When I finish my work today, I'm going to put on THE RED SHOES (1948). Definite oversight in my film-going life, and one I look forward to rectifying soon.
Anyone else planning to put on something fun/enriching tonight?
@MLClark This Powell/Pressburger film is a triumph, and I don't even like this kind of ballet film. But you can't beat Technicolor dance sequences, can you? I still like *Black Narcissus* better, though, but both have this feverish intensity that you find rarely nowadays.
I've seen BLACK NARCISSUS, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP, 49TH PARALLEL, and A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.
The only reason I shied from this one is that I too am not generally enamoured by ballet as narrative material - even though THE RED SHOES shows up on tons of top lists. But that shall be rectified soon!
@MLClark I am sure you will be blown away by the ballet sequence that is the heart of the film. It is of extreme artificiality that flips an unrealistic scene to something deeper than realism. I have seen it on the big screen where they had an exhibition with original props like the ... well, red shoes. I hope you get as much out of it as I did.
Thank you for this. It is so lovely to chat about film with folks who deeply love it.
@MLClark Only the films that deserve it. The others, I hate with the same intensity.
What I really like about your posts is that you always have something positive to say about what the people are doing or feeling - and not in a forced "I have to be positive and pretend problems don't exist" new-age BS way but in a way that brings across your genuine interest in them. I hope the universe gives back to you what you give to other people.