Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

There is a school of thought that contends that real art takes sacrifice, pain, and sublimation of personal desires to the craft. No other film I'm aware of hammers this idea home better than The Red Shoes, whose protagonist Boris Lermontov (Anton Waldron) advises aspiring ballerina Vicky Page (Moira Shearer) "Don't forget, a great impression of simplicity can only be achieved by great agony of body and spirit."

Throughout the film, we see Lermontov, an ubane, reserved aristocrat, impressario of the prestigious Ballet Lermontov sublimate whatever personal feelings he has for the good of the company. "The show must go on" might be his motivation, but it runs deeper than that. He is one that can recognize and nurture talent and his dedication to his craft makes it a religion to him. A man such as this is going to suffer great disappointments but whatever triumphs he experiences are well deserved.

The film opens with a performance of the ballet Hearts of Fire in London. Adoring students of the composer, Professor Palmer, barge into the theater and impatiently await the performance. One of them recognizes some of the themes as having been lifted from compositions turned in to the professor. Disillusioned, he writes to Lermontov about the theft but having a change of heart he goes to Lermontov to request it back, unread. The saturnine Lermontov allows him to cool his heels until he's uncomfortable then indicates he's already read the letter. He has the young man play a few notes and then hires him on the spot as a coach for his orchestra. His parting advice is telling; "Forget it. After all it's better to be stolen from than to have to steal." About the same time, Lermontov is tricked into meeting an aspiring ballerina, Vicky Page (Moira Shearer) something he detests. At first cool, he recognizes the pluck in her and agrees to give her an audition. Privately he's thinking she could be his great discovery...

A production of "The Archers" - British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger - The Red Shoes is based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a girl who got red shoes and then couldn't stop dancing. Red Shoes also figure prominently in the storyline here, but the real question is, "what are we willing to sacrifice for art?" Is a gift a sacred trust to be nurtured at any cost, or is it something that we can take up and leave at our convenience? Lermontov is obviously of the former view, while other members of his troupe turn out to favor the latter as the film rolls on...

A word about the production team: Powell and Pressburger were members of Alexander Korda's film company before striking out on their own. Korda, of the famous film family, was one of the greatest British film directors of the previous generation. As I see it, Korda's work prefigures that of Carol Reed and Orson Welles, both great directors.

Powell and Pressburger were avante garde independants who assembled a crack team of filmmakers including their discovery cinematographer Jack Cardiff who turned out to be the best handler of Technicolor in the business. For The Red Shoes, they wanted to show the conflict from the subjective view of the dancers themselves. This required the company to work out many problems in camera, lighting, and various aspects of stagecraft that had never been addressed before. The Technicolor is like few other films with its subtle light and shadows. All this care caused the production to go way over budget and it was cooly received at first. Through the years, however, it has gained in reputation and is rightly considered a classic that has influenced filmmakers ever since. Even though I have little interest in ballet myself, I recognize good when I see it and there is just too much good in this film for you to miss it.

The centerpiece of the film is a ballet written especially for the film and staged by the actors, which were mainly professional ballet dancers, including Moira Shearer. Instead of the stagebound appearance of a typical musical, the 15-minute ballet features a continuously moving point of view that mimics what a dancer would see. Thus the viewer is transported to the world of the ballet dancer like no film before and probably not since.

There is no sex in the film and any feelings Lermontov may have had towards the beautiful Vicky Page were sublimated to his desire to bring her to the level of performance that would truly be her best. Unfortunately, Vicky is not as focused as Lermontov and she falls in love with the young composer and leaves the troupe. There is a brief comeback before the tragic ending that mirrors Anna Karenina.

The Criterion DVD contains an immaculate copy of the 1948 film, a full-length commentary by film historian Ian Christie and including comments from Martin Scorsese, Jack Cardiff and various others, The Red Shoes Sketches, readings from the novel and fairy tale by Jeremy Irons, subtitles, and many other extras.

Now that The Red Shoes is available, any film buff can easily see it and should.

Thanks for reading!

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening