The Red Shoes (1948) is a British feature film about a ballet dancer, written, directed and produced by the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, known collectively as The Archers.

The movie employs the story within a story device, being about a young ballerina who joins an established ballet company and becomes the lead dancer in a new ballet called The Red Shoes, itself based on the fairy tale “The Red Shoes” by Hans Christian Andersen. Filmmakers such as Brian De Palma and Martin Scorsese have named it one of their all time favorite films.

This innovative and visually stunning production stars Moira Shearer as talented young dancer Victoria Page, cast in the leading role of the ballet The Red Shoes. As Victoria falls in love with up and coming composer Julian Craster (Marius Goring), she finds herself torn between simple human passion and the disciplined artistic devotion demanded by Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), her jealous ballet company master. But like her character in the ballet, Victoria is in danger of dancing to her death…

Awards

• Academy Awards 1949 – Won Oscars for Best Music & Best Art Direction, Nominated for Oscars for: BEST PICTURE, Best Writing and Best editing.
• BAFTA Awards 1949 – Nominated BEST BRITISH FILM
• Golden Globes 1949 – Won Best Motion Picture Score
• National Board of Review USA 1948 – Won NBR Award Top Ten Films

Critic Reviews:

• " It is one of the great films about creating art … I couldn't bear the thought of never seeing it again. " – Allen Almachar (The MacGuffin)

• " The Red Shoes (1948, UK) is a beautiful and sensitive post-war film – the 10th collaboration from the masterful and respected British directing/producing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger… " – Tim Dirks (Filmsite)

• " … a film of dark fantasy, romantic passion and an infectious love of dance, music and cinema. The dance sequences are among the most beautiful put on film… but the drama behind the curtain is even more interesting. " – Sean Axmaker (Stream on Demand)