Antonius Block The story of a young ballerina (Moira Shearer) and young composer (Marius Goring) being accepted into a ballet company and then working their way up by demonstrating their skills to an irascible producer (Anton Walbrook) is decent in its own right, and the first half of this film gives us a 'behind the scenes' look into the making of a ballet, with a set of charming supporting characters. What sets the film apart, however, is the actual production of the ballet, which directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger give us in a visually stunning extended sequence, using various film effects to enhance its dreamy feeling. You don't have to be a lover of ballet to appreciate the artistic beauty of these scenes, and it's no wonder the film won Oscars for Best Art Direction and Best Score. Shearer being asked to choose between a husband and a career may be a little maddening and sound familiar to women, but the demand is not from her husband, it's from her producer. The ballet shoes that she puts on which promise worldwide fame are a bit of a Faustian bargain, with Walbrook's character Mephistopheles. It gets a bit melodramatic as it plays out, but it's always entertaining. Strong performances, strong direction, and fantastic artistry.

ib011f9545i I am a huge Powell and Pressburger fan. I have seen most of their films and love most of them. I saw The Red Shoes on tv years ago and did not like it much. I recently bought a Powell and Pressburger boxed set and am working my way through it. I watched The Red Shoes today. It is a stunning looking film and I found it hard to concentrate on the story. The dance scenes are very well filmed. Some of the reviews here are surprised that a film like this could be made in Britain in 1948,Britain made loads of great films in this period I think.

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.

oOoBarracuda 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.