The Legacy of The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror at BFI Southbank
We visit the stunning exhibition celebrating the 75th anniversary of Powell and Pressburger's masterpiece...
By
Adam Wells
November 9, 2023
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
Consistently listed as one of the greatest British films of all time, and cited as a favourite by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg and Francis Ford Coppola among others, the legacy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s early-technicolour marvel The Red Shoes has grown and grown since its release in 1948. Now, with the film marking its 75th anniversary alongside a major career retrospective of Powell and Pressburger’s work, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank has made the rare decision to stage an exhibition of props, costumes and artworks celebrating the film in their Blue Room mezzanine.
Unlike many such exhibitions - perhaps most notably 180 Studios’ now traditional exhibition marking the release of every new Wes Anderson film - however, Beyond the Mirror is imbued not just with the objet d’art of the film, but is curated with a specific focus on the themes, readings and legacy of The Red Shoes, an approach clearly born out of an intense love of both the film and its place within the history of the medium. While many investigations into Powell and Pressburger reduce their films down to a simplified ‘chocolate-box’ view of Britain, the exhibition gives room to the spikier, more subversive elements of their works; “Would you kindly return my feather boa to me (which Queen Victoria gave to me personally)”, reads a letter from actress Anna Neagle to the film’s star Moira Shearer, “Because I wish to strangle Errol Flynn with it”.
Indeed, the role of Moira Shearer as the film’s central character Victoria Page is perhaps the key to unlocking the entire exhibition; introduced as a contemporary response to the film, the show was curated as if from the perspective of the dancer and actress. The approach stems from the unique observation that Shearer’s experience making the film ran parallel with that of her character’s experience within its story - a rapid rise to fame culminating in a physically intense long-form performance. The film’s most-celebrated sequence, the wordless, fifteen-minute-long ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, to the extent that, aside from a few costumes and publicity shots, it could be argued that it is more focused on just this scene rather than the film itself. It is, however, difficult to argue against this when the sequence itself is such a wonderful, influential piece of film history; a nearby caption retells Powell’s own request to the film’s art director Hein Heckroth to “design us a ballet, which shall be the reason for the whole film; the story deals with the creation of a work of art [...] Design a ballet which shall be pure film and worthy of all these artists”.
The shoes themselves take centre-stage in the second of the exhibition’s two main rooms (though the corridor to its entrance is also peppered with screen tests, ephemera and posters celebrating the film), which also spotlights the influence of The Red Shoes not only within the world of film but within wider culture; Kate Bush’s album of the same name (also celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year) receives a special mention, as well as Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation of the film. Even here, however, the music of the film’s pivotal sequence looms large over the space, constantly audible as the visuals play on a loop in the previous room, with the scene’s preparatory sketches displayed on the opposite wall in tandem.
With the sequence’s centrality to the exhibition - and Moira Shearer’s own centrality to the sequence - the decision to focalise Beyond the Mirror around the perspective of Shearer is an obvious one, but one that goes beyond a simple ‘making-of’ to engage with the film’s themes and legacy as is befitting of The Red Shoes’ place within cinema history. While an inclusion of further perspectives would have been appreciated - for instance, that of Anton Walbrook, a gay Jewish actor who fled Nazi Germany to avoid persecution and played the film’s semi-antagonist Lermontov - it is difficult to see how they could fit into the space without detracting from the rest of the exhibition’s focus. As one of the curators observed before inviting