Vintage Movie Review: The Red Shoes

In preparation for the highly anticipated Black Swan, we watched what many critics consider to be the most influential ballet movie to date. (We were also biding our time since Black Swan hasn't actually been released in Little Rock yet.) Just about every review we've read for Darren Aronofsky's latest endeavor has made mention of the 1948 film, The Red Shoes.


While it isn't quite the psychological thriller we believe Black Swan to be, there are some moments of psychological distress.  The film is about a young ballerina named Victoria Page (Moira Shearer) who wants nothing more out of life than to dance.  She is discovered by Boris Lermontov the director of one of the most prestigious ballet companies in all of Europe, around the same time he discovers and hires a young composer, Julian Craster.

 

Boris and Vicky

It's a classic story for a classic film. Boris falls in love with Victoria and wants her all for himself/the ballet.  However he makes a point to tell her it's impossible to devote oneself fully to another person and dance.  At the same time Boris has asked Julian to rework and finish the incomplete score for the ballet "The Red Shoes."  The ballet, a Hans Christian Andersen fable, is about a girl who is given scarlet toe shoes by a devilish cobbler.  She then performs in her shoes, but is unable to stop dancing when the show ends and dances until she dies a tragic death.  

 The show is a huge success, catapulting both Vicky and Julian to new levels of fame all across Europe.  This new found success also brings them closer together, leaving Boris jealous of their love.  Vicky always dancing, is unable to choose between dancing and Julian, the two loves of her life.  


The Red Shoes is a huge film.  A British production shot primarily in the south of France in and around Monte Carlo, it's a beautiful film with lavish ballet productions.  It can be slow from time to time. We suggest taking a nap during the 25 minute scene in which the story fades into a dancing tangent. But the ballet is real and the dancers are professionals.  It's also a 1948 case study of obsession versus love. Following ones dream and just settling for a "normal life."  The turning point in this film centers around a production of "Swan Lake," just as much as we can tell Black Swan does.  Both films are centered around young ballerinas whose obsession with dancing causes the rest of their lives to spin out of control.  But this is a film about the power and importance of art and giving everything for it.  The ballet of "The Red Shoes" is only performed once, because it was pure before Julian and Vicky fell in love, it was their peak artistry.

White Swan

Black Swan

Martin Scorsese oversaw the restoration of the film at UCLA and it can be found on Netflix Streaming.  If you plan on seeing Black Swan as soon as it gets to your city, we reccomend watching this film in the meantime to look for it's influences.

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