Alicia I love this movie so much

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

wolfstar_imdb The dance scenes are outstanding on every level - direction, production, choreography, talent - I just wish there were more of them. It's to the film's detriment that the framing story that occupies the bulk of its runtime is interminable and wastes Moira Shearer. Simply a filmed version of the ballet would have been far superior, without the dramatically inert framing story tacked on.

JohnHowardReid NOTES: From a worldwide attendance standpoint, the most successful British film ever made! With an initial rentals gross of over $5 million, number 1 at the U.S./Canadian box-office for 1948, easily beating off challenges from Road to Rio, The Paleface, Easter Parade and Red River, each of whom grossed $4.5 million. Oddly, this superb result was not duplicated in the U.K. itself. The film did manage to claim the number 10 position, but it was beaten by British picture- goers' far greater preferences for (in order) Spring in Park Lane, The Best Years of Our Lives, My Brother Jonathan, The Road to Rio, Life with Father, It Always Rains on Sunday, Naked City, Oliver Twist, and Unconquered. Second to The Paleface at Australian ticket windows for 1949. Number 1 English-language movie at the French box-office. Number two in the 1949 Film Daily poll of American film critics. A New York Times "Ten Best" for 1948. Film debut of Moira Shearer.COMMENT: A marvelously entertaining movie which succeeds brilliantly — against the odds. The idea of planning the ballet in advance (see Jean Osborne's review below) sounds crackpot to me, but it works. And it just doesn't come off reasonably well, but with power and certitude. Also none too promising were such old hat plot stratagems as a Diaghilev impresario thwarting young love (cf. Waterloo Bridge) and a composer whose music is stolen (cf. the Claude Rains Phantom of the Opera). But thanks partly to absolutely riveting performances; partly to a script crowded with realistically drawn characters, given some wonderfully caustic dialogue, and jam-packed with fascinating incidental touches; partly to masterful direction; partly to evocative music and appealing dancing; partly to superb color in sets and costumes, beguiling outdoor locations and breathtaking production values, The Red Shoes is a masterpiece of absolutely engrossing entertainment. Hard to believe it runs 133 minutes. Seems more like 33.Needless to say the mysticism and religiosity of Andersen's tale has been completely expunged from the main story, though these elements are still reflected in the ballet.

avik-basu1889 '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.

BlueFairyBlog True beauty on and off the stage. If Michael Powell had not been so ingrained in the process of making this film, I do not believe it would have been as majestic and classical as it is.A foreign film, mostly filmed in English, the love that ruins and saves everything is not flippant. It is not pure passion, or lust. It's sweet, without being overexaggerated, which is key. The score is unarguably the best of Powell's films, the choreography...okay, separate section for the choreography.The ballet was so original, directed with the eye of a magician and the fervor of a child. A fairytale retold by a captivated soul, the dance of their life. Such beauty, eloquence, and powerful passion could only be supplemented by the artistry in the cinematography.On the stage the elements of the ballet are exaggerated, with waves from an ocean crashing, as if to say we're a stone's throw from death itself. These elements are also in the actions of the people offstage, emphasizing the point that in ballet, nothing is as simple as it seems.The acting was superb, with such frabjous characters as the ballerina, prima, diva, Victoria Page, wanting acceptance from her mentor even after marrying the man who should make all her dreams come true. Lermontov, both wizened, talented, and shrewd, and manipulative, hateful, and eager. The scene on the train, after everything has come to a climax, is the best example of dependency I've ever seen. The actual ballet of The Red Shoes is such a beatific and favorable metaphor that it works on every level.The confrontation between Victoria and her husband made shivers flow down my spine. Such emotion, hatred and pity, a knowledge that weakness can also be what one needs to survive.Spoiler Alert: The ending, with Victoria's suicide, was almost traumatizing. One moment you think she's destined for a happy ending, running out to have her lover back. The next she has chosen to no longer live, to dance. What an amazing metaphor from what is seen in the beginning.Just a truly miraculous film.