By Todd Garbarini
I first saw The Red Shoes on a PBS viewing 35 years ago on a Zenith black and white television. My younger sister, who was taking dancing lessons at a nearby studio, seemed transfixed by Moira Shearer’s effortless moves. While the Hans Christian Andersen tale of a ballerina who is danced to death went over my head, the images, even then, remained burned in my subconscious. Such is the power of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1948 film, quite simply one of the most sumptuous color films ever photographed. Shot in the original three-strip Technicolor dye transfer process, The Red Shoes was released by the Criterion Collection on laserdisc in 1995 and on DVD in 1999. While those versions were a real eye-opener to those of us who were used to seeing the film on television, on 16mm, or on videocassette, the new 2010 Criterion Collection Blu-Ray and standard DVD releases of the film are a revelation. These new transfers are the result of an extensive two-year, 4K digital restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive (headed by UCLA archivist Robert Gitt) and The Film Foundation, in association with the British Film Institute, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd and Janus Films.
Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009, the restoration made its way to the Film Forum in New York City in February 2010 where film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, widow of filmmaker Michael Powell, introduced the film. Isabella Rossellini was also in attendance of the film’s premiere to show her support of this great film.