Michael Powell makes artistic obsession understandable through colour, movement and music. We would send anyone to The Red Shoes, though his characters can become less persuasive when they stop to explain what art means to them.
Fi1m perspective
When Moira Shearer dances in The Red Shoes (1948), Powell gives us time to understand why Victoria Page puts her ambition first. We were swept up by her dancing, because it makes the work seem worth the upheaval surrounding it. With Emeric Pressburger, Powell takes that ambition seriously without asking us to approve of her producer’s demands. This is what we value most in his films about obsession: the effort goes into showing what attracts people to it. We do not need to share Victoria’s devotion to ballet to feel its force.
The partnership with Pressburger began in 1939, and they formed The Archers in 1942, sharing writing, producing and directing credits. A Matter of Life and Death (1946) gives heaven monochrome and earthly life colour, while Black Narcissus (1947) uses studio sets to evoke the Himalayas. His collaborators included cinematographer Jack Cardiff, a useful reminder that these carefully made worlds were never one man’s work. We admire the confidence with which Powell asks us to accept places that make no attempt to look ordinary.
Yet The Red Shoes also shows where Powell and Pressburger can press too hard. Their declarations about art sometimes sound grander than anything these people would say to one another, especially after Shearer has already made the point by moving. Marius Goring keeps Julian Craster’s personal stakes clear, but the romance is less compelling than the dancing. We sometimes find ourselves waiting for the conversation to finish. Giving the ballet time to develop works better than spelling out Victoria’s choice in the romantic scenes.
The interest in joining performance and fantasy continues through The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). After the partnership ended in 1957, Peeping Tom (1960) turned towards voyeurism and the act of looking through a camera. It was widely condemned on release, and Powell’s mainstream career in Britain suffered. Begin with The Red Shoes, even if ballet holds no interest for you, and give the dancing time to change your mind.
Biography
Michael Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his long creative partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Working under the name The Archers, they wrote, produced and directed a series of British films, often sharing equal credit.
Their collaborations included The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948). Powell had earlier directed films for Alexander Korda and formed the production company with Pressburger in the early 1940s. Later solo work included the controversial Peeping Tom (1960).
