex character. The Red Shoes gives audiences a chance to explore beautifully intricate characters, witness gorgeous shots, and coloration, and see a magical retelling of a grim Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, a chance we should never pass up. Whether you are a fan of ballet or not, The Red Shoes is a film anyone can not only enjoy, but grow from.

Three words. The beauty, romance and the magic. I am a person who does not favor the music films, but some are left me speechless. Music and Ballet, the magical world of images and set design in this case are more than sufficient.The Red Shoes are movie about unlimited love, emotional misunderstanding, grace, power, intoxication, ecstasy and passion. All this in motion and life of ballet. Of course, most of the actors are professional dancers. Because of this story seems more plausible. In relations act suffers the most. The wooden and monotone. Here, I'm not talking about the dance expression. In this setting, the story is no place the development of love between the two characters.The film is extremely entertaining and directed with a lot of taste.Anton Walbrook as Boris Lermontov, in his eyes winning ballet and plays. It is excellent in the role of a violent and inspired leaders. Creative person who faithfully conveys the drama.Regardless of the duration of the film, I would have liked to "red shoes" never stop dancing. That's the point, everything else is superfluous.The main character Moira Shearer (Vicky Page) is romantic and full of charm. Marius Goring as Julian Craster is a young composer who steals the heart of the main ballerina. Romance is vague and unconvincing.The film must see everyone and enjoy in the beautiful shades of color and interesting scenery.

'The Red Shoes' directed and written by the legendary British filmmaking duo Powell-Pressburger is very often called the greatest ballet film or even the greatest dance film of all time. After watching this, I can understand why. The screenplay written by Emeric Pressburger takes inspiration from the fairy tale of the same name written by Hans Christian Andersen and it employs the story within the story technique. The storyline of the film is pretty simple but effective. We are introduced to three principal characters namely Victoria 'Vicky' Page, Boris Lermontov and Julian Craster played by Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook and Marius Goring respectively. The film can be in a basic sense described as a love triangle between the three with the seductive ghost of dancing hovering over all of them. In a way it is a horror film too, because the central theme is something that many artists have or will face in their real lives. What do you choose between your personal life and your art? This is the question that this film asks. Even if you choose one over the other, the option that you abandon will continue to haunt you. This particular issue is beautifully conveyed visually in a long uninterrupted shot of Victoria and Julian in their bedroom towards the end of the film.The acting is good from everyone. Moira Shearer's performance off the stage when she isn't dancing is good, but when she is dancing on stage, she just becomes this almost heavenly figure with unending grace, elegance and charisma. Marius Goring is also good as this talented young composer who is eager to make his mark and won't stop till he gets what he wants. But for me the stand-out performance comes from Anton Walbrook as Lermontov. He could have easily played the role in a very generic way to make the character a standard villain in the context of the film. But the depth, charm and pathos that Walbrook brings to the character elevates him from being a generic villain to a complex, interesting human being. The issue as to why Lermontov became so adamant about what choices Victoria should make has been analysed by many critics and viewers. Roger Ebert compared Lermontov to Mephistopheles since he is willing to help Victoria all the way to make her a great dancer as long as she gives him complete and unflinching obedience in return. This analogy does make complete sense from a symbolic point of view. But for me Lermontov is a human being who is lonely and has no real connection with any human being. He hides behind his mansions and flamboyant housecoats. His ballet group is his only connection with others and his family. He loves dancing and considers it his religion. He develops an intimate relationship in his heart and mind with these dancers. He became intimate with Victoria too after discovering her talent. But this intimacy is not a romantic one as far as I am concerned. He loves them as his creations. But once he accepts them, he expects these dancers to be singularly dedicated to him and his ballet with no other distractions. This is where Lermontov's comment about dance being a religion becomes a bit of an irony in itself. He calls dancing as his religion but instead he expects the dancers to take him as their god and any semblance of 'disobedience' is blasphemy. Michael Powell's direction is absolutely unflinchingly operatic. He takes Pressburger's script and conveys it in the most dramatic manner. The film's narrative comes to a halt temporarily at a point and the famous ballet sequence starts and what follows is absolutely other-worldly. Powell dissolves the distinction between cinema and ballet. Shearer is absolutely spellbinding. The ballet itself tells you everything you have to know about how the rest of the film will move along. Powell adds some dream-like elements to the ballet sequence which doesn't make it realistic, but they do make it a form of psychedelic storytelling.This is one of the most influential films of all time and I can refer to few films that were heavily influenced by 'The Red Shoes'. 'Black Swan' is a film that owes a whole lot to Powell-Pressburger's style. When it comes to the theme, a heavy resemblance can be seen in 'Whiplash' which also deals with the dilemma of how much sacrifice is someone willing to make in his/her own personal life to pursue perfection in an art-form.My favourite Powell-Pressburger film is still 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp', but even then I consider 'The Red Shoes' to be a masterpiece and a breathtaking exploration of the life struggles of an artist. A must-see for film lovers.

This Powell-Presburger film certainly has stood the test of time, one that many consider a masterpiece. Unfortunately, after multiple viewings, I remain a fair appreciator. On the plus side are its beautiful production values, including Jack Cardiff's outstanding cinematography and a powerful cast headed by Anton Walbrook, Moira Shearer and Marius Goring. The story is interesting, though the love interest of Walbrook and Goring with Shearer never quite seemed convincing.The main let down, though, was the musical score throughout. While Jack Cardiff was an accomplished composer his aesthetic values are simply not mine. Bereft of strong themes, logical structure and comprehensive form, the score supported dance sequences that for me lacked logical progression. Too, the initial themes seemed weak, followed by passages that lacked strong connection to the fundamental statements. The ballet's been compared to "An American in Paris," though the latter was buoyed by Gershwin's incomparable themes and design. In short, I was underwhelmed by both the "Red Shoes" ballet music and its contrived love triangle. At the same time I can see where this movie had great influence in subsequent films using dance as an important foundation. For that I do appreciate its value.