I understand that many people have seen The Red Shoes over the years and have been inspired to dance. You tell me it is a classic because it has inspired countless generations, but my question is this: why have people been so profoundly affected by this film? Surely it is more than stunning cinematography and a full sequence of ballet? What is it about the film that appeals to them on a emotional level?
Moreover, I felt that Red Shoes ballet sequence was just so full of cinematic acrobatics that it almost detracted from the dancing itself. Every trick in the book is used; was it not Fred Astaire who said that he would do the dancing, and not the camera? In the dancing sequences, everything is indeed visually beautiful, and there are certainly all sorts of influences that one can discern, from expressionism to an almost surrealist style, but I just felt that these styles do not pertain at all to the story of The Red Shoes or Victoria Page. For me, the almost fantastical elements of this simply didn't fit with the relatively grounded tale of a relatively grounded ballet dancer. You mentioned the full sequence of ballet as an innovation, but I felt that it stalled the film. In the other films you mentioned, An American in Paris, and especially Black Swan, the ballet sequence, although it seems like a separate entity, is completely relevant to the development of the film and the development of the character. I do not feel that was the case in The Red Shoes.
I mentioned those other Powell and Pressburger films not because I wanted to see those same qualities in The Red Shoes, but rather I was making the point that each of those films had very interesting and defining aspects to them which make them a classic. In The Red Shoes, I guess I was just hoping for something similar in the sense that it also possessed something unique and different from the others. As for why I said that it is a tale told countless times, I believe I was referring to the fact these ideas of 'art as religion' and 'devotion to art as dangerous' are actually so ubiquitous in real life that they have started to become common tropes in the arts as well. The choreographer -I'm afraid I don't remember his name- mentioned that he saw Pavlova herself dance. Well the tragic fate of Anna Pavlova certainly exemplifies the idea as total devotion to art as dangerous. She caught pneumonia, and refused the surgery that would cure her because it would render her unable to dance for the rest of her life. She chose to die, rather than stop dancing. Like in this film, Pavlova died during a show's run, and a spotlight shining on the place where she would have danced.
Perhaps you are right in saying The Red Shoes was one of the first in the medium of film to deal with such themes. However, I do not believe it dealt with these ideas particularly effectively. Frankly, we only know of Page's devotion to her art because she talks about it, never do we really see or feel that dancing is her life. It is only through those awfully talky scenes (not to mention rather contrived dialogue) with Lermontov that we hear of this. Furthermore, Victoria chose to walk away from greatness because she loved Craster more. As I mentioned in my original post, why does her art kill her, why is she punished when she has a) done nothing wrong and b) is hardly dangerously obsessed to her art? I guess one could argue that it is Lermontov who is the obsessed one, and that her death is his punishment. However, if this is essentially the story of the downfall of the flawed Lermontov, why spend so much time with Craster and Page?
P.S. I did see the newly restored version. I didn't say The Red Shoes wasn't beautiful, but it for me certainly wasn't one of the most visually stunning films I've ever encountered either.
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Steve Crook
10 years ago
All interesting and valid points clearly expressing your opinion. There's nothing at all wrong with that, it's just that it seems to affect lots of other people differently.
When the restored print was premiered at Cannes in 2009 the festival organisers were planning on showing it in one of the smaller theatres. But so many people wanted to see it that they changed it to their main theatre. Before it started we looked around and tried to count the Oscar winners in the audience. We lost count when we got to over 20!
I see that it's also due to be shown at the National Film Theatre here in London next month and their programme says of it:
The Red Shoes took cinematic dance to hitherto unexpected emotional levels. Once seen, never forgotten, this unique film makes dance utterly central to the tale and its telling. Using Jack Cardiff's powerful cinematography, the great British team of Powell and Pressburger gave Hans Christian Andersen's story raw passion and gripping desperation.
The effects used during the ballet were done partly because they could but also because they didn't want to just present a film of a staged ballet, they wanted to show what the dancer was thinking as she danced. Like when "the girl" saw the shoemaker, then Leentov & Julian.
They also used camera tricks in more subtle ways like when the shoemaker leaps into shot towards the end. Jack changed the speed of the camera so that he lingered in mid-air longer than gravity normally allows a dancer to do.
The choreographer for Lerontov's company was played by Leonide Massine. When he said "I, who have seen Pavlova dance ..." He had not only seen them, he had partnered them.
All of the dancers were real professional dancers who could also act. Unlike in many other dramatic films including ballet where the dancer is an obvious double, like in Black Swan.
BTW I wouldn't say that Vicky is being punished for her devotion to her art. It's more that she is conflicted between her desire to dance and her love for Julian. Back in the 1940s it was much harder for a woman to have a family life and a career. Many women had to stop working when they married. Sometimes because their husband demanded it but also often because their employer required it. Luckily most people are a lot more enlightened nowadays
Steve
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RachelhkT
10 years ago
Thank you for your prompt reply Steve. I understand where you're coming from, and I know a lot of people certainly love the movie. I will probably see the film again someday and so I hope I can better appreciate it the next time round.
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