Monday, July 04, 2011

The Red Shoes


THE RED SHOES (1948) - July 4, 2011
An exceptionally well directed film about a ballet company, told mostly from the point of view of a young woman who quickly becomes the company's star, a young man who becomes the company's composer, and the company's hard-edged leader.  Though it's a little slow in parts, seeing the inner workings of this company is quite interesting, and the movie does a really good job of developing the characters and making them compelling -- even side characters we don't necessarily spend much time with.  All of the performances are quite good, though special props must go to Anton Walbrook as the leader of the company; he's pretty mesmerizing in the role.  The film also looks very, very good, with top-notch direction and glorious Technicolor cinematography (the pristine Criterion Blu-ray probably helps in this regard).  Highlights include a hypnotic dance sequence in the middle of the film, and a supremely memorable ending, which has to rank up there as one of the best endings ever.  ***1/2

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