The shot of the red shoes running down the spiral staircase is a particularly difficult shot to get technically. The cinematographer had to make sure the exposure time, the speed of the feet, and the movement downward of the feet didn't strobe or flicker. There's an incredible amount of movement in the film and yet it all works, no strobing. Just another aspect of a brilliant achievement.
I remember hearing a story about how Scorsese watched The Red Shoes as a child on a black and white television. He had seen it once in the theater, and the memory of the colors was so strong, he still saw them when he watched it again in black and white.
I can understand that completely. I was 15 before we had a color television and so many favorites were, to me, black and white only. Later, I even preferred them that way.
I saw this first on a small b/w tv but in my memory, thought I had seen it in color but realized years later, that was not the case. The power of the story seemed to make the color alive in our minds.
Anyone who is a ballet lover and has taken classes will notice how different the arch of the feet have become. Today having a "banana foot" is highly sought after, a very stretched, arched foot. In this film you can see she's over the box, but the foot is nearly straight, very little curve to the foot. Aesthetics change over time. Her dancing technique was consistent for the era.
I love when people explain something about their expertise. It makes me appreciate the piece more by knowing how things have changed even in a few decades.
Some weird reason this reminds me the episode where Lisa becomes a ballerina but having difficulty to adjust its harsh community then gives us a lesson how ballet is nutts with its impossible demanding beauty standards.
Fun little fact about Red Shoes; Fred Astaire was invited to a private screening of it at a friend's house (can't remember who). Not many people reacted strongly to it, except Fred who at one point stated that it was one of his most favorite films of all time (and most favorite for that year)! If I'm not mistaken, he even cried watching the movie.
The funny thing about her having only one pair of red shoes in her dresser is that prima ballerinas go through at least one pair of pointe shoes per performance. I never thought of that until just now.
I don’t mean it in a pretentious way. I know a lot of dancers and they spend countless hours customizing their shoes and it is sort of an unsung, major duty of their craft. It can make a huge difference in their performance.
@@ClarkRahman I remember going down a ballerina video rabbit hole and one of my favorites was just watching a ballerina beat the crap out of the box of her shoes to soften them, and you could see dents and divots on the walls from generations of others doing the same
I watched the digital remaster and the previous master back-to-back, and there was something really nice about the experience, and it was all in the technicolor. The original print, the film was warped and aged and crappy so the red/blue/green would "wiggle" a lot on the frame and it gave this very grand movie this sort of rough, aged feel to it. But then the remaster took that all away, and you could watch it in the way that the original audiences did. I think it's a fun practice in movie-watching, because it shows how much preservation and "remastering" can change how we preiceve a film.
Moira Shearer having red was planned, at least somewhat. Although her hair color is natural, her co-star Marius Goring who played Julien also had naturally red hair. As a result, the Archers made him dye his hair blonde so that Shearer's hair would stand out more. I think that it was one of the most subtle, yet most effective decisions of the movie.
"The more conventional Hollywood dance numbers of the day" clip is anachronistic. The Red Shoes was made in 1948. Busby Berkeley's B&W referenced here are from the 1930's. In the late-forties, Hollywood was turning out wildly colorful and inventive musicals. The same year the incredibly vivid "The Pirate" came out, which also has fantastical sequences. But, after TRS came out, you see Vincente Minnelli and Gene Kelly creating extended dance sequences ("An American In Paris" and several other films) that move the genre forward in new ways. But nothing will ever match "The Red Shoes'" ballet sequence for expressionism. Watch my film, "That's Entertainment III" for the AIP Toulouse-Lautrec scene for of Hollywood utilizing Technicolor to full effect. Nice work on this video. The three-Strip process is indeed a wonder.
That's very true. A better parallel clip might be from Gene Kelly's "Cover Girl" with Rita Hayworth climbing the serpentine ramp as it was made before this movie. It seems that every Hollywood movie that had a ballet sequence was in response to The Red Shoes. And I read somewhere a long time ago that someone applauded Gene Kelly for his American in Paris ballet with the phrase "No one can touch your shoes...red, white, or blue." Though I love that film and all of his work too, I would easily disagree.
@@ciaohound The Pirate was made before TRS, but I get it. Kelly was pushing the musical as far as Hollywood would allow. The greatness of the An American In Paris ballet is also due to the enormous resources available at MGM. Another example, the Broadway Melody ballet in Singing' In The Rain - just eye-popping! The l list goes on... Glad there's another musical geek out there like me. Cheers
Don’t forget about Yolanda and the Thief (1945) and Ziegfeld Follies (1946) which include fantastical ballet sequences, both of course a product of Minnelli!
I think that you left out what might be considered the most important element of this production, and that is that it was based upon the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo, led by the spectacularly flambouyant Sergei Diaghilev and the outstanding artistic geniuses of the time. The colour pallets were a direct product of Léon Bakst, the master creator who influenced so very many important artists of his time and who still inspires so many creative people to use bold and intense colour. Then there were the marvelous, almost egomaniacal and over the top characters who were almost perfect copies of Michel Fokine, Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, Leonid Massine and the other brilliant and eccentric dancers who gave so much of themselves during their careers. When you look at the historical background from which the film's production staff could pull, it's no wonder that the absolute genius of everyone associated with the production of this film could be showcased and why all of the techniques used were so wildly successful. A BEAUTIFUL video and I'm glad that I was able to hear your viewpoints on the subject. Bravo! and Well Done You!
