The Red Shoes: 70th Anniversary of the Classic Film
The world of cinema culture has often relied on ballet to create masterful movies throughout history. If you were to recall some of the most iconic flicks where ballet took center stage, you would find no dearth of them from Emil Loteanu’s biographical drama, Anna Pavlova(1964) to Darren Aronofsky’s horror-laced psychological thriller, The Black Swan(2010). Ballet, as a theme, still remains contagious among filmmakers. One such movie which created quite a stir in the cinematic universe was the 1948 film,The Red Shoes. Seven decades ago, filmmakers Michael Powell and EmericPressburger (a.k.a. The Archers) had their audience in a daze with this masterpiece.
The Red Shoes is the perfect fusion of cinematic genius and dance/theater. Based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a pair of bewitching crimson ballet shoes, the drama follows a young socialite named Vicky Page (Moira Shearer), who loves ballet.
With emotional comprehension of grace and rhythm, the movie is pregnant with powers and passion of the dance form. Vicky is torn between her love and her struggles to become a prima ballerina in an interesting take on freedom and choice. Here is everything you need to know about the sensational yet powerful British drama.
Step Aside, Realism
The ultimate accomplishment of The Red Shoes is the fact that it creates a delicious cocktail of ballet, art, spirituality, sacrifices and the realistic struggles of a ballerina. With fantastical, real-life backdrops for the dreamlike ballet sequences intermingling with painterly light amplified by a pulsating musical score, the movie is a surreal homage to its era.
Those Red Shoes
Charlotte Higgins, a culture writer at Guardian, gives us a fresh perspective article while connecting with feminism. “Those red shoes, I now realize, are absolutely dripping with dark imagery about female sexuality (menstruation, loss of virginity) and creativity,” she says. In this world of art, this movies asks a powerful question: can you be both an artist and a person outside of your art and is this different if you are a woman?
Of the Dancers and By the Dancers
The Archers believed in replicating authenticity ,and they hired real-life dancers in this classic film. Moira Shearer, the copper-haired protagonist, was a featured dancer at Sadler’s Wells. Ludmilla Tchérina, a Frenchprima ballerina, plays the gorgeous Boronskaya while Robert Helpmann (who played Ivan Boleslawsky) choreographed the extended ballet sequence.
The Influencer of Her Days
You know how some movies change the world,and they come to be known as the most influential cinema in history? Well, this is one of them. Its brilliance made artists of other mediums to take inspiration from it too. Kate Bush’s1993 album with the same title of the film was a product of this.Gain more knowledge about fashion with the leading design institute-JD Institute of Fashion Technology
