The Red Shoes (Rank Collection Box Set)
There are those films that have an almost mythic status that for some reason I have avoided like the plague for my own ridiculous reasons. On hearing the very mention of the film I would privately reject it without any quantifiable reason whatsoever. Once again, like with so many things in life, I have found myself to have fundamental prejudices towards things I have no reason to have them for....
Note: This release of The Red Shoes is part of the Rank Collection boxset which includes The Red Shoes, The 39 Steps, Brief Encounter, Henry V, A Matter Of Life And Death, Genevieve, The Wicked Lady, Hamlet. Any recommendations for the release should be taken in the context of the whole boxset not the individual release:
There are those films that have an almost mythic status that for some reason I have avoided like the plague for my own ridiculous reasons. On hearing the very mention of the film I would privately reject it without any quantifiable reason whatsoever. Once again, like with so many things in life, I have found myself to have fundamental prejudices towards things I have no reason to have them for. In the case in point, THE RED SHOES, it is nothing less than a masterpiece. Initially, I think I thought it was going to be some film about a group of upper class toffs, prancing around the stage and illuminating a world to me that that I have no interest in. However, not only is it fully grounded in its class consciousness but it also only of the great mythic film fairytales, of the type that Stanley Kubrick was tirelessly searching for, before Spielberg got on board and made A.I. and destroyed that notion. It is about art and love and how those two notions can tear people apart.
We start off at the opening night of the Ballet Lermontov, where student Julian Craster (Marius Goring) has gone to watch from the cheap seats, as his professor has written the music for the ballet. On hearing it, he is angered by the fact that his own music has been pragarised by his professor. Upon contacting Lermontov directly (played fantastically by Anton Warbrook) he is then given an apprentices job, as Lermontov is impressed by the passion and talent on show. Running simultaneously to this, Lermentov has been manipulated into going to an after performance party given by Victoria Page’s mother, a young girl who her mother wants Lermontov see performing, so that he will see her talent and hire her for his troupe. Lermontov though, is not impressed by being set up to attend an audition instead of a party. Anyway Victoria and Lermontov meet, and again Lermontov sees the potential in this young performer, so he asks her to attend the troupe.
Anyway, cutting a long story short, the two apprentices become the focal points of the troupe, with one rewriting the Hans Anderson fairytale THE RED SHOES for the other to star in. They fall in love, much to Lermontov’s disgust, creating a climate where all three are forced to make a decision. One that eventually leads to catastrophe.
The triangle though is complex. Lermontov is an excellent judge of nurturing talent to realise its full potential. In relation to Victoria, he believes that a true Ballet artist will never realise their potential if they are to fall in love. Dedication in this art must be 100% and nothing less. Upon receiving assurances during the film from Victoria that her dedication is full, when he finds out she is in love, he feels a full and complete betrayal. It appears in the film not to be a betrayal where his concern is for the Ballet Troupe falling apart but a betrayal between a coach and his student. One where trust has been betrayed. Due to the way Lermontov is presented and surrounded we are left in little doubt that he can make her a star. We are also left in little doubt of the type or life Lermontov has created for himself. One of isolation, of dedication, loyalty and complete commitment to his chosen art. Look out for the scene where he feels the betrayal. It is the type of scene that few filmmakers would have the daring and insight to know how to film, quite fantastic.
The films showpiece is a truly memorable ‘filmic’ version of the ballet THE RED SHOES, which runs for about 17 minutes right in the middle of the film. It is where the technical excellence of all the filmmakers is fully showcased. The cinematography, editing, mise-en scene and direction all seamlessly blend to take you to a place where you will be surprised a ballet can take you. Truly phenomenal. However, during the film we are also briefly introduced to all the artistic crafts that go into making a ballet, and again this is filmed in such a way as to be inclusive. My own personal favourite was when Marius Goring takes over the orchestra near the beginning and starts to iron out some of the creases in the score that his professor has stolen. Although, not as funny as Preston Sturges’ masterful sequence in UNFAITHFULLY YOURS, it captures a similar kind of energy, I just wish it had been longer.
