The Red Shoes (1948)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Directors:

Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Hans Christian Andersen (fairy tale)
Emeric Pressburger (original screenplay)

Release Date:

6 September 1948 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Music

Tagline:

Dance she did, and dance she must - between her two loves

Plot:

Under the authoritarian rule of charismatic ballet impressario Boris Lermontov, his proteges realize the full promise of their talents...

Plot Keywords:

Ballet | Ballerina | Shoe | Composer | Forced To Dance

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Marius Goring	...	Julian Craster
Jean Short	...	Terry
Gordon Littmann	...	Ike
Julia Lang	...	A Balletomane
Bill Shine	...	Her Mate
Léonide Massine	...	Ljubov (as Leonide Massine)
Anton Walbrook	...	Boris Lermontov
Austin Trevor	...	Professor Palmer
Esmond Knight	...	Livy
Eric Berry	...	Dimitri
Irene Browne	...	Lady Neston
Moira Shearer	...	Victoria Page
Ludmilla Tchérina	...	Boronskaja (as Ludmilla Tcherina)
Jerry Verno	...	Stage-Door Keeper
Robert Helpmann	...	Ivan Boleslawsky

Also Known As:

Die roten Schuhe (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Las zapatillas rojas (Mexico) (Spain) [es]
Les chaussons rouges (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Czerwone pantofelki (Poland) [pl]
Czerwone trzewiki (Poland) [pl]
De röda skorna (Sweden) [sv]
De røde sko (Denmark) [da]
De rode schoentjes (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
De rode schoentjes (Netherlands) [nl]
Hong wu xie (China: Mandarin title) [zh]
Os sapatos Vermelhos (Portugal) [pt]
Punaiset kengät (Finland) [fi]
Sapatinhos Vermelhos (Brazil) [pt]
Scarpette rosse (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

133 min | Japan:136 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Sweden:Btl | West Germany:12 | Australia:G | Finland:S | UK:U | Spain:T | Ireland:G

Filming Locations:

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, England, UK

Company:

Archers, The

Trivia:

Art director Hein Heckroth was a painter who had never worked on a film before. He created a 15-minute "animatic" (filmed storyboard) reel to convey the type of mood and feel his sets would give, which acted as an ideal guide for cinematographer Jack Cardiff.

Goofs:

Continuity: The length of Julian's cigarette changes dramatically (gets longer and then gets much shorter than he could smoke it down to in the short time between shots) while he's playing the piano for Vicky in Lermontov's office.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[holding doors closed]
Doorman: They're going mad, sir. It's the students.
[From outside]
Julian Craster: Down with tyrants!
Manager, Covent Garden: All right, let them in.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Time After Time (1979)

Soundtrack:

Excerpt from 'Giselle'

A superb production, wonderful colour, but above all, superbly directed.

The performances are terrific (with only the odd unusual line delivery, partly due to english being many of the actors' second language, and partly due to the fact that all of the main dancing characters, are not professional actors at all, but dancers - including Moira Shearer, Australia's Robert Helpmann, Leonida Massine and Ludmilla Tcherina - which fact considering, they do marvellous jobs).

The story's passion for ballet and music comes across to the audience, and the story is compelling and fascinating, due to the way it is told. Moira Shearer, in a career-defining role, has a wonderful presence as the young dancer Victoria Page, who becomes a star of the Lermontov Ballet Company, and dances the lead in the ballet The Red Shoes. But Anton Walbrook is truly terrific as Lemontov. One particular moment i was very impressed with was when he begins to write a letter to Victoria, and there is a closeup of his face, and on his face we can read the emotions of his letter in a very subtle way. A marvellous scene. He has a germanic cold stare in this part which really brings it to life - the character of Lemontov is entirely in his eyes.

The score is fantastic, particularly the original ballet of the red shoes itself, composed for the film by Brian Easdale. The film has such a wonderful look partly due to the fact that its production designer was a painter, Hein Heckroth.

But the element which really makes this movie great is how superbly it is directed. With glorious use of colour, it is directed in a smooth, impeccable style in the manner of Renoir - except here each frame poses not as a painting, but as a moment from a ballet.

A wonderful film to watch.