The Red Shoes (The Criterion Collection) film on Blu-ray is amazing! I’ve watched the movie before, but don’t remember the color being so vivid.  The Blu-ray included a feature documentary that explained how they digitally restored the film.  It was a two and a half year project and was very difficult because the movie was shot in Technicolor, a process that uses three negative strips. Each strip was damaged by mold and emulsion shrinkage and had to be repaired digitally one frame at a time. I’m glad that the film was restored because it is beautiful. The cinematography of this 1948 classic was way ahead of its time.

 And of course I love the dancing.  Moira Shearer, a colleague/competitor of Margot Fonteyn ,  was a beautiful  dancer. The cast also includes several other renowned ballet dancers: Leonide Massine, Robert Helpmann,  and Ludmilla Tchérina. Leonide Massine was a famous choreographer/dancer who became the lead dancer in Sergei Diaghilev’s company, the Ballet Russe,  after Vaslav Nijinsky left the company. Massine was also the choreographer for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Robert Helpmann, the choreographer for The Red Shoes, was one of Margot Fonteyn’s professional partners in the Sadler Wells Ballet Company.  Ludmilla Tchérina was a famous French prima ballerina.

This makes me want to watch The Tales of Hoffman, a 1951 film. Moira Shearer, Leonide Massine, Robert Helpmann, and Ludmilla Tchérina  all appear in this film. In addition, the creative team, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, that was responsible for The Tales of Hoffman, also created The Red Shoes.  I’ve never seen The Tales of Hoffman, but will keep you posted after I watch it.

Note: Thank you to my son for giving me The Red Shoes Blu-ray for Christmas!  I believe I just dropped a hint for my birthdayJ