The three strip process negatives were silver-based black and white film, meaning if stored correctly they have an extremely long life. If a restoration uses them, we can go back and recover all the color with no fading. Digital technology helps us compensate for shrinkage and other size distortions so we can make use of negatives that were not usable in the analog era.
I just recently watched The Red Shoes for the first time and I was floored by how good this movie was. From the first moments in the movie I was drawn in. The camera work, the colors, the music and the ballet/fantasy sequences. I immediately ordered the 4K criterion collection disc afterward.
Just watched this film yesterday for the first time, was completely blown away by it and the next day this shows up in my subscription feed, what are the odds!
Well that's what happens with tracking... if you type something into the search bar online you will be inundated with similar products and services for aaaaages on other platforms.
I think Guillermo del Toro was inspired by The Red Shoes when he made the Gothic romance, Crimson Peak. There are similar elements with the placement of red colouring as it's own type of character in that film.
The tales of Hoffmann from the same two directors is one of my favorite movies ever. I'm an architect and i find that the way they "display" space is just amazing, with so many plays of perspectives and illusions, some kind of realistic and some that aren't at all. Fascinating.
Great video! This has to be one of my favorite Powell and Pressburger films! I also loved that you brought up Jack Cardiff. Between this and Black Narcissus I think he shot some of the most beautiful color films I’ve ever seen! So glad they’ve been restored so well!
Love Black Narcissus. When Kathleen Byron goes mad, Jack Cardiff makes her look amazing, monstrous, beautiful and chilling. In one of the obituaries for her, she is quoted as crediting her success in the role to his filming.
Likewise! It was on the tv as I walked past while I was tidying up. It was the commencement of the dance sequence, and it was so beautiful and mesmerising that I just had to sit down and watch it!
I believe that the the scene starting at 4:20 is a shoutout to 1946 La Belle et la Bête (the costumes are similar and there's an extended sequence where Belle first explores the beast's castle that plays very similarly, as a step into something dreamlike)
This feels like the reverse of David Lynch's theatre scene in Elephant Man. A colorful dream made in an age of black and white and a black and white dream made in an age of color.
I first saw this movie as a little boy. My great grandmother's second husband worked in the film industry in the 40s and 50s and had built her a theater in their home in Malibu and I watched it with her at the age of 5. It was confusing and a little scary to me then because I didn't understand what I was watching. As I got older I understood what I was seeing and the sheer tragic beauty that was The Red Shoes.
Thank you for this video! I got to see The Red Shoes on a big screen in the theater of a local university when I was 10 or 12 and I honestly never got over it. The scene when she climbs the steps in the blue gown is the most affecting thing I've ever seen on film. Pure magic.
Beautifully done, Royal Ocean Film Society. That you give credit to the people who created the impressions that you are so moved by in the film is a credit to you. As a motion picture production designer who was deeply affected by this movie as a teenager I appreciate your informed commentary here. Many ideas, talents, and collaborative innovations are the ingredients that create the movies that affect us the most deeply. Your narration in this short makes that more clear for all of us. Many thanks.
Yay, I'm early! Will report my thoughts in the edit. Edit: Just finished the video, and as always - your video topics are amazing. I'm an animator so it never crossed my mind on how much work it takes for a film to be treated to give the image the desired quality. But boy, are the results beautiful.
Just found your comment! :) Will report my thoughts in the edit. Edit: Just finished your comment. Thankfully you respected the rules of grammar. But the content was bland and ultimately not entertaining to read.
This is so lovely! I'm not nostalgic for the past, but here I am......maybe 6 years old & coming from the peace & beauty of Northampton to the muffled distress of Postwar East London.... 'The Crush' lasted years -- I thought it was Moira Shearer, but now I realise that it was everything about the Film.....I'd never seen people dance to music in that way, or such colour --- it's amazing that, for years after, I could vividly recall a dress that looked as if it was made of torn newspaper! As for Shearer, apart from the fact that she married a then-unknown Ludovic Kennedy, she went on being beguiling.....a tall, thin, almost translucently pale physique, & her hair -- like a brilliant flame! Little, chubby, adolescent me had to accept that ballerinas, & the girls who peered from the pages of fashion magazines, were out of a different drawer --- & arts, The Arts, were considered an expensive luxury by many working-class families: Fortunately for me (& as it turned out, for my 'tribe') I managed to retain at least some of my creativity --- & I never forget that first glimpse of what was 'out there' 💃🏼 Your videos are so full of clarity & insight -- thank you! 🙏🏼🌹🙏🏽
As a Gay kid growing up in a small Kansas town in the 60's and early 70's, my refuge was the newly launched PBS television channel out of Wichita. Among the avant garde programming, besides Monty Python's Flying Circus was the Janus Collection of Classic Films....a revelation to someone like me. The opening montage for the series included a brief clip of Moira Shearer pirouetting through the Carnival sequence of the Ballet, and something about it so moved me. And I, like Scorsese saw it for the first time on a black and white television. It wasn't until I got to college and became part of the Student Union Activities group, and was given a semester of movies to book that I finally saw it in color, granted a bad 16 mm print but another revelation. Years of movie worship later seeing this , I think I knew most of the pertinent facts (with a couple of surprise), but thank you for presenting it so beautifully. I've seen this movie many times in it's best presentation since, but I'm always astonished how it constantly surprises me with new revelations.
I'm scouring your videos now, and hate how long I've went in life not knowing your channel was this great. I constantly beg Tony Zhou to come back to RUclips, but your channel is filling his shoes nicely. The VFX video, Social Network, now this, you can't miss. Eager to go through your whole collection and take them all in. Great work.
I study ballet (non professionally) and watch all these film analysis videos I really should get around to watching this. I’ve seen the ballet portion but never the full thing
My mom and I saw the Red Shoes while we were on vacation back in May. We had the Turner Classic Movie Channel on our TV. We watched a lot of TV because the wifi was not working. They showed the Red Shoes in a double feature that had the actress Moira Shearer. The movie that came after the Red Shoes was The Man Who Loved Redheads, which was not very good. It's basically about a guy who can't get over his teenage crush (played by Moira Shearer) so he tries to find her in other redheaded women (while cheating on his wife). Moira Shearer plays all of the redheaded women in the movie (including the crush).
I saw this movie on sbs world movies in january 2020 at my aunt's house and i didn't know that i was watching one of the cinema incredible masterpiece ever created.
And i go around streaming/download platforms, legal and illegal. They all have this movie as their earlier collection. I'm like, "fuck... it was legit!"
Thank you for making a video about a 4:3 film in that same ratio, instead of making it 16:9 for no reason so that Microsoft Surface viewers (with a 3:2 screen) and others with other non-traditional screen ratios can experience the video in the best possible way.
Never heard of this movie until now. Given the fact I’ve been gained an interest in ballet since last year, finding this on my feed was perfect; I’ll be looking for a place to watch this later. Thank you for uploading.
I love how they decided to use color to adjust the mood of the different scenes of the movie. It wasn't all bright vibrant color all the time but neither was it all muted all the time either. I kind of wish they did more of that kind of thing in films today. It would go a long way towards making a movie a film worth remembering instead of just more content on the big screen that will be easily forgotten once you leave the theatre.
Maybe not so oddly, puts me in mind of Hitchcock's work - brilliant sunny scenes contrasted with dark ominous ones, the bright however becoming just as frightening plus repetition of color motifs, esp. with women's garb and accessories as well as background splashes of color from vehicles, etc. to highlight moods.
I first learned about The Red Shoes from you in your previous video essay on the unsung heroes of cinema and now it’s my favorite movie ever. I went on a Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger spiral and all of their work are so dear to me. Thank you very very much for introducing this to me among countless movies and filmmakers. Also I’ve noticed most of MP and EP movies revolve around a pattern where there is a fable or cautionary tale a character would nonchalantly talk about and that becomes the central theme or umbrella of the movie. Has anyone noticed that too and why do you think they intended for their movies to follow that pattern?
Yet another great take. The Tech process in 1939 for The Wizard of Oz was more of a comic book look. ...Shoes was more of a garish rendering of the surreal world of ballet that was a marriage of the real and the unreal. One of my all-time faves.
3:37 I totally agree with calling _The Tales of Hoffmann_ 's aesthetic "borderline garish", but I do think that was sort of the point. The opera itself is (intentionally) garish and over the top, so it makes sense to produce a movie that taps into that showtune tackyness instead of moving away from it.
I freaked when I saw this in my subs! The Red Shoes is one of my favourite films! I came across it when I was channel-hopping and as soon as I came across it in the middle of the famous ballet sequence, I felt hypnotised! Like it was like falling in love at first sight. I needed to watch this movie again from the start and it just blew me away further.
I'll admit I hadn't even heard of this film before I saw your essay on it, but I'm so happy you brought it to my attention. It was very beautiful and a wonderful watch, made even better by your in-depth and insightful video.
The layered film tech seems so hard to do right, I wonder how they "put' the film strips together so it did not jiggle or move, or more tech usage. It is gorgeous film and now I'm glad I know why, and why it's colors look so spectacular, and different. Thanks for your insight !
When doing the Final print the film strips where put on a kind of belt with sprokets so that they stayed steady. So they basicly printed a lot of frames at once. But the cameras and machines used must have been really precise too. It's really quite impressive what they did back then!
I love "The Red Shoes" no idea how many times I've seen it. I still get butterflies every.time we see the real ballet shoes, in the same way as I get when we go.into Colour in "The Wizard of Oz"..which I have seen at least 40 times..🤩🤩🤩❤ m x
I finally took the time to take this film off my watch list and watch it when a while ago I was looping a K-pop song with the same name as the film lol I feel bad for not taking a proper film nerd route like a best of or director recommendation list. Still glad I have seen a gorgeous film.
Thank you. I love this film and it was good to know more about the care that went into its creation. It is movie in which the score is just as magnificent and memorable as the visuals.
1:33 ... That's the shot I wanna see if the Dance Sequence of "Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses" were to be shot live-action style... Damn, that would be a cool shot!!!
This is my favourite film of all time. When I watched the video, l immidiately subscribed to your channel. I would love to see more videos that mention Michael Powell's movies. Peeping tom is amazing too, I'll be glad if you make a video about it.
Your videos are always a joy to me when I see a new one in my feed, but if I may ask a question. How do you find all of these interesting and different films? I know you're a film major/historian so you obviously read a lot of film theory/history books and know them from those but your obscure and massive knowledge still astounds me with every video. I've taken some film classes at my community college but they were mostly obscure/important American films or "mainstream"/popular indie films from around the world. I would take more but welding doesn't require those classes and I have only so much money for college. I also don't have the time to read up on film history and I can't constantly be renting films. The very longwinded point I've been leading up to is this, for some of us who don't know where to start/don't have the time to do all the research, could you make a list or video or something showing off films to better someone's knowledge or widen their taste pallet? I know you've done this idea like with your "Movies for summer" video but I just mean like something that doesn't have a specific theme, just like a list of films that you like or you think are important in helping someone truly "broadening their horizons" as a critic/appreciator of film. Sorry for the major request but I just want to actually be knowledgeable on film instead of just keeping an eye on what's coming out every few weeks between blockbusters, oscar bait, kids films, and obvious bombs.
Not a major request at all! The best lists I can give you are the ones that I used when I was really diving into film history when I was a teenager: 1) IMDB's Top 250 (perfect place to start) - imdb.to/3cUYF8O 2) Roger Ebert's Great Movies (all worth checking out) - bit.ly/2GcLZOQ 3) Sight & Sound Magazine's Greatest Films of All Time List (every ten years they get a ton of filmmakers and critics to contribute their individual picks that the list is created from) - bit.ly/3ndm4Hj
@@TheRoyalOceanFilmSociety Thank you very much! I will check them out within the weekend when Star Trek TNG and work aren't eating up all of my time. Thank you for getting back to me so quickly also!
@@The_Dandyman I won't claim to know as much as Andrew, but I have been actively trying to expand my film horizons for several decades now. ;) May I also make a couple of suggestions? The RUclips channel Cinnefix has some great "list" videos that always look across the globe and back over the history of cinema. They are a great way to dive in if you have 15 - 20 minutes spare. They only slipped up once (with their look at Westerns) and they basically acknowledge that now. :) Also, the BFI collated the opinions of all the writers in its Sight & Sound publication. There's a broad range here, but there's also a short description of each, so you may find some that you want to try. www2.bfi.org.uk/greatest-films-all-time
The shot of the red shoes running down the spiral staircase is a particularly difficult shot to get technically. The cinematographer had to make sure the exposure time, the speed of the feet, and the movement downward of the feet didn't strobe or flicker. There's an incredible amount of movement in the film and yet it all works, no strobing. Just another aspect of a brilliant achievement.
I think Michael Powell discussed the shot as being not one continuous shot but rather pasted together. If so, it was seamlessly done.
We love Jack Cardiff ❤️ the brilliant cinematographer behind this film - A Matter of Life and Death, and Black Narcissus
I remember hearing a story about how Scorsese watched The Red Shoes as a child on a black and white television. He had seen it once in the theater, and the memory of the colors was so strong, he still saw them when he watched it again in black and white.
I can understand that completely. I was 15 before we had a color television and so many favorites were, to me, black and white only. Later, I even preferred them that way.
I saw this first on a small b/w tv but in my memory, thought I had seen it in color but realized years later, that was not the case. The power of the story seemed to make the color alive in our minds.
Anyone who is a ballet lover and has taken classes will notice how different the arch of the feet have become. Today having a "banana foot" is highly sought after, a very stretched, arched foot. In this film you can see she's over the box, but the foot is nearly straight, very little curve to the foot. Aesthetics change over time. Her dancing technique was consistent for the era.
I love when people explain something about their expertise. It makes me appreciate the piece more by knowing how things have changed even in a few decades.
@@acecat2798 same! I find it fascinating
@@acecat2798
You're welcome!
Well said
Some weird reason this reminds me the episode where Lisa becomes a ballerina but having difficulty to adjust its harsh community then gives us a lesson how ballet is nutts with its impossible demanding beauty standards.
Fun little fact about Red Shoes; Fred Astaire was invited to a private screening of it at a friend's house (can't remember who). Not many people reacted strongly to it, except Fred who at one point stated that it was one of his most favorite films of all time (and most favorite for that year)! If I'm not mistaken, he even cried watching the movie.
Interesting
You'd need a heart of stone to watch this film and not cry in my opinion.
"Cameraman: the Life and Work of Jack Cardiff" is an absolute delight of a documentary.
Thanks for the information!🙂
will have to hunt that down, love documentaries about the people behind the camera
Cardiff and other cinematography masters like Freddy Young, who worked with David Lean had skills that are now a lost talent.
The funny thing about her having only one pair of red shoes in her dresser is that prima ballerinas go through at least one pair of pointe shoes per performance. I never thought of that until just now.
I don’t mean it in a pretentious way. I know a lot of dancers and they spend countless hours customizing their shoes and it is sort of an unsung, major duty of their craft. It can make a huge difference in their performance.
@@ClarkRahman I remember going down a ballerina video rabbit hole and one of my favorites was just watching a ballerina beat the crap out of the box of her shoes to soften them, and you could see dents and divots on the walls from generations of others doing the same
I watched the digital remaster and the previous master back-to-back, and there was something really nice about the experience, and it was all in the technicolor. The original print, the film was warped and aged and crappy so the red/blue/green would "wiggle" a lot on the frame and it gave this very grand movie this sort of rough, aged feel to it. But then the remaster took that all away, and you could watch it in the way that the original audiences did. I think it's a fun practice in movie-watching, because it shows how much preservation and "remastering" can change how we preiceve a film.
I watched an old print of Cries and Whispers once and all the red in that was turned green! Luckily, I had seen it before in all its red glory.
Moira Shearer having red was planned, at least somewhat. Although her hair color is natural, her co-star Marius Goring who played Julien also had naturally red hair. As a result, the Archers made him dye his hair blonde so that Shearer's hair would stand out more. I think that it was one of the most subtle, yet most effective decisions of the movie.
"The more conventional Hollywood dance numbers of the day" clip is anachronistic. The Red Shoes was made in 1948. Busby Berkeley's B&W referenced here are from the 1930's. In the late-forties, Hollywood was turning out wildly colorful and inventive musicals. The same year the incredibly vivid "The Pirate" came out, which also has fantastical sequences. But, after TRS came out, you see Vincente Minnelli and Gene Kelly creating extended dance sequences ("An American In Paris" and several other films) that move the genre forward in new ways. But nothing will ever match "The Red Shoes'" ballet sequence for expressionism. Watch my film, "That's Entertainment III" for the AIP Toulouse-Lautrec scene for of Hollywood utilizing Technicolor to full effect. Nice work on this video. The three-Strip process is indeed a wonder.
That's very true. A better parallel clip might be from Gene Kelly's "Cover Girl" with Rita Hayworth climbing the serpentine ramp as it was made before this movie. It seems that every Hollywood movie that had a ballet sequence was in response to The Red Shoes. And I read somewhere a long time ago that someone applauded Gene Kelly for his American in Paris ballet with the phrase "No one can touch your shoes...red, white, or blue." Though I love that film and all of his work too, I would easily disagree.
@@ciaohound The Pirate was made before TRS, but I get it. Kelly was pushing the musical as far as Hollywood would allow. The greatness of the An American In Paris ballet is also due to the enormous resources available at MGM. Another example, the Broadway Melody ballet in Singing' In The Rain - just eye-popping! The l list goes on... Glad there's another musical geek out there like me. Cheers
Thank you. That was bugging me, too.
@@ciaohound I believe that was the producer of the film, Arthur Freed
Don’t forget about Yolanda and the Thief (1945) and Ziegfeld Follies (1946) which include fantastical ballet sequences, both of course a product of Minnelli!
I think that you left out what might be considered the most important element of this production, and that is that it was based upon the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo, led by the spectacularly flambouyant Sergei Diaghilev and the outstanding artistic geniuses of the time.
The colour pallets were a direct product of Léon Bakst, the master creator who influenced so very many important artists of his time and who still inspires so many creative people to use bold and intense colour.
Then there were the marvelous, almost egomaniacal and over the top characters who were almost perfect copies of Michel Fokine, Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, Leonid Massine and the other brilliant and eccentric dancers who gave so much of themselves during their careers.
When you look at the historical background from which the film's production staff could pull, it's no wonder that the absolute genius of everyone associated with the production of this film could be showcased and why all of the techniques used were so wildly successful.
A BEAUTIFUL video and I'm glad that I was able to hear your viewpoints on the subject.
Bravo! and Well Done You!
Thaaank you. I was waiting the whole video for him to mention anything about the ballet itself.
Yes! Thank you for these very important references. Impossible to consider The Red Shoes without mentioning the influence of Ballet Russe & Diaghilev
The three strip process negatives were silver-based black and white film, meaning if stored correctly they have an extremely long life. If a restoration uses them, we can go back and recover all the color with no fading. Digital technology helps us compensate for shrinkage and other size distortions so we can make use of negatives that were not usable in the analog era.
I just recently watched The Red Shoes for the first time and I was floored by how good this movie was. From the first moments in the movie I was drawn in. The camera work, the colors, the music and the ballet/fantasy sequences. I immediately ordered the 4K criterion collection disc afterward.
Just watched this film yesterday for the first time, was completely blown away by it and the next day this shows up in my subscription feed, what are the odds!
More likely you've experienced internet tracking.
Well that's what happens with tracking... if you type something into the search bar online you will be inundated with similar products and services for aaaaages on other platforms.
It is as if you are watching at my inner world. WoW 😳
Most movie youtube channels are like a good beer, but when I'm watching a Royal Ocean video, it's like I'm drinking a fine wine.
Red wine?
@@kaykutcher2103 I would say so, yes!
I don't even like red wine, but I'll gladly drink a large glass of Royal Ocean.
Pretentious
@@Ovenman940 i just though the same thing and intervention episode of himym robin was calling it to ted popped in my head.
It's the most breathtaking use of Technicolor ever!
I think Guillermo del Toro was inspired by The Red Shoes when he made the Gothic romance, Crimson Peak. There are similar elements with the placement of red colouring as it's own type of character in that film.
The tales of Hoffmann from the same two directors is one of my favorite movies ever. I'm an architect and i find that the way they "display" space is just amazing, with so many plays of perspectives and illusions, some kind of realistic and some that aren't at all. Fascinating.
Every time I watch this film I find that each of my emotions are heightened, the music, the visuals, the script, it is just perfect in every way.
Great video! This has to be one of my favorite Powell and Pressburger films! I also loved that you brought up Jack Cardiff. Between this and Black Narcissus I think he shot some of the most beautiful color films I’ve ever seen! So glad they’ve been restored so well!
Love Black Narcissus. When Kathleen Byron goes mad, Jack Cardiff makes her look amazing, monstrous, beautiful and chilling. In one of the obituaries for her, she is quoted as crediting her success in the role to his filming.
Agree! The restorations of these classic films are a joy to behold. The colours are just so vibrant.
And that film with Ava Gardner and James Mason...Pandora And The Flying Dutchman...when she stands up at the table....!!!!
I love Jack Cardiff's nick name - 'Jack O'Lantern'. I've never seen anyone able to light a scene like he could.
I remember catching this on tv. I had to stopped what I was doing to watch it because the color and cinematography was hypnotic and mesmerizing!
Likewise! It was on the tv as I walked past while I was tidying up. It was the commencement of the dance sequence, and it was so beautiful and mesmerising that I just had to sit down and watch it!
I believe that the the scene starting at 4:20 is a shoutout to 1946 La Belle et la Bête (the costumes are similar and there's an extended sequence where Belle first explores the beast's castle that plays very similarly, as a step into something dreamlike)
Finally someone pointed out.
1:44 These sketches are wonderful.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp also looks amazing
My favourite film - just sublime
This feels like the reverse of David Lynch's theatre scene in Elephant Man. A colorful dream made in an age of black and white and a black and white dream made in an age of color.
I first saw this movie as a little boy. My great grandmother's second husband worked in the film industry in the 40s and 50s and had built her a theater in their home in Malibu and I watched it with her at the age of 5. It was confusing and a little scary to me then because I didn't understand what I was watching. As I got older I understood what I was seeing and the sheer tragic beauty that was The Red Shoes.
This is a gorgeous video about a gorgeous movie.
5:15 This graphic would make for the basis of a really sick poster for the film.
Thank you for this video! I got to see The Red Shoes on a big screen in the theater of a local university when I was 10 or 12 and I honestly never got over it. The scene when she climbs the steps in the blue gown is the most affecting thing I've ever seen on film. Pure magic.
Beautifully done, Royal Ocean Film Society. That you give credit to the people who created the impressions that you are so moved by in the film is a credit to you. As a motion picture production designer who was deeply affected by this movie as a teenager I appreciate your informed commentary here. Many ideas, talents, and collaborative innovations are the ingredients that create the movies that affect us the most deeply. Your narration in this short makes that more clear for all of us. Many thanks.
Yay, I'm early! Will report my thoughts in the edit.
Edit: Just finished the video, and as always - your video topics are amazing. I'm an animator so it never crossed my mind on how much work it takes for a film to be treated to give the image the desired quality. But boy, are the results beautiful.
Just found your comment! :) Will report my thoughts in the edit.
Edit: Just finished your comment. Thankfully you respected the rules of grammar. But the content was bland and ultimately not entertaining to read.
Gosh I love this video essay. Gorgeous and really enjoyed this
Took me til the start of the January to watch the movie
I would watch this over and over as a kid growing up, loved the red shoes so much. Whimsical and romantic and the fashion 😩
This is so lovely! I'm not nostalgic for the past, but here I am......maybe 6 years old & coming from the peace & beauty of Northampton to the muffled distress of Postwar East London....
'The Crush' lasted years -- I thought it was Moira Shearer, but now I realise that it was everything about the Film.....I'd never seen people dance to music in that way, or such colour
--- it's amazing that, for years after, I could vividly recall a dress that looked as if it was made of torn newspaper!
As for Shearer, apart from the fact that she married a then-unknown Ludovic Kennedy, she went on being beguiling.....a tall, thin, almost translucently pale physique, & her hair -- like a brilliant flame!
Little, chubby, adolescent me had to accept that ballerinas,
& the girls who peered from the pages of fashion magazines, were out of a different drawer
--- & arts, The Arts, were considered an expensive luxury
by many working-class families:
Fortunately for me (& as it turned out, for my 'tribe') I managed to retain at least some of my creativity --- & I never forget that first glimpse of what was 'out there' 💃🏼
Your videos are so full of clarity & insight -- thank you! 🙏🏼🌹🙏🏽
As a Gay kid growing up in a small Kansas town in the 60's and early 70's, my refuge was the newly launched PBS television channel out of Wichita. Among the avant garde programming, besides Monty Python's Flying Circus was the Janus Collection of Classic Films....a revelation to someone like me. The opening montage for the series included a brief clip of Moira Shearer pirouetting through the Carnival sequence of the Ballet, and something about it so moved me. And I, like Scorsese saw it for the first time on a black and white television. It wasn't until I got to college and became part of the Student Union Activities group, and was given a semester of movies to book that I finally saw it in color, granted a bad 16 mm print but another revelation. Years of movie worship later seeing this , I think I knew most of the pertinent facts (with a couple of surprise), but thank you for presenting it so beautifully. I've seen this movie many times in it's best presentation since, but I'm always astonished how it constantly surprises me with new revelations.
Nice, the restoration I saw of the Red Shoes is striking.
The red kind of reminds me of the early Hammer color films before they went cheap.
The colour Hammer films shot by Jack Asher are exceptionally rich and beautiful. After him only Michael Reed's work came close.
I'm scouring your videos now, and hate how long I've went in life not knowing your channel was this great. I constantly beg Tony Zhou to come back to RUclips, but your channel is filling his shoes nicely. The VFX video, Social Network, now this, you can't miss. Eager to go through your whole collection and take them all in. Great work.
I study ballet (non professionally) and watch all these film analysis videos I really should get around to watching this. I’ve seen the ballet portion but never the full thing
You're so good at crafting video essays. I think you're making these works art unto themselves. Please keep up the fantastic work!
Saw it for the first time yesterday on the big screen.
It's wonderful !!
Whoever edits these videos is the hardest working editor on RUclips
My mom and I saw the Red Shoes while we were on vacation back in May. We had the Turner Classic Movie Channel on our TV. We watched a lot of TV because the wifi was not working. They showed the Red Shoes in a double feature that had the actress Moira Shearer. The movie that came after the Red Shoes was The Man Who Loved Redheads, which was not very good. It's basically about a guy who can't get over his teenage crush (played by Moira Shearer) so he tries to find her in other redheaded women (while cheating on his wife). Moira Shearer plays all of the redheaded women in the movie (including the crush).
I saw this movie on sbs world movies in january 2020 at my aunt's house and i didn't know that i was watching one of the cinema incredible masterpiece ever created.
And i go around streaming/download platforms, legal and illegal. They all have this movie as their earlier collection. I'm like, "fuck... it was legit!"
Literally just re-watched _The Red Shoes_ last week. Gorgeous and compelling as always! =D
your editing is TOP tier in this one man
One of the best youtubers out there
Thank you for making a video about a 4:3 film in that same ratio, instead of making it 16:9 for no reason so that Microsoft Surface viewers (with a 3:2 screen) and others with other non-traditional screen ratios can experience the video in the best possible way.
I love "The Red Shoes." The color makes the film amazinf to watch. Thank you for the explanation of the Technicolor process, it was fascinating.
Never heard of this movie until now. Given the fact I’ve been gained an interest in ballet since last year, finding this on my feed was perfect; I’ll be looking for a place to watch this later. Thank you for uploading.
I loved this movie soo much. I remember watching it with my grandma all the time
I love how they decided to use color to adjust the mood of the different scenes of the movie. It wasn't all bright vibrant color all the time but neither was it all muted all the time either. I kind of wish they did more of that kind of thing in films today. It would go a long way towards making a movie a film worth remembering instead of just more content on the big screen that will be easily forgotten once you leave the theatre.
But they do that though 😅? It's called color scripting. If you search that term you will find how it's utilized in different movie genres.
Maybe not so oddly, puts me in mind of Hitchcock's work - brilliant sunny scenes contrasted with dark ominous ones, the bright however becoming just as frightening plus repetition of color motifs, esp. with women's garb and accessories as well as background splashes of color from vehicles, etc. to highlight moods.
The way the movie looks great
I first learned about The Red Shoes from you in your previous video essay on the unsung heroes of cinema and now it’s my favorite movie ever. I went on a Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger spiral and all of their work are so dear to me. Thank you very very much for introducing this to me among countless movies and filmmakers. Also I’ve noticed most of MP and EP movies revolve around a pattern where there is a fable or cautionary tale a character would nonchalantly talk about and that becomes the central theme or umbrella of the movie. Has anyone noticed that too and why do you think they intended for their movies to follow that pattern?
I love the ballet, in the story. It's just such a classy film. I see something new everytime I watch it. So really beautiful.
Yeah I agree that ballerina dancing is pretty amazing 🤩
Yet another great take. The Tech process in 1939 for The Wizard of Oz was more of a comic book look. ...Shoes was more of a garish rendering of the surreal world of ballet that was a marriage of the real and the unreal. One of my all-time faves.
Fantastic piece you did here!!!
This is a wonderful video essay that gave me several recommendations for classic films I haven’t seen! I’m definitely subscribing :)
Love this movie and Black Narcissus. Not just good stories but they look so gorgeous..
Can't wait to watch this one.
3:37 I totally agree with calling _The Tales of Hoffmann_ 's aesthetic "borderline garish", but I do think that was sort of the point. The opera itself is (intentionally) garish and over the top, so it makes sense to produce a movie that taps into that showtune tackyness instead of moving away from it.
This is probably my favourite film and Pressburger/Powell are some of my favourite directors
I freaked when I saw this in my subs! The Red Shoes is one of my favourite films! I came across it when I was channel-hopping and as soon as I came across it in the middle of the famous ballet sequence, I felt hypnotised! Like it was like falling in love at first sight. I needed to watch this movie again from the start and it just blew me away further.
Leap! ccould never hope to outshine this masterpiece.
A great analysis of color in film. No one makes films like this in the digital age. It is an unknown visual language to the digital age.
I'll admit I hadn't even heard of this film before I saw your essay on it, but I'm so happy you brought it to my attention. It was very beautiful and a wonderful watch, made even better by your in-depth and insightful video.
Most of the Powell-Pressburger films were eye-grabbers, and why not? They worked some of the greatest cinematographers of all time.
Great talent all. The Red Shoes artistically and technically brilliant. David Lean and Freddie Young make an equally impressive team.
The layered film tech seems so hard to do right, I wonder how they "put' the film strips together so it did not jiggle or move, or more tech usage. It is gorgeous film and now I'm glad I know why, and why it's colors look so spectacular, and different. Thanks for your insight !
When doing the Final print the film strips where put on a kind of belt with sprokets so that they stayed steady. So they basicly printed a lot of frames at once.
But the cameras and
machines used must have been really precise too. It's really quite impressive what they did back then!
I love "The Red Shoes" no idea how many times I've seen it. I still get butterflies every.time we see the real ballet shoes, in the same way as I get when we go.into Colour in "The Wizard of Oz"..which I have seen at least 40 times..🤩🤩🤩❤ m x
I finally took the time to take this film off my watch list and watch it when a while ago I was looping a K-pop song with the same name as the film lol
I feel bad for not taking a proper film nerd route like a best of or director recommendation list. Still glad I have seen a gorgeous film.
This video is crazy good. I never watched the red shoes now is a good time, i think
LOOKS so stunning.
Great thanks from a light sculptor from the Show Me state! Visual images help a story stick!
Thank you. I love this film and it was good to know more about the care that went into its creation. It is movie in which the score is just as magnificent and memorable as the visuals.
In my opinion, it’s the most beautiful film ever made.
I don’t think it’s an opinion but everyone kinda agrees
The only movie that I have prerecorded and kept on channel 999.
A splendid picture indeed!
I haven't seen that movie. Now I need to. Thanks!
Well done another terrific piece.
Wow this was beautiful!
absolutely stunning film
1:33 ... That's the shot I wanna see if the Dance Sequence of "Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses" were to be shot live-action style... Damn, that would be a cool shot!!!
So GLORIOUS! EVEN UNTO TODAY! PERFECTION!
“Why do you want to dance?” “Why do you want to live?”
As tragic as this movie is, I still always come back to watch it for its vibrant colors for a film of its time and the lovely dance sequences.
Loved your video! This movie is really a masterpiece!
I've been meaning to watch this one on Criterion.
Well done!!!
Definitely a great movie
Great video. Thank you for explaining so well.
This is my favourite film of all time. When I watched the video, l immidiately subscribed to your channel. I would love to see more videos that mention Michael Powell's movies.
Peeping tom is amazing too, I'll be glad if you make a video about it.
my favourite film!!!
In A Chorus Line, two or three of the women cite this film as their inspiration to become dancer.s
To paraphrase you, a movie about obsession that becomes an obsession.
This film deserved like 30 more minutes of raving about it
7:47 that Terrible. When a lot of the best movies are from a long time ago!
Love your research.
Love this movie so much. Where did those cool graphics come from?
All I know about the Red Shoes is when Bill Burr makes reference to the Red Shoe Diaries over thereeeeeeeee.
The Red Shoes is a masterpiece
I would the most important movie because the pacing of the movie is slow to me
Very interesting!! I'm sure you've seen Amelie? Great film with the use of red and green. 👌
*Why the red shoes LOOKS so stunning
Your videos are always a joy to me when I see a new one in my feed, but if I may ask a question. How do you find all of these interesting and different films? I know you're a film major/historian so you obviously read a lot of film theory/history books and know them from those but your obscure and massive knowledge still astounds me with every video. I've taken some film classes at my community college but they were mostly obscure/important American films or "mainstream"/popular indie films from around the world. I would take more but welding doesn't require those classes and I have only so much money for college. I also don't have the time to read up on film history and I can't constantly be renting films. The very longwinded point I've been leading up to is this, for some of us who don't know where to start/don't have the time to do all the research, could you make a list or video or something showing off films to better someone's knowledge or widen their taste pallet? I know you've done this idea like with your "Movies for summer" video but I just mean like something that doesn't have a specific theme, just like a list of films that you like or you think are important in helping someone truly "broadening their horizons" as a critic/appreciator of film. Sorry for the major request but I just want to actually be knowledgeable on film instead of just keeping an eye on what's coming out every few weeks between blockbusters, oscar bait, kids films, and obvious bombs.
Not a major request at all! The best lists I can give you are the ones that I used when I was really diving into film history when I was a teenager:
1) IMDB's Top 250 (perfect place to start) - imdb.to/3cUYF8O
2) Roger Ebert's Great Movies (all worth checking out) - bit.ly/2GcLZOQ
3) Sight & Sound Magazine's Greatest Films of All Time List (every ten years they get a ton of filmmakers and critics to contribute their individual picks that the list is created from) - bit.ly/3ndm4Hj
@@TheRoyalOceanFilmSociety Thank you very much! I will check them out within the weekend when Star Trek TNG and work aren't eating up all of my time. Thank you for getting back to me so quickly also!
@@The_Dandyman I won't claim to know as much as Andrew, but I have been actively trying to expand my film horizons for several decades now. ;)
May I also make a couple of suggestions?
The RUclips channel Cinnefix has some great "list" videos that always look across the globe and back over the history of cinema. They are a great way to dive in if you have 15 - 20 minutes spare. They only slipped up once (with their look at Westerns) and they basically acknowledge that now. :)
Also, the BFI collated the opinions of all the writers in its Sight & Sound publication. There's a broad range here, but there's also a short description of each, so you may find some that you want to try.
www2.bfi.org.uk/greatest-films-all-time
Maybe it’s just me but I think the greatest red comes from modern Kodak Vision 3 color negativ tungsten film printed on print film.
Thank you!
😺