A young dancer and a young composer rise through the ranks of a prestigious ballet company, fall in love, and fall apart. Based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, Powell and Pressburger's magnificent exploration of art, love, and sacrifice has had a major influence on Hollywood filmmakers from Gene Kelly to Martin Scorsese. Cinematographer Jack Cardiff took full advantage of the three-strip Technicolor process, creating some of the most gorgeous images ever captured on film. Chief among these is the fifteen-minute Red Shoes ballet, a stunning and surreal interpretation of the Andersen fable.

Tony Peltier