
The Red Shoes
1948, Romance/Drama, 2h 13m
64 Reviews 10,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
The Red Shoes is one of the best-looking movies ever, and blends multiple moods and styles with balletic grace. Read critic reviews
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Where to watch
The Red Shoes Photos
Movie Info
In this classic drama, Vicky Page (Moira Shearer) is an aspiring ballerina torn between her dedication to dance and her desire to love. While her imperious instructor, Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), urges to her to forget anything but ballet, Vicky begins to fall for the charming young composer Julian Craster (Marius Goring). Eventually Vicky, under great emotional stress, must choose to pursue either her art or her romance, a decision that carries serious consequences.
Cast & Crew
Moira Shearer
Victoria Page
Victoria Page
Anton Walbrook
Boris Lermontov
Boris Lermontov
Marius Goring
Julian Craster
Julian Craster
Robert Helpmann
Ivan Boleslawsky
Ivan Boleslawsky
Leonide Massine
Grischa Ljubov
Grischa Ljubov
Albert Basserman
Sergei Ratov
Sergei Ratov
Critic Reviews for The Red Shoes
Audience Reviews for The Red Shoes
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Jun 11, 2018The story of a young ballerina (Moira Shearer) and young composer (Marius Goring) being accepted into a ballet company and then working their way up by demonstrating their skills to an irascible producer (Anton Walbrook) is decent in its own right, and the first half of this film gives us a 'behind the scenes' look into the making of a ballet, with a set of charming supporting characters. What sets the film apart, however, is the actual production of the ballet, which directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger give us in a visually stunning extended sequence, using various film effects to enhance its dreamy feeling. You don't have to be a lover of ballet to appreciate the artistic beauty of these scenes, and it's no wonder the film won Oscars for Best Art Direction and Best Score. Shearer being asked to choose between a husband and a career may be a little maddening and sound familiar to women, but the demand is not from her husband, it's from her producer. The ballet shoes that she puts on which promise worldwide fame are a bit of a Faustian bargain, with Walbrook's character Mephistopheles. It gets a bit melodramatic as it plays out, but it's always entertaining. Strong performances, strong direction, and fantastic artistry.Antonius B Super Reviewer
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Oct 24, 2015Walbrook and Shearer are absolutely fantastic in this dazzling visual spectacle that boasts an astounding art direction and cinematography in Technicolor - and in which the theater stage can assume unimaginable, magical proportions thanks especially to phenomenal editing.Carlos M Super Reviewer
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Jun 16, 2014This movie shit on Aronofski's Black SwanCita W Super Reviewer
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Feb 20, 2014Until Black Swan, this was the definitive film about ballet. The Svengali relationship between an instructor and his ballerina ups the tension to a delightful level.John B Super Reviewer
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