The Red Shoes [DVD] (Special Edition)

Key is in the title. Blu ray is so much better than the same version on dvd. If you love this film go for it

This newly restored and remastered version is miraculous. Once more we can see the brilliant, jewel-like, fully saturated colours that us oldies remember as typical of the original Technicolor process. The restorers, bless them, have, for once, paid equal attention to the sound, so often forgotten by classic film restorers. In this case, the sound is better than in any previous version, including the original. Even if, like me, you have an existing DVD (or VHS tape) of Red Shoes, I urge you to buy this one - it's not expensive, you will be bowled over by the quality of image and sound and will want to keep it for watching again and again.This extraordinary movie has been watched all over the world throughout the sixty-seven years since it was made. Probably no day passes without it being shown somewhere in the world. I doubt these statements are true of any other movie except, perhaps, 'Casablanca'. Moreover, many of the people that love it don't particularly like ballet. Some actively dislike classical ballet. How can this be?It is so successful because the directors pull so many of the arts together in one construct, each and all of them to an unsurpassed standard. Composer, musicians, choreographer, dancers, actors, stage designers, painters, lighting designers, studio technicians, cinematographer - all gave of their transcendent best to tell a universally well-loved, traditional folk-tale, related by one of the greatest storytellers of all time and to interpret it as a ten-hankie, love-story ballet movie.It is invidious to pick individuals out of this magnificent joint effort, but two artists in particular should be noted, as they always get left out, upstaged by the more obvious talents of Walbrook, Shearer and Massine, who each grab your attention whenever they are on screen.First, and perhaps greatest of the lot, Jack Cardiff for his brilliant, innovative camera-work and Technicolor cinematography, especially because these were the early days of Technicolor and he, a hitherto unknown Brit cameraman, introduced, for the first time, a painterly eye which amazed the American Technicolor specialists. His extraordinary creative and innovative camerawork for the ballet within the film has never been equalled.Second, Brian Easdale's music never gets proper credit, probably because the Red Shoes' sprightly theme is lifted directly from Elgar's 1901 'Cockaigne' overture. The music is no worse for that, as Easdale creates his own evocative variations with brilliant development and orchestration, precisely reflecting the style typical of contemporary English ballet music in the middle of the 20th century. Exciting, emotional, highly rhythmic, eminently danceable ballet music, perfectly interpreting the subject.Moira Shearer (a prima ballerina at the peak of her powers on the classical ballet stage at the time) was famed for the unrivalled precision of her dancing. She not only entrances us with her blazing talent and the ravishing beauty of her gorgeous combination of red hair and creamy skin, but shows that she is no mean actor. At a (much) lower level, she reduces males to blubber with the shot of her pert bottom in little black dance shorts as she walks towards the exercise barre. Wow!The somewhat dismissive Amazon review, to my mind, misses the whole point of the story. The ballerina's predicament is anything but "trite". The conflict between the demands of career and relationship is something most of us experience in our everyday lives and a satisfactory solution to the dilemma is impossible for talented and dedicated artists, for whom life is their art. The ending may be "over-the-top" in real life, but this is ART - a legend - for heaven's sake. Like a Greek tragedy, it deliberately uses catastrophe to highlight the misery that results from attempts to resolve the dilemma.This is without doubt the best movie about ballet ever made and by any standard one of the best movies of all time. Even if you do not like ballet, you must see it once. If you like ballet, I promise you will see it many times.I saw Red Shoes when it first came out in 1948, when I was a boy of sixteen and head-over-heels in love with my own real-life, beautiful ballet dancer. Which is, of course, why I have seen it several times a year ever since, will continue to watch it until I make my own final exit, stage right, and will never accept any criticism of it whatsoever. And that driven bastard Lermontov is, unfortunately, only too right when he says in the movie - "NOTHING..matters..but..the..music." As I was to learn the hard way, emotions are only too transitory, while great art lives for ever. The human drama of how this plays out in the story of the Red Shoes is what makes it a great film. No great art gets made without enormous sacrifice. Ever.Since writing a rave review of this film several years ago I have recently read that Martin Scorsese claims 'The Red Shoes' to have been his most powerful cinematic influence and that he recognises some part of its influence every day. I confess to a rosy glow of insufferable self-satisfaction when I first read this - "I told you so!". In more humble moments, I am proud to share the opinion of the greatest movie director of our time.

