Watch The Red Shoes For Free

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

The story of a young ballerina (Moira Shearer) and young composer (Marius Goring) being accepted into a ballet company and then working their way up by demonstrating their skills to an irascible producer (Anton Walbrook) is decent in its own right, and the first half of this film gives us a 'behind the scenes' look into the making of a ballet, with a set of charming supporting characters. What sets the film apart, however, is the actual production of the ballet, which directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger give us in a visually stunning extended sequence, using various film effects to enhance its dreamy feeling. You don't have to be a lover of ballet to appreciate the artistic beauty of these scenes, and it's no wonder the film won Oscars for Best Art Direction and Best Score. Shearer being asked to choose between a husband and a career may be a little maddening and sound familiar to women, but the demand is not from her husband, it's from her producer. The ballet shoes that she puts on which promise worldwide fame are a bit of a Faustian bargain, with Walbrook's character Mephistopheles. It gets a bit melodramatic as it plays out, but it's always entertaining. Strong performances, strong direction, and fantastic artistry.

I am a huge Powell and Pressburger fan. I have seen most of their films and love most of them. I saw The Red Shoes on tv years ago and did not like it much. I recently bought a Powell and Pressburger boxed set and am working my way through it. I watched The Red Shoes today. It is a stunning looking film and I found it hard to concentrate on the story. The dance scenes are very well filmed. Some of the reviews here are surprised that a film like this could be made in Britain in 1948,Britain made loads of great films in this period I think.

A young ballet dancer is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina.Although Michael Powell had a long career with many, many films under his belt, this is probably the one he is most associated with and remembered for. And, you have to admit, rightfully so. The color is great, as is the story and everything within.The layers are nice, as this is a movie about a ballet about a fairy tale. The scene (very brief) of the men picking out the perfect red shoes is gorgeous. And then my twisted mind wonders... what if this were a horror film? You know, a story where the shoes keep dancing even after the dancer stops?

This Powell-Presburger film certainly has stood the test of time, one that many consider a masterpiece. Unfortunately, after multiple viewings, I remain a fair appreciator. On the plus side are its beautiful production values, including Jack Cardiff's outstanding cinematography and a powerful cast headed by Anton Walbrook, Moira Shearer and Marius Goring. The story is interesting, though the love interest of Walbrook and Goring with Shearer never quite seemed convincing.The main let down, though, was the musical score throughout. While Jack Cardiff was an accomplished composer his aesthetic values are simply not mine. Bereft of strong themes, logical structure and comprehensive form, the score supported dance sequences that for me lacked logical progression. Too, the initial themes seemed weak, followed by passages that lacked strong connection to the fundamental statements. The ballet's been compared to "An American in Paris," though the latter was buoyed by Gershwin's incomparable themes and design. In short, I was underwhelmed by both the "Red Shoes" ballet music and its contrived love triangle. At the same time I can see where this movie had great influence in subsequent films using dance as an important foundation. For that I do appreciate its value.