Wednesday 18 January 2012

The Red Shoes - A visual and musical masterpiece

Vicky Page (Moira Shearer), a young ballerina, torn between her love for composer Julan Crasher (Marius Goring) and artistic devotion to ballet dancing.


In several earlier blogs I have praised blu-ray versions of classical movies. Having watched the wonderfully restored "special restoration edition" of Michael Powell´s and Emeric Pressburger´s "The Red Shoes" I have reason to do it again.

Vicky Page here with the famous impresario Lermontov (Anton Walbrook)

This special edition is a visual and musical delight with its stunning technicolor colour, wonderful acting and dancing and great directing by Powell and Pressburger. It is easy to agree with director Martin Scorcese, whos had this to say about the film:

"Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger created a vision in The Red Shoes that has really never been matched. Truly the most beautiful technicolor film ever made."

The Red Shoes also offers beautiful Mediterranean panoramas ...
and this nice view of the Palais Garner, the Paris Opera House in 1948
Vicky Page and the composer Julian Craster discussing their future 

Moira Shearer shines both as a dancer and an actor


PS
Buy this wonderful special edition blu-ray! You will not regret it, even if you are not particularly interested in ballet.

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