"Oh, in the end, she dies."

"It is worth remembering, that it is much more disheartening to have to steal than to be stolen from."

"Livingstone 'Livy' Montagne: You're a magician, Boris. To have produced all this in three weeks, and from nothing. 

 Boris Lermontov: My dear Livy, not even the best magician in the world can produce a rabbit out of a hat if there is not already a rabbit in the hat." 

A Powell and Pressburger classic, The Red Shoes was made in 1948 and released in a post-war Britain, that as Anthony Lane puts it, was still rationing "color, food, and feeling." Powell and Pressburger, who had previously made several war movies, including Contraband and 49th parallel- both functioning as anti-German propaganda disguised as thrillers, made during the war, collectively formed a team they called "The Archers." Departing from their war themes, they decided to bring to Britain, something refreshing, colorful, musical, and an absolute visual treat. Unfortunately, "The Red Shoes", the story of a ballet production, a ballet dancer, her "impossible" choice, and ultimately her dance to death, did not quite fare well with the public then. 

As part of their "Archers agreement", Powell and Pressburger had jotted down that "When we start work on a new idea we must be a year ahead, not only of our competitors, but also of the times", and rightly so, while The Red Shoes was not well-received at the time, it went on to become one of the most important and renowned films of not only their partnership, but also of post-war British Cinema 

I watched it at the National Museum (which has off late become a frequent destination) and I liked it not only for the aesthetic  beauty that it is (all the dances were actually performed and staged btw), but also because within that harmless beauty lay a narrative of a possessive, dangerous, and almost demonic ecstasy.  Oddly enough, every scene reeks of Powell and Pressburger, yet the film somehow, remains entirely removed from their style and substance.