Product Description

A glorious Technicolor epic that influenced generations of filmmakers, artists, and aspiring ballerinas, The Red Shoes intricately weaves backstage life with the thrill of performance. A young ballerina (Moira Shearer) is torn between two forces: the composer who loves her (Marius Goring), and the impresario determined to fashion her into a great dancer (Anton Walbrook). Criterion is proud to present The Red Shoes in its DVD premiere.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2625 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 1999-05-18
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 133 minutes

Amazon.com
It's been said that this 1948 classic has been responsible for the ballet lessons of more young girls than any other film. It's not hard to understand why: Michael Powell and Emerich Pressburger's dark fairy tale presents the ballet as an exquisite, magical work of art; but under the theatrics and glory is an all-consuming lifestyle with the power to destroy those who love it perhaps too much. Moira Shearer practically glows as Victoria "Vicky" Page, a young woman consumed by a will to dance who is accepted into the highly prestigious ballet company run by perfectionist Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook). Meanwhile, a gifted young composer, Julian Craster (Marius Goring), is brought on board as an orchestra coach, and later conductor and composer of the ballet that will make Vicky's name: The Red Shoes, one of the most beautiful and dramatic dances ever captured on film. Professional and personal jealousies soon pull this creative team apart, however, and Vicky is torn between her love of Julian, her responsibility to Boris, and her need to dance. Powell and Pressburger recast Hans Christian Andersen's sad story as a modern romantic melodrama, highlighted by beautiful dances and shot, not as stage ballets, but rather as expressionist cinematic dramas on impossibly grand sets awash with bold color and beautifully captured in glorious Technicolor by cinematographer Jack Cardiff. It's a brilliant melding of dance and drama as Vicky's real life mirror's the tragic story she danced in the Red Shoes ballet. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

The dangerous power of art
Many of Powell and Pressburger's films explore the life of the artist and the power of the artistic imagination. In THE RED SHOES and PEEPING TOM, most notably, the writer-directors reveal the sacrifices that art sometimes demands from its acolytes.

Balletophiles often praise THE RED SHOES, but one need not be a fan of ballet to be amazed by the film's emotional power and extraordinary staging. On the Criterion DVD, the saturated reds that represent the artist's blood sacrifice, and the cool aqua-blues that represent the (false) promise of life and romance outside of art, appear with unmatched vividness. Powell is a master of color, and has influenced a generation of filmmakers (through the advocacy of his admirer Martin Scorcese) with his theories about how color and music contribute to the thematic impact of a film.

Anton Walbrook, who plays the impressario Lermontov in THE RED SHOES, is one of Powell and Pressburger's favorite actors, appearing to stunning effect in THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP as well. Moira Shearer, the actress/dancer who plays the lead, made her reputation on THE RED SHOES. She also dances in one segment of the rarely-seen Powell/Pressburger masterpiece THE TALES OF HOFFMAN.

The Criterion DVD has the beautiful sound and picture we've come to expect from the Voyager Company. Interesting disc features include: an audio track of Jeremy Irons reading from the original Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, the complete text of Powell and Pressburger's novelization of the movie, an extensive collection of Scorcese's memorabilia, and a comparison of the Red Shoes Ballet with the filmed storyboard sketches the directors used as a guide. One wonderful addition for Powell and Pressburger fans is their filmography -- brief descriptions with cast lists and dates for all their films, most of which also have film clips included. It's a chance to see scenes from some of the long-lost works in their catalogue.

Riveting fictional account of Diaghilev and his troupe
Although the opening credits claim that "any similarity to real-life persons or events are purely accidental" don't be fooled: Boris Lermontov, the autocratic Russian ballet impresario, is obviously modelled after Serge Diaghilev. Like Boris, Diaghilev had a series of relationships with his "proteges" (like Vaslav Nijinsky or Leonid Massine), and when these proteges left his bed to marry (women), Diaghilev would get enraged and kick them out of the company. "Ballet Lermontov" like "Ballet Russes" produced a mix of classical ballet works as well as new compositions with then unknown composers. The character of Julian Crasten is a stand-in for the likes of Stravinsky, Debussy, Prokofiev et al. whom Diaghilev supported. The real-life Diaghilev was always surrounded by a crew of male "helpers" (called the homosexual mafia) -- it is this way in the film too. And once he fired his male dancers, Diaghilev would often spend years trying to get them back into the company. In the movie, prima ballerina Irina is coldly dismissed when she marries, but is accepted back when Vicky leaves.
Vicky Page's descent into madness as she is pulled implacably apart by Boris and her husband is a thinly disguised substitute of the tragic career of the schizophrenic Vaslav Nijinsky, who was fired by Diaghilev after his marriage, and lost his fragile hold on reality. Vicky's most famous ballet is the "red shoes." Nijinsky's was "Spectre de la Rose," which had him dressed in a red rose-petal costume. The finale of the ballet has him leaping out a window.
But, art does not exactly imitate life. Anton Walbrook's portrayal of Boris is much colder, icier, then the real-life Diaghilev. He has the streak of white hair, but he (wisely) does not make himself into a Diaghilev caricature. He is skinny, whereas Diaghilev is portly. There's no cane, no monocle, no hat. Plus, Diaghilev was genuinely and passionately attached to his "proteges", whereas Boris's obsession with his proteges is sexless and almost detatched.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger have put together a good, if melodramatic story. The young Moira Shearer is radiant as Vicky Page, an ambitious ballerina. "The Red Shoes" (a story by Hans Christian Andersen) refers to the ballet which makes Vicky's career -- in the ballet, the ballerina is forced to dance in her red shoes until death. It's an obvious symbol of the struggle between total, monastic devotion to art, and the desire to have a normal life. When Vicky falls for Julian Crasten (Marius Goring), the composer of the Red Shoes ballet, complications of course develop.
The movie benefits from strong casting. As Boris, Anton Walbrook makes the character creepy, cold, and self-centered, yet not a villain. In his quiet rage he is both terrifying and pitiable. He can be gentle too: when he asks Vicky back to the ballet, he says "We already miss you. Do you miss us?" Real life ballet danseur Robert Helpmann is rather fey as the leading dancer of Ballet Lermontov, and Leonid Massine is super-hammy as the ballet master Ljubov. Most of all, Moira Shearer, with her bright red hair, obvious balletic talent, and soft-spoken determination, makes the movie more than just a backstage soap.
Looking at this movie now, Julian actually becomes more unsympathetic. He is condescending about the ballet, and there's no ssign that he appreciates Vicky's dancing. The marriage, after initial passion, seems to turn loveless. His ultimatum to Vicky to give up dancing is incredibly selfish. So Boris's hold on Vicky is understandable. At one point, Boris asks Vicky, "Do you want to live?" She replies, "I want to dance." This movie makes us understand why such an attitude is possible.

Except for the Original Film, this DVD is the Best Release
I've seen the original film of "The Red Shoes" a number of times over the years and just loved it. The story, ballet, music, color, actors, and the whole production are superb!

Later I acquired the RCA SelectaVision CED video disc edition (two parts) in the early 1980s. The CED issue unfortunately was prone to frame skipping, occasionally syncopating the ballet sequences. Still later, I obtained the Paramount VHS hi-fi release (1987). There was no frame skipping with the VHS tape, but the tops of all the frames tended to be somewhat bent and fluttery. Alas, I found no remedies for these problems.

Without question, this DVD release is the best of the lot, technically. And, I liked the additional background material contributed to this DVD edition. The DVD has great color with clear, well focused images. The only deficiency, in my opinion, is the movie sound track which sounds dated (1947), however it's on par or better than the forementioned VHS release.

Overall, I would class this DVD movie as one I would have to take, along with others, to a desert island on which I subsequently became marooned.