#44: POWELL, Michael & PRESSBURGER, Emeric: The Red Shoes (1948)

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POWELL, Michael & PRESSBURGER, Emeric (United Kingdom)
The Red Shoes [1948]
Spine #44
Blu-ray


The Red Shoes, the singular fantasia from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is cinema's quintessential backstage drama, as well as one of the most glorious Technicolor feasts ever concocted for the screen. Moira Shearer is a rising star ballerina torn between an idealistic composer and a ruthless impresario intent on perfection. Featuring outstanding performances, blazingly beautiful cinematography by Jack Cardiff, Oscar-winning sets and music, and an unforgettable, hallucinatory central dance sequence, this beloved classic, now dazzlingly restored, stands as an enthralling tribute to the life of the artist.

134 minutes
Color
Monaural
1:33:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2010

Director/Writers


Michael Powell was 43 and Emeric Pressburger was 46 when they directed The Red Shoes.


The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twenty-four page booklet featuring an essay by critic David Ehrenstein and a description of the restoration by UCLA film archivist Robert Gitt.

Commentary

By film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with Goring and Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and Scorsese.
Audio recording

Of actor Jeremy Irons reading excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes.
Introductory restoration demonstration

By Martin Scorsese.
Profile of The Red Shoes

A documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with members of the production team.
Video interview

With director Powell’s widow, editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, from the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, in which she discusses Powell, the film, and the restoration.
Collection

Of rare publicity stills and behind-the-scenes photos.
Gallery

Of items from Scorsese’s personal collection of The Red Shoes memorabilia.

The Red Shoes Sketches

An animated film of Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards, with the Red Shoes ballet as an alternate angle.

Audio recording

Of Irons reading the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Red Shoes.

Theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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