This film has so many things to recommend it, I will cut myself short and let you know that it also has a neat set of extras as well.
EXTRAS
A PROFILE OF THE RED SHOES (24 MINS)
Although it is only a short documentary it interviews some interesting people and imparts some interesting information. Firstly, Emeric Pressburger’s grandsons talk. One of them is Kevin Mcdonald, the director of TOUCHING THE VOID and the superb ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER and numerous great TV biographies, and the other was Danny Boyle’s producer on SHALLOW GRAVE, TRAINSPOTTING etc, Andrew Mcdonald. Kevin is his grandfather’s biographer and imparts much information about what Emeric did on the film, including his research into ballet schools etc. Andrew suggests that the reason that the film took on a life of its own was because people like Scorsese, Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg began discussing the film as an example of genius. Andrew Mcdonald suggests that is was mainly down to the Lermotov character and the idea of dying for your art that so appealed to them, as well as the film being an example or ‘Pure Cinema’, most usually used to refer to Hitchcock films. Ian Christie, the film academic suggests that the Lermontov character is based on Alexander Korda who originally brought Powell and Pressburger together, and that this films use of real ballet dancers acting their parts was quite revolutionary at the time. Usually, of course, actors would be used and then doubled for the dancing sequences. Chris Callis, the camera operator and Jack Cardiff, the Cinematographer, of THE RED SHOES, also make guest appearances. Callis, who was a Cinematographer at the time, agreed to drop down a rank just to be a part of the production, and Cardiff discusses how himself and Hein Heckroth (production designer) would meet up at dinner and meticulously plan every sequence, especially for the 17 minute ballet sequence (see below).Cardiff also talks about how the film was received, and ironically as this DVD is a part of the Rank Boxset, J. Arthur Rank actually hated this film when he saw it and refused to give it a premiere. Only after a cinema owner in America managed to get a copy and run it for 2 straight years did the film start to be recognised for the work of genius that it is. There are many more little gems of information here anyway in this extra, for anyone as unknowledgeable as me.
THE BALLET OF THE RED SHOES (15 mins)
For the 17 minute showpiece (note: one of many different kinds of showpiece in these film), Hein Heckroth had pre-drawn the entire sequence and Jack Cardiff had photographed the drawings, before the were edited together with music. This is the original version of that sequence, what they would call pre-vis now. Very interesting to note how similar they are to what was actually filmed, which is maybe one of the reasons why storyboarding has been such a necessity, especially for fantasy scenes or ones that require as many in-house camera tricks as this sequence did.
This is 24 pictures all with text, some from behind the scenes and some with the actors posing for publicity shots. For those interested this is a tidy addition.
BIOGRAPHIES
These are 3 pages each on Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Moira Shearer and Michael Powell. Interestingly, Moira Shearer eventually ended up married to Ludovic Kennedy, even though she appeared in few films after this one.
The picture is clear and the sound appeared pretty faultless to my tone deaf ears.
Although it does not have the commentary of the Criterion Collection’s region 1 edition, which is natural because they produce indigenous extras for their own releases, that I think is by Scorsese (but I am not certain), the 25 minute documentary on this edition does not appear on the American version.
So, all in all, this film was way ahead of its time. Not only does it explore the notion of the artist from a number of angles (the one with the ideas, the performer, and the technician), it is seemingly about dying for your art. The Red Shoes fairytale concerns a pair of shoes that once they are on the dancer they will not stop dancing, until the person wearing them is dead from exhaustion. Quite a dark subject matter, filmed in a manner that is at times very dark, invigorating, involving and during other times transcendental. This is a film that is multi layered and I am sure will reward on future showings just as much as it did on the first one. This is film making of the highest order and deserves to be watched, not only as a touch stone for understanding the treatment of contemporary films, but also because it is a film that gets your mind ticking over and treats the audience as an important member of the overall experience. Another addition to the Rank Boxset, this is one that you can watch with or without your parents, and as far as I am concerned the showpiece of the boxset, even though the cover informs us that it has previously been released in different packaging. So maybe you can pick up the same edition pretty cheaply around now. Don’t miss out, this one is a classic.
This page has been read:
2065
times