Happy New Year! I’m kicking things off with another year of exploring the featured Letterboxd Lists. What better place to start than the Letterboxd Top 250! Let’s dance in the new year as I take a look at #55 on the list… The Red Shoes (1948).
Title: The Red Shoes
Directors: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Released: July 22, 1948 (Premiere – United Kingdom)
Runtime: 2 hours 13 minutes
Available to stream on: The Criterion Channel, HBO, Kanopy
Julian Crastor (Marius Goring) and his friends are eager to see the Ballet Lermentov. Their professor has scored the Heart of Fire and they’re all eager to show their support. However, it doesn’t take long for Julian to notice the music sounds awfully familiar. Well, turns out that’s because Julian wrote it and his professor is attempting to pass it off as his own.
After walking out in disgust, Julian writes a leader to the head of the ballet, Boris Lermantov (Anton Walbrook), explaining that the music used in the show last night was his, not his professor’s.
Meanwhile, after the performance, Mr. Lermantov attends a party hosted by Lade Neston. During the party, Lady Neston’s niece, Victoria Page (Moira Shearer), winds up talking with Mr. Lermantov. Victoria happens to be a dancer herself and goes on about how dancing is everything in life to her. He decides to watch her perform and ultimately offers her a job in his ballet company.
Back to Julian and his letter, he’s having second thoughts about sending it and tries to get it back from Mr. Lermantov. Unfortunately, Mr. Lermantov informs Julian that he’s already read the letter. Unable to deny Julian’s talent, Mr. Lermantov offers him a job as an assistant to the company’s conductor. Eventually, Julian winds up being tasked with scoring The Red Shoes for Mr. Lermantov.
With a star dancer in Victoria and a star composer in Julian working together, it seems as though Mr. Lermantov has found a perfect pair for his company. Though, when Victoria and Julian slowly begin falling for one another, Mr. Lermantov decides to try and put a stop to it.
In a battle of love versus the pursuit of perfection in one’s craft, what will reign supreme?
The Red Shoes (1948) is more of an experience than anything else.
For starters, it looks absolutely incredible. The technicolor is bold and vibrant, allowing for everything to pop and come alive. This rings especially true of the reds in the film, particularly the red shoes. I’d venture to say that it looks better than some films released today.
In addition to the color, the production and set design are equally as impressive. From on stage to backstage and everywhere in-between, it is easy to see why The Red Shoes (1948) won the Oscar for “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color”.
The choreography also deserves its own special mention. Yes, there are dancing numbers throughout. Though, I had no idea that there’d be a 17-minute ballet sequence in the middle of the film, let alone that I’d be absolutely mesmerized by it.
I also appreciated the clever writing as well. The Red Shoes is based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. If you aren’t familiar with the tale, fear not as it is explained to us as the film unfolds. We hear about the fairy tale and then watch as the fairy tale comes to life on-screen.
The Red Shoes (1948) is absolutely deserving of its place on the Letterboxd Top 250. Honestly, I’m already looking forward to a rewatch.
If you’ve yet to see it, make correcting that one of your resolutions for this year.
If you have seen The Red Shoes (1948), I want to hear from you.
Leave a comment below or reach out to me on Bluesky and tell me what you thought!
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Stay tuned this coming Monday for the first installment of Disc Dive where I review a film from my physical collection.