Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
The Red Shoes
The Red Shoes, the singular fantasia from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is cinema’s quintessential backstage drama, as well as one of the most glorious Technicolor feasts ever concocted for the screen. Moira Shearer is a rising star ballerina torn between an idealistic composer and a ruthless impresario intent on perfection. Featuring outstanding performances, blazingly beautiful cinematography by Jack Cardiff, Oscar-winning sets and music, and an unforgettable, hallucinatory central dance sequence, this beloved classic, dazzlingly restored, stands as an enthralling tribute to the life of the artist.
The Red Shoes was restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in association with the BFI, The Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd., and Janus Films. Restoration funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation, and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation.
Blu-Ray Special Edition Features
- New high-definition master from the award-winning 2009 digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Introductory restoration demonstration with filmmaker Martin Scorsese
- Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and Scorsese
- Audio recording of actor Jeremy Irons reading excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes
- Profile of “The Red Shoes,” a documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with members of the production team
- Video interview with director Michael Powell’s widow, editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, from the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, in which she discusses Powell, the film, and the restoration
- Collection of rare publicity stills and behind-the-scenes photos
- Gallery of items from Scorsese’s personal collection of The Red Shoes memorabilia
- “The Red Shoes” Sketches, an animated film of Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards, with the Red Shoes ballet as an alternate angle
- Audio recording of Irons reading the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Red Shoes”
- Theatrical trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic David Ehrenstein and a description of the restoration by UCLA film archivist Robert Gitt
Cover by F. Ron Miller
Collector's Sets
Collector's Set
Blu-Ray Special Edition Features
- New high-definition master from the award-winning 2009 digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Introductory restoration demonstration with filmmaker Martin Scorsese
- Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and Scorsese
- Audio recording of actor Jeremy Irons reading excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes
- Profile of “The Red Shoes,” a documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with members of the production team
- Video interview with director Michael Powell’s widow, editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, from the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, in which she discusses Powell, the film, and the restoration
- Collection of rare publicity stills and behind-the-scenes photos
- Gallery of items from Scorsese’s personal collection of The Red Shoes memorabilia
- “The Red Shoes” Sketches, an animated film of Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards, with the Red Shoes ballet as an alternate angle
- Audio recording of Irons reading the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Red Shoes”
- Theatrical trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic David Ehrenstein and a description of the restoration by UCLA film archivist Robert Gitt
Cover by F. Ron Miller
Cast
- Anton Walbrook
- Boris Lermontov
- Marius Goring
- Julian Craster
- Moira Shearer
- Victoria Page
- Robert Helpmann
- Ivan Boleslawsky
- Léonide Massine
- Ljubov
- Albert Basserman
- Ratov
- Ludmilla Tchérina
- Boronskaja
- Esmond Knight
- Livy
- Austin Trevor
- Professor Palmer
- Eric Berry
- Dimitri
- Irene Brown
- Lady Neston
Credits
- Director
- Michael Powell
- Written, produced, and directed by
- Michael Powell
- Written, produced, and directed by
- Emeric Pressburger
- Production design
- Hein Heckroth
- Editing
- Reginald Mills
- Music composed, arranged, and conducted by
- Brian Easdale
- Art direction
- Arthur Lawson
- The "Ballet of the Red Shoes" choreography by
- Robert Helpmann
- The part of the shoemaker created and danced by
- Léonide Massine
- The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by
- Sir Thomas Beecham
- Cinematography
- Jack Cardiff
- Director
- Emeric Pressburger
Trailer for The Red Shoes
