211. The Red Shoes (1948)

Directed By Powell & Pressburger

Synopsis

Victoria Page loves to dance, Lermontov loves to see her dance, Julian Craster wants to bone her. Lermontov doesn't want her to be boned because he kind of likes her. He fires them both, and after a while tries to hire her back, she is hired back and faced with choosing between dancing and Julian swan dives into the path of a fucking train! Holy Anna Karenina Batman!

Review

If there is one think you can trust in this life it is the fact that the colour films of Powell and Pressburger are a feast for the senses, either Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus or this one, they are all beautiful films to look at. Then they are more or less successful in terms of story and this one even though it is one of the most impressive visually is one of the least interesting story wise.

This is not to say it isn't a very enjoyable film, it is, it keeps your interest for over 2 hours and it has excellent characters, particularly Lermontov, played brilliantly by Anton Wallbrook who also has one of the best wardrobes of any man in 40's cinema. He looks like a later Mediterranean film star, all dark glasses and perfectly tailored suits. The main character of the film is not that interesting, however, the most interesting thing she does is commit suicide.

But the film is truly beautiful, the Red Shoes scene, the ballet which parallels the main dancer's life is amazing being an early template for the fantasy scene in American In Paris and many other musicals to come. Of course Busby Berkeley already had the big set scenes but they didn't really tell a story, here the film is encapsulated in a dancing scene. The soundtrack is also pretty amazing and the film lives because of the quality of music and dancing in it, simply beautiful.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The ballet roughly follows the Hans Christian Andersen story it is based on. A young woman sees in the window of a shop a pair of red shoes, which are offered to her by the demonic shoemaker. She puts them on and begins to dance with her boyfriend. They go to a carnival, where she seemingly forgets about him as she dances with every man she comes across. Her boyfriend is carried away and nothing is left of him but his image on a piece of cellophane, which she tramples.

She attempts to return home to her mother, but the red shoes, controlled by the shoemaker, keep her dancing. Finally she falls into the netherworld of the demimonde, where she dances with a piece of newspaper which turns briefly into her boyfriend. She is beset by grotesque creatures, including the shoemaker, who converge upon her in a manner reminiscent of The Rite of Spring, but who abruptly disappear, leaving her alone. No matter where she flees, the shoes refuse to stop dancing.

Near death from exhaustion, clothed in rags, she finds herself in front of the church where a funeral is in progress. Her boyfriend, now a priest, offers to help her. She motions to him to take the shoes off, and as he does so, she dies. He carries her into the church, and the shoemaker retrieves the shoes, to be offered to his next victim.

The ballet was choreographed by Robert Helpmann, who plays the role of the lead dancer of the Ballet Lemontov and danced the part of the boyfriend, with Léonide Massine creating his own movement for his role as the shoemaker. (Both Helpmann and Massine were major stars of the ballet world.) The music is an original score by Brian Easdale, which he also arranged and conducted.


First part of the Ballet Scene: