Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

The Red Shoes 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 10, 2021

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's "The Red Shoes" (1948) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and Martin Scorsese; restoration demonstration hosted by director Martin Scorsese; interview with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell; documentary on the making of the film; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The text below was initially used in our review of Criterion's Blu-ray release of The Red Shoes.

Last year, legendary cinematographer Jack Cardiff passed away. Only a few weeks after his funeral, a newly restored print of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's beloved classic The Red Shoes, one of many films Mr. Cardiff worked on, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. I want to believe that somehow Mr. Cardiff saw the restored print in its entirety.

The Red Shoes is comprised of two different stories. The first one is rather dark and unsettling. It is about a young and very ambitious ballerina, Mrs. Victoria Page (Moira Shearer), who impresses the great impresario Mr. Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook). When his prima ballerina announces that she is going to get married, Mr. Lermontov gives Mrs. Page a chance to shine.

The young ballerina does not disappoint. Mr. Lermontov is so impressed with her performance that he immediately decides to stage Hans Christian Andersen's The Red Shoes, a magical tale about a pair of shoes that transform the person who wears them into a brilliant dancer. When rehearsals begin, however, Mrs. Page falls in love with the ballet company's newly appointed conductor, Julian Craster (Marius Goring). Mr. Lermontov goes berserk and confronts the couple, insisting that Mrs. Page must choose between ballet and the man she loves.

The second story in the film is the one of the actual ballet, The Red Shoes. It cannot be described with simple words. One has to see the ballet in order to fully understand why Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's film is considered as one of the greatest cinematic achievements.

During the years, The Red Shoes has been praised for its stylish symbiosis of dance and music, innovative use of color and brilliant photography. Countless articles have been written about Moira Shearer, Leonide Massine, and Robert Helpmann. In 1949, Brian Easdale rightfully won an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture that inspired many young composers.

What is often neglected by those who have praised The Red Shoes, however, is the fact that the film is also an effective drama, one with unusually complex characters. Furthermore, The Red Shoes also harbors serious themes about commitment, responsibility and the meaning of life.

These two contrasting sides of The Red Shoes -- one preoccupied with art and beauty, the other focused on a tragic but realistic love affair -- are what makes the film so fascinating to behold. The masterful blending of the surreal with the real is indeed very effective.

Undoubtedly the Archers' best film, The Red Shoes offers spectacular views from a number of locations -- Monte Carlo, London, and Paris. Cinematographer Jack Cardiff's camera speed manipulations -- meant to convince the viewer that the dancers were indeed capable of hanging in the air -- were considered groundbreaking at the time.

In the United States, The Red Shoes enjoyed an unprecedented 110-week run at The Bijou in New York City before it was picked up for national distribution by Universal Pictures. Since then, it has inspired a number of successful Broadway musicals.

The Red Shoes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1 and encoded with HEVC/H.265, The Red Shoes arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this release:

"This 4K digital master was created in Dolby Vision HDR (high dynamic range) from the 2009 4K digital restoration, which was made from the Technicolor 35mm original camera negatives and optical tracks. On the 4K Blu-ray disc, the feature is presented in Dolby Vision HDR. On the Blu-ray, it is presented in high-definition SDR (standard dynamic range).

The film 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 was provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Film Foundation, and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation.

Restoration supervised by: Robert Gitt, with the assistance of Barbara Whitehand.
Digital colorist: Ray Grabowski/Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging, Burbank, CA.
Film color timing: David Cetra/Cinetech, Valencia, CA.
Digital audio restoration: John Polito.
Digital Picture Restoration: Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging, in association with Prasad Corporation Ltd. (India) and MTI Film".

Please note that the screencaptures from the 4K Blu-ray are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

As the quoted technical credits above confirm, the 4K Blu-ray release reintroduces the previously completed 4K restoration of The Red Shoes, which Criterion released on Blu-ray in 2010. (You can see out listing and review of this release here). I viewed the 4K Blu-ray release last night and did a number of comparisons with the Blu-ray release earlier today. Here are my impressions:

When the 4K restoration was introduced on Blu-ray, I thought that the film looked marvelous. At the time, it was the most vibrant and certainly the healthiest presentation of the film that I had seen. I still think that the film looks really, really good on Blu-ray. In native 4K, the entire film tends to look slightly darker yet lusher. It has superior ranges of nuances as well, especially darker ones, though I am afraid our screencaptures do not demonstrate this particular improvement. Delineation, clarity, and sharpness are excellent, but they were quite impressive in 1080p as well. Now, if you pay close attention to smaller details, you should quickly realize that the lusher colors also appear 'tighter' because you are essentially witnessing color registration as it was meant to be seen. This particular improvement is most noticeable right before and after transitions, but there are other areas where time has left its mark that look better in native 4K as well (screencaptures #21 and 23 come from such areas). As a result, the overall balance of the visuals is more pleasing. Density levels are very strong, but there are still a few areas with minor yet noticeable inherited fluctuations. Fluidity is excellent. Obviously, the entire film still looks as healthy as it it did in 1080p. To sum it all up, in native 4K the film boasts a slightly darker appearance with superior -- sometimes punchier, sometimes better nuanced, sometimes punchier and better nuanced -- ranges of colors that Technicolor is famous for. I honestly can't see how you can ever get a better technical presentation of it at home. I was very impressed. (Note: The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray release is Region-A "locked").

The Red Shoes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

When we reviewed the Blu-ray release of The Red Shoes in 2010, there was no Dolby Atmos. A decade later, a lot of older films are receiving Dolby Atmos tracks that more often than not do some pretty impressive things, so I wonder whether whether one of these new tracks might have offered some improvements. Is there anything wrong the LPCM 1.0 track? No. It is just the speculator in me speculating whether some of the music for instance could be slightly richer, or the entire audio can be made to sound fuller. On the other hand, I actually prefer to have native limitations reproduced as they were present on the original soundtrack, which I am quite certain the is precisely what the LPCM 1.0 track does.

The Red Shoes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• The Red Shoes Novel - an audio recording, made exclusively for Criterion in 1994. Here, actor Jeremy Irons reads excerpts from Powell and Pressburger's 1978 novelization of The Red Shoes. You can watch the film and listen to the recording.

• Commentary - a wonderful audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie featuring stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and Martin Scorsese. It was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 1994, and also appeared on the old DVD release of The Red Shoes.

BLU-RAY DISC

• The Red Shoes Novel - an audio recording, made exclusively for Criterion in 1994. Here, actor Jeremy Irons reads excerpts from Powell and Pressburger's 1978 novelization of The Red Shoes. You can watch the film and listen to the recording.

• Commentary - a wonderful audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie featuring stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and Martin Scorsese. It was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 1994, and also appeared on the old DVD release of The Red Shoes.

• Restoration Demonstration - a short program, hosted by director Martin Scorsese, founder and chair of Film Foundation, offering a fascinating look at the 4K restoration of The Red Shoes received. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Profile of The Red Shoes - a very good documentary on the making of The Red Shoes, produced in London in 2000. The documentary features interviews with film historian Ian Christie, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, camera operator Chris Challis, and family members of the film's original production team. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Thelma Schoonmaker Powell - in this archival program, Michael Powell's widow and close friend of Martin Scorsese discusses The Red Shoes and explains why it was important that the film was restored and preserved. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Stills Gallery -
  
  1. Cast and Crew
  2. Filming in London
  3. Filming in Paris
  4. Filming in Monte Carlo
  5. Deleted Scenes
  6. Production and Costume Designs

• Scorsese's Memorabilia - a very unusual collection, containing the red ballet slippers worn by Moira Shearer in the film; Emeric Pressburger's personal copy of The Red Shoes script; annotated technical design storyboards for the key ballet sequence; etc.

• The Red Shoes Sketches - this animated film, constructed from production designer Hein Heckroth's original color storyboards and set to Brian Easdale's score, was used as the blueprint for the Red Shoes ballet in the film. It can be viewed with the Jeremy Irons reading of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Red Shoes", and side by side with the actual film. A short text introduction is included as well. With music. (16 min).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring critic David Ehrenstein's essay "Dancing for Your Life", detailed description of the 4K restoration by UCLA film archivist Robert Gitt, and technical credits.

The Red Shoes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are a younger film collector, you have to support these beautiful 4K Blu-ray releases of classic films that are starting to emerge now because they are the ultimate releases a lot of older collectors weren't lucky to see. Eventually, you will get older too, and if you support physical media, the film collectors that come after you will be enormously grateful. In the old days, there was never a shortage of collectors that wanted to own such ultimate releases, but the technology that was needed to make them possible was missing. Now the technology is here, and our community has to support physical media and continue urging the major studios and boutique labels to restore films and bring them to 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray. This is the only scenario that would ensure more 4K Blu-ray releases like The Red Shoes. The technical presentation of this classic film is so impressive that it almost feels a bit surreal that it can be experienced at home. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.