Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Sight & Sound Challenge: The Red Shoes (1948)

Film: The Red Shoes (6/250)
Critics Poll: 117th
Directors Poll: 322nd
First Time/Rewatch: Rewatch

It's hard for me to write about this film using just words. I could do it with emojis...just picture lots of jaw-dropped and heart-eyed little faces. This film is GORGEOUS. The colors are unreal, and the "Ballet of the Red Shoes" sequence looks like it came straight out of a dream. You can see the influence from that one scene in films ranging from Singin' in the Rain all the way up to Black Swan. Can I just say that more movies should have one stand-out dream-like scene? I think just about any movie could benefit from one. Take The Avengers. Wouldn't it be great to have a scene where they're all floating through the sky, on mountains, by the sea, with a beautiful piece of music accompanying this pointless but pretty diversion? No? Okay, that would be ridiculous. Maybe not EVERY movie needs one. But The Red Shoes does it so well, making this one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen. It would be such a treat to see on the big screen, but in the meantime the restored Blu-ray does the job pretty well. Oh, to be a dancer...!


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