What beer would go best with The Red Shoes? Something rich and flavorful, I think, and it needn’t be particularly subtle. (What fairy tale is?).
The film, a Technicolor classic, tells the story of a young woman willing to sacrifice all for her art, until she no longer is. Not someone given to watching films often, I’ve nevertheless seen this maybe four times over fifteen years. Moira Shearer, the lead actress, has brought me back, as has Anton Walbrook’s satanic impresario Lermontov.
Even now, though, a day after that fourth watch, what mostly remains with me are images: the dancing newspaper, the strange shopkeeper, the lightly-edited poster. I ask site creator and co-admin Matthew: what stays with you?
There are other Powell and Pressburger movies in the Criterion Collection. And other classics, too. We hope you’ll share your thoughts as we watch them. Don’t worry if you don’t drink beer; root beer’s fine, as is ginger beer, as is water or nothing. There’s magic in the collection. Let’s find it.
Yeah, that shirt was pretty odd, but I wonder how odd it was for the time. I agree about the train. What surprised me was that in the end they showed “blood” on her body at the end. For some reason I thought that such things were very discouraged for films of the time. Things have become more graphic in recent years, but I imagine how people would have felt about it in 1948.
Yeah, it very much seemed like a play of itself until the end when they started using more realistic backdrops. Seeing the ocean for me seems significant. How? I don’t quite know, but it felt like a turning point of the film in a way. The film is largely focused on the visuals, and the switch to something more realistic amplified the end for me.
“The Red Shoes?” my wife said as she eyed me suspiciously, “that’s not a very blokey film…”
It wasn’t a good start to the evening, but I knew it was a good film. “I just like watching films, and this is a good one.” It’s true. For our first anniversary, my wife drug me to see High School Musical 3, and although I was somewhat scandalised that I had to sit through it, I still enjoyed pieces of it even though it was through rose-colored (and sugar coated) glasses.
The Red Shoes primarily stars three people. One producer (Boris Lermontov), one musical director (Julian Craster), and one ballet dancer (Vicky Page). The tension between them, and Vicky’s desire to dance showcases both the difficulties of fame, and the problems people have when dealing with power.
Strangely, I find that Vicky’s character is almost a secondary one vocally. She had less speaking parts than I remembered in previous times watching it, and the main conflict seems to me in this viewing to be a conflict between Julian and Boris. They are the main characters of the film’s audio, while Vicky is the main character of the movie’s visuals. The feel of the film closely mirrors Vicky’s emotional state which culminates on a very dark conclusion, uncommon in films of the time.
This was a great film to start with in the collection, and comes highly recommended for any fan of older films.
3/4 fancy walking sticks. I think it’s a great film, but the character portrayals didn’t sit well for me. While I liked the characters, but they seemed flat at times. I’m convinced that the film is seen through her viewpoint (spinning camera underlines this) and while she doesn’t have much of a voice, the visuals scream her thoughts throughout the film.
7 responses to “The Red Shoes”
What beer would go best with The Red Shoes? Something rich and flavorful, I think, and it needn’t be particularly subtle. (What fairy tale is?).
The film, a Technicolor classic, tells the story of a young woman willing to sacrifice all for her art, until she no longer is. Not someone given to watching films often, I’ve nevertheless seen this maybe four times over fifteen years. Moira Shearer, the lead actress, has brought me back, as has Anton Walbrook’s satanic impresario Lermontov.
Even now, though, a day after that fourth watch, what mostly remains with me are images: the dancing newspaper, the strange shopkeeper, the lightly-edited poster. I ask site creator and co-admin Matthew: what stays with you?
There are other Powell and Pressburger movies in the Criterion Collection. And other classics, too. We hope you’ll share your thoughts as we watch them. Don’t worry if you don’t drink beer; root beer’s fine, as is ginger beer, as is water or nothing. There’s magic in the collection. Let’s find it.
What do you feel was the film’s strongest image? The weakest (is there one)?
Oh, wow. I don’t know! The strongest is maybe Lermontov’s weird, somewhat Asian shirt.
No, the strongest for me might be one you don’t see: the train hitting Vicky. The editing works so well for me. Love that plume of smoke.
I think the images in the film are pretty strong throughout. Like you mentioned in the video chat, they often have a storybook quality.
Yeah, that shirt was pretty odd, but I wonder how odd it was for the time. I agree about the train. What surprised me was that in the end they showed “blood” on her body at the end. For some reason I thought that such things were very discouraged for films of the time. Things have become more graphic in recent years, but I imagine how people would have felt about it in 1948.
Yeah, it very much seemed like a play of itself until the end when they started using more realistic backdrops. Seeing the ocean for me seems significant. How? I don’t quite know, but it felt like a turning point of the film in a way. The film is largely focused on the visuals, and the switch to something more realistic amplified the end for me.
“The Red Shoes?” my wife said as she eyed me suspiciously, “that’s not a very blokey film…”
It wasn’t a good start to the evening, but I knew it was a good film. “I just like watching films, and this is a good one.” It’s true. For our first anniversary, my wife drug me to see High School Musical 3, and although I was somewhat scandalised that I had to sit through it, I still enjoyed pieces of it even though it was through rose-colored (and sugar coated) glasses.
The Red Shoes primarily stars three people. One producer (Boris Lermontov), one musical director (Julian Craster), and one ballet dancer (Vicky Page). The tension between them, and Vicky’s desire to dance showcases both the difficulties of fame, and the problems people have when dealing with power.
Strangely, I find that Vicky’s character is almost a secondary one vocally. She had less speaking parts than I remembered in previous times watching it, and the main conflict seems to me in this viewing to be a conflict between Julian and Boris. They are the main characters of the film’s audio, while Vicky is the main character of the movie’s visuals. The feel of the film closely mirrors Vicky’s emotional state which culminates on a very dark conclusion, uncommon in films of the time.
This was a great film to start with in the collection, and comes highly recommended for any fan of older films.
Ha! Yeah, probably not the blokiest film in the collection. (I wonder what is. Maybe Hard Boiled or The Killers?).
Interesting point about how little Vicky speaks. You’re right. And I hadn’t remembered that either.
Out of four fancy walking sticks, how many would you give it?
3/4 fancy walking sticks. I think it’s a great film, but the character portrayals didn’t sit well for me. While I liked the characters, but they seemed flat at times. I’m convinced that the film is seen through her viewpoint (spinning camera underlines this) and while she doesn’t have much of a voice, the visuals scream her thoughts throughout the film.