The Red Shoes (1948) - The Criterion Collection

Synopsis

A glorious Technicolor epic that influenced generations of filmmakers, artists, and aspiring ballerinas, The Red Shoes intricately weaves backstage life with the thrill of performance. A young ballerina (Moira Shearer) is torn between two forces: the composer who loves her (Marius Goring), and the impresario determined to fashion her into a great dancer (Anton Walbrook).

Cast

Boris Lermontov	Anton Walbrook
Julian Craster	Marius Goring
Victoria Page	Moira Shearer
Ivan Boleslawsky	Robert Helpmann
Ljubov	Leonide Massine
Ratov	Albert Basserman
Boronskaja	Ludmilla Tcherina
Livy	Esmond Knight
Professor Palmer	Austin Trevor
Dimitri	Eric Berry
Lady Neston	Irene Brown

Credits

Director	Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Written, produced, and directed by	Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Production Design	Hein Heckroth
Editing	Reginald Mills
Music composed, arranged, and conducted by	Brian Easdale
Art direction	Arthur Lawson
The "Ballet of the Red Shoes" choreography by	Robert Helpmann
The part of the shoemaker created and danced by	Leonide Massine
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by	Sir Thomas Beecham
Cinematography	Jack Cardiff

Disc Features

New digital transfer supervised by director of photography Jack Cardiff
Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and Martin Scorsese
Jeremy Irons reads excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes and the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Red Shoes”
Martin Scorsese’s collection of Red Shoes memorabilia
A collection of rare publicity and behind-the-scenes production stills
The Red Shoes Sketches, an animated film of Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards, with a comparison to “The Red Shoes” ballet as an alternate angle
Theatrical trailer
A Powell and Pressburger filmography with film clips and stills
English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

From the Current

BRAND-NEW SHOES

Jul 22, 2009

We’ve previously written about the new digitally restored 35 mm print of Powell and Pressburger’s ballet masterpiece The Red Shoes, which premiered at Cannes in May. (We can’t wait to see it stateside.) But how much do we really understand about what it means—and what it takes—for a classic...

THE DANCE GOES ON

May 21, 2009

People just can’t get enough of The Red Shoes, judging by the buzz surrounding the new digital restoration of Powell and Pressburger’s Technicolor masterpiece, which premiered last week at the Cannes Film Festival. And the latest offering in the swirl of press coverage is a great one: an...

Michael and Marty

May 14, 2009

A new, restored print of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Red Shoes is premiering in Cannes tonight, with Martin Scorsese going onstage to introduce it. So what’s the big Scorsese-Powell connection anyway? Well, you can learn all about it in an informative new article in the...

The Red Shoes

by Ian Christie May 24, 1999

Before The Red Shoes, there were films with dance numbers. After it, there was a new medium which combined dance, design, and music in a dreamlike spectacle. Hollywood musicals were quick to pay tribute—An American in Paris was the most obviously...