The Powell & Pressburger Pages Dedicated to the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and all the other people, both actors and technicians who helped them make those wonderful films. A lot of the documents have been sent to me or have come from other web sites. The name of the web site is given where known. If I have unintentionally included an image or document that is copyrighted or that I shouldn't have done then please email me and I'll remove it. I make no money from this site, it's purely for the love of the films. [Any comments are by me (Steve Crook) and other members of the email list]

Submitted by Roger Mellor

The Red Shoes (1948)
"Radio Times" film guide

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Director - Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Screenplay - Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Producers - Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring - Jean Short [or so it says in the guide]
Running Time - 127 mins
Country of Origin - UK

Moira Shearer stars as the ballerina whose life is torn between a career with a manipulative impresario (Anton Walbrook) and marriage to a young composer (Marius Goring). Based vaguely on the story of Sergei Diaghilev and Waslaw Nijinsky [vaguely], The Red Shoes is arguably the best-loved dance film of all time, enabling the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger to ponder the power and nature of art and fantasy with some extravagant, exuberant dance sequences and a riot of Oscar-winning Technicolor designs. The performances from debutant Shearer and Walbrook as the man filled with self-hate, are impeccable icons of innocence and tragedy at the service of art. Martin Scorsese often cites this as his all-time favourite movie [when he's not citing ToH or even The Searchers] .

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