A stunning film of virtuoso Ballet featuring Moira Shearer and Robert Helpman, and presented in a 2 Disc set, with an introduction by Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker. It was an award winning Restored film at the Cannes Festival of 2009. In the special features Darcy Bussell, principal dancer of the Royal Ballet at that time (2009)gives a charming interview, and the Grandsons of Emeric Pressburger Kevin and Andrew Macdonald, discuss the background of the film, which was concieved in 1938, but not realised untill 1948. Micheal Powell had met Pressburger in America before they formed a partnership 'The Arhers' films after the war in Britain. Christian Roth the Grandson of Hein Heckroth, painter and set designer, discusses the concept of 'dying for one's Art', and director of photography Chris Challis discusses Heckroth's way of designing from paintings, and many of these are featured as a slide show.The Ballet within a Ballet is the 17 minute 'Red Shoes', based on the Hans Anderson fairy tale of the shoes that once put on can not be taken off, and carry on dancing until the young woman dies of exhaustion. It was said to have influenced Gene Kelly with his American in Paris sequence. The fate of the Ballerina Vicki Page comes true, when torn between her love of dancing and submissive loyalty to her composer husband Julian Craster (Marius Goring), she flees from the theatre just before her performance down hundreds of steps to fling herself over the balcony in Monaco, which had been the scene of their romance, into the path of a steam train.Leonide Massine plays the Ballet Master, and Anton Wallbrook is the hard Russian company Impresario who demands 100% commitment from his dancers. Beautiful Ludmilla Tcherina plays the principal in his company who leaves to be married, sorrowfull, but without conflict. There are many interesting Retro features, and maybe outdated social considerations, but the breathtaking special effects and Artisic innovations place this film in the present day.The haunting, and energetic score was composed by Brian Easdale, and conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. Many of the cast featured again in The Tales of Hoffman in 1951. Perhaps the greatest tradgedy, is not in the script, but the fact that the Rank Organisation refused to release it in Britain in 1948, and it was an American, William Hineman who presented it in his small New York Cinema where it ran for two years becomming one of the most successful films ever made.

On the DVD box itself, it says that this film is 200 minutes long. It's not. It's 2 hours, 8 minutes. I think ITV-DVD can't count, but there we go.I watched this film with three friends, one of whom was patently uninterested in ballet. He did, however, ask me 'is all ballet like that?' when we had finished the long dance scene. I told him that some of it was, and he said it wasn't so bad in that case. This proves that you don't have to be a ballet fan to enjoy watching this film!One thing that did irritate me the whole way through was the voices of the actors - they were so posh, and the Russian guy (Lermontov -sp?) had rather a dubious accent. I guess that's because it was the forties. Certainly Moira Shearer's voice is very 'proper'.I also found that at points I wasn't entirely sure what was happening, possibly because my friends kept distracting me. I think it is not something to watch with half your brain - you have to dedicate yourself to watching it, or you'll just lose the plot.But it was very enjoyable anyway, and of course made me want to dance afterwards!

Me ha llegado el producto en perfecto estado, gran pelicula

If anyone is a dancer it will mean quite a bit more to them. You won't find a better ballet movie as it hasn't been made yet.I saw this movie when I was about 10 years old and it stuck in my mind. (I am almost 80). Perfect for ballet dancers to watch. The storyis not the best, but the dancing is SPECTACULAR! My granddaughter is a dancer and I gave it to her in her Christmas stocking.I recommend this video highly it is inspiring!

Many thanks, A1 experience

Ottimo prodotto, sono due DVD, uno con il film in technicolor di altissima qualita restaurato.L'altro contiene due interviste, una a Scorsese. Poi foto del film e lo storyboard originale,molto interessante, perche si vede che il balletto contiene premonizioni di TSUNAMI.Peccato che non ci siano sottotitoli italiani!

The Red Shoes (1948 England) starring Moira Shearer and Anton Walbrook Is About Sergei Diaghilev (1872 Russia - 1929 Italy).The Red Shoes (1948 England) starring Moira Shearer and Anton Walbrook is beyond question the most important and well done dance movie in the history of cinema. No other movie comes close.The highlight of the movie, of course, is the 18 minute "Ballet Of The Red Shoes" danced brilliantly by the incredible (and incredibly physically beautiful) Moira Shearer (1926 - 2006...died at age 80...22 years old in 1948).Male supporting dancers Robert Helpmann (who also choreographed the wonderful RED SHOES BALLET) and Leonide Massine made the then (1948) groundbreaking "Ballet Of The Red Shoes" wonderful in every way.What's interesting is that, even though most people rightly associate this movie with the lovely and talented Moira Shearer and her dazzling red hair, and remember the "Ballet Of The Red Shoes" (all quite justified), the movie is actually about the character in the story who plays the Impresario (Executive Producer) of the ballet which is showcased in The Red Shoes (1948 England).Anton Walbrook was 53 when he played the role of "Boris Lermontov," owner and main mover and shaker of the "Ballet Lermontov" headquartered in Monte Carlo, located on the French "Cote D'Azure" (aka the French "Riviera.") The Boris Lermontov character is a fictionalized depiction of the incredible, famous, and notorious Sergei Diaghilev (1872 Russia - 1929 Italy) who invented the concept of the modern professional ballet company owned privately with his "Ballet Russes" organization, started in his native (then Czarist) Russia in 1909 and transported permanently to Paris, France and then Monte Carlo starting in 1917, after which Diaghilev never returned to Russia (the new Russian Communist government didn't approve of private companies like the Ballet Russes).Diaghilev was trained as lawyer in late 19th century Czarist Russia, then became an arts magazine manager, and in his 30's an Impresario for a traveling Russian opera which took him to Paris and major European capitals in pre-WWI Europe.Before him, ballet had never been self-standing. It was always part of opera companies or part of European royal courts.Any person interested in The Red Shoes (1948 England) should read biographies of Sergei Diaghilev (see the Wikipedia biography profile of Diaghilev) and also read without fail Reading Dance by Robert Gottlieb (2008 Pantheon Books, New York) which provides wonderful detailed accounts of Diaghilev and his life, the making of the Red Shoes (1948) movie essay by Michael Powell, and life and dance profiles of both major male dancers in the movie, Robert Helpmann (who also choreographed the RED SHOES BALLET) and Leonide Massine.The Red Shoes (1948 England) starring Moira Shearer is not only a high water mark dance movie in world cinema history, it was and is a major event in the history of world culture past and present.All this said, it is also true that the movie is edifying and pleasant to watch for only the first third of it.The best part of the movie is the first third only, during which the viewer is introduced to the exotic and charming world and politics of big time ballet in western Europe, and sees the interesting people, the lovely costumes and settings where they work and play, and is shown the entire "Red Shoes Ballet" which is presented early in the movie, rather than at the end when traditional "show stopper" dance numbers are usually presented.After the female star is introduced and wins the role of main dancer in the main ballet of the movie, things change.The movie gets worse, and though it has interesting moments and events thereafter, the best part of the movie ends when the Red Shoes Ballet ends.The movie stops being lovely (which is why it's famous), and starts being quite ugly and sad, right up to the end of the movie, when the beautiful dancer who has the main role commits suicide.A grim ending to a movie lovely to start with, but which changes after the main ballet presentation is offered. We see things get ugly, and they don't change until the end of the movie.Other movies of fame have the same problem. We are shown an interesting, lovely setting and world and equally lovely and interesting characters.....we visit their world.Then, a downward turn in the plot kicks in, and the viewer is dragged through it.It is arguable that movies like the RED SHOES (1948) should be seen only in part, and that the last part be avoided when repeat viewings occur.Movies, after all, are made up of fragments and sequences connected ("glued") together, one after another. The best sequences almost always come early.Viewers should be realistic about that, and defend themselves when necessary.-------------------Reviewer David "Tex" Allen is a professional SAG-AFTRA movie actor who also has a background as a stage dancer and dance teacher (specializing in recreational international folk dancing).Tex Allen is a SAG-AFTRA movie actor.