Time: 134 Minutes
Age Rating: PG
Cast:
Anton Walbrook as Boris Lermontov
Marius Goring as Julian Craster
Moira Shearer as Victoria Page
Robert Helpmann as Ivan Boleslawsky
Léonide Massine as Grischa Ljubov
Albert Bassermann as Sergei Ratov
Ludmilla Tchérina as Irina Boronskaya
Director: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

I’ve heard about The Red Shoes for the longest time, not knowing a huge amount about it other than it’s meant to be an absolute classic. I finally got to see it in the cinema and I’m glad I got to watch it this way because it is a masterful film.

The Red Shoes has a smart and well written script. It’s a gripping and haunting story about obsession and self destruction, identity crises, and sacrificing everything in the pursuit of art.

The performances from Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, and Marius Goring are amazing and really delivered.

The direction from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is truly stellar. The bright technicolour cinematography is visually gorgeous and spectacular, and the costumes and sets are top notch. Of course the musical sequences are great with really good dance choreography, and a particular 15-minute dance sequence was the highlight of the whole film.

The Red Shoes is a spectacular, visually mesmerising, compelling, and all around masterful film that was ahead of its time.