Not as dark, yet definitely as disturbing as Black Swan. I had no idea what's this movie about, or what to expect of it. All I had known about this movie before watching is that it's hailed as one of the best-looking movies ever, and I couldn't agree more. This movie was shot in three-strip Technicolor, and it doesn't just look good for its time, but it dazzles and mesmerizes as if it was shot this year! It is simply one of the most beautiful movies to date. The Red Shoes is a visual carnival full with vibrant, and consistent colors that will easily captivate you as well as its characters. From the first scene I could see that the characters would be fully fleshed-out at the end of the movie. Powell and Pressburger's screenplay, who also directed the movie, gave our three main characters a lot of depth that they can be analyzed, while also balancing between them, and that by making them equally important to the main plot. Each one of the main characters has their own subplots, but I never felt there's a subplot that seems forced, or outbalance another. That wouldn't be achieved without the impeccable direction that walks a thin line between quirkiness and darkness. The theatrical performances are completely intentional. They make me feel uneasy because the subject matter is so dark and serious. These contradictory moods made the movie painful and disturbing in its own way. Maybe in a way that kinda resembles dark comedies. You'll know that such decision is appropriate when the credits roll. You'll get a very agonizing and maddening feeling! Anton Walbrook delivered one of the best over-the-top performances ever as Boris Lermontov, a very complex, and compelling character that is hard to be understood. The only hammy performance that I couldn't stand is Ludmilla Tchérina's. What a highly melodramatic! It's really unbearable and annoying. Between all the theatrical performances, this just feels off, and awkward. Marius Goring and Moira Shearer gave fantastic and appealing performances. Grischa, played by Leonide Massine, was such a very interesting character; he is the comic-relief, but it's a character that seems if it is came out of a literary work. It made me see all the other characters differently. I saw them as I saw Grischa; fictional literary characters, and it really made sense! Grischa was the key that made me see how Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger blur the barriers between cinema and literature, or theater, in a very smooth way. Powell and Pressburger proved that cinema is a real magic, and "The Red Shoes" ballet sequence is more than a fine example. I won't be exaggerate, even a little bit, if I said that this 15-min-long sequence is one of, if not the most enthralling and spellbinding sequences ever shot! 15 minutes of visual storytelling at its best. I was just hypnotized, and I wish it would never end. The Red Shoes is also masterfully edited. In fact, the editing is one of the main reasons this movie is timeless. The switching between one scene to another is very slick and smooth; however, there are many continuity editing glaring errors. Despite how simple this issue seems, I found that it's so obvious, and quite annoying, that I can't avoid mentioning it. All I can say is that The Red Shoes is an idiosyncratic piece of work that will never age.(9/10)

Three words. The beauty, romance and the magic. I am a person who does not favor the music films, but some are left me speechless. Music and Ballet, the magical world of images and set design in this case are more than sufficient.The Red Shoes are movie about unlimited love, emotional misunderstanding, grace, power, intoxication, ecstasy and passion. All this in motion and life of ballet. Of course, most of the actors are professional dancers. Because of this story seems more plausible. In relations act suffers the most. The wooden and monotone. Here, I'm not talking about the dance expression. In this setting, the story is no place the development of love between the two characters.The film is extremely entertaining and directed with a lot of taste.Anton Walbrook as Boris Lermontov, in his eyes winning ballet and plays. It is excellent in the role of a violent and inspired leaders. Creative person who faithfully conveys the drama.Regardless of the duration of the film, I would have liked to "red shoes" never stop dancing. That's the point, everything else is superfluous.The main character Moira Shearer (Vicky Page) is romantic and full of charm. Marius Goring as Julian Craster is a young composer who steals the heart of the main ballerina. Romance is vague and unconvincing.The film must see everyone and enjoy in the beautiful shades of color and interesting scenery.

I wanted to watch this because of Moira Shearer. I expect this was her best vehicle, and she's truly worthy of the legacy she's left. Wow!In the movie they really didn't address the metaphysical/supernatural element of the Red Shoes.I feel vindicated for watching this. The legend of Ms. Shearer is just as robust as has been claimed.After having actually watched it, even though the dance/ballet was SO beautiful, I really don't think it brought the actual story to life.That said, this is a VERY great movie, watch it, and read the original Hans Christian Andersen story!

True beauty on and off the stage. If Michael Powell had not been so ingrained in the process of making this film, I do not believe it would have been as majestic and classical as it is.A foreign film, mostly filmed in English, the love that ruins and saves everything is not flippant. It is not pure passion, or lust. It's sweet, without being overexaggerated, which is key. The score is unarguably the best of Powell's films, the choreography...okay, separate section for the choreography.The ballet was so original, directed with the eye of a magician and the fervor of a child. A fairytale retold by a captivated soul, the dance of their life. Such beauty, eloquence, and powerful passion could only be supplemented by the artistry in the cinematography.On the stage the elements of the ballet are exaggerated, with waves from an ocean crashing, as if to say we're a stone's throw from death itself. These elements are also in the actions of the people offstage, emphasizing the point that in ballet, nothing is as simple as it seems.The acting was superb, with such frabjous characters as the ballerina, prima, diva, Victoria Page, wanting acceptance from her mentor even after marrying the man who should make all her dreams come true. Lermontov, both wizened, talented, and shrewd, and manipulative, hateful, and eager. The scene on the train, after everything has come to a climax, is the best example of dependency I've ever seen. The actual ballet of The Red Shoes is such a beatific and favorable metaphor that it works on every level.The confrontation between Victoria and her husband made shivers flow down my spine. Such emotion, hatred and pity, a knowledge that weakness can also be what one needs to survive.Spoiler Alert: The ending, with Victoria's suicide, was almost traumatizing. One moment you think she's destined for a happy ending, running out to have her lover back. The next she has chosen to no longer live, to dance. What an amazing metaphor from what is seen in the beginning.Just a truly miraculous film.