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.
For those of you who own the CAV laserdisc of the film, the Blu-Ray upgrade is a no-brainer – the film looks like it was just made, and shows not one iota of its 50-plus years. Quite simply, the film has never looked better. The new edition includes:
• Introductory restoration demonstration with filmmaker Martin Scorsese (4:17)
• Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and Scorsese
• Profile of The Red Shoes, a documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with members of the production team (25:30)
• Video interview with director Michael Powell’s widow, Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, from the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, in which she discusses Powell, the film, and the restoration (14:41)
• Audio recording of actor Jeremy Irons reading excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes
• Collection of rare publicity stills and behind-the-scenes photos
• Gallery of items from Scorsese’s personal collection of The Red Shoes memorabilia
• The “Red Shoes†Sketches, an animated film of Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards, with the Red Shoes ballet as an alternate angle
• Audio recording of Irons reading the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Red Shoesâ€
• Theatrical trailer (2:30)
• 26-page liner notes booklet featuring an essay by critic David Ehrenstein and a description of the restoration by UCLA film archivist Robert Gitt
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