This celluloid all-timer was inspired by a fairy tale with a creepy plot twist.
by Rich Watson
This post is part of the Rule Britannia Blogathon, a blog event celebrating British film. At the end I’ll tell you where to find more posts like this.
British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger created their 1948 movie The Red Shoes inspired by a story by Hans Christian Andersen. Like most of their films, it’s magnificently photographed in Technicolor. It has dazzling costumes and makeup. The performance by Moira Shearer showcases her balletic skills. The production is overstuffed with beauty.
Which is ironic, since the story on which it’s based is pretty gruesome.
I recently watched another '40s literary adaptation, The Queen of Spades (based on a story by Alexander Pushkin), in which Anton Walbrook also starred. I don't recall ever seeing him in a film before, so I looked up his resume and ran across The Red Shoes. Your review reminds me that I need to see this film!
ReplyDeletePre-20th century fairy tales remind us of a past that we can scarcely understand in the 2020s. But I think its important to keep these cultural artifacts alive in their original forms in order to maintain a healthy perspective.
If nothing else, they remind us of where we’ve come from, and maybe where we’re going.
DeleteThe Red Shoes is such an incredible movie. And I knew about the Hans Christian Andersen connection, although I didn't know his half-sister was named Karen or his father was a shoemaker! Anyway, it was a great choice for the blogathon. Thanks for taking part!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it. I’d wanted to see THE RED SHOES for a long time.
DeleteMy, what a perfectly gruesome tale! I knew that the film was based on a Hans Christian Andersen story, but I never knew the details. Yikes. Thanks for this informative and interesting post, Rich!
ReplyDelete-- Karen (another Karen who's not a Karen)
It’s like something out of a Grimm fairy tale, isn’t it? Funny how we’ve told kids stories like these for generations.
DeleteThanks for sharing the background info on Hans Christian Andersen, especially the info about his family.
ReplyDeleteThis is a film I've yet to see, and you've put it to the top of my Must Watch List. Can't wait to see the sequence with the 53(!) dancers.
The ballet in the movie is something to see. Like I said, it has a fantastical, dream-like air to it that’s different from the rest of the movie, but it doesn’t feel out of place, not really. Maybe because the rest of the movie looks the way it does?
ReplyDeleteFascinating! I love this story, and the film looks absolutely gorgeous. It would be interesting to see what Hans Christian Anderson would have thought of this.
ReplyDeleteGood question. He’d probably appreciate the dancing, I think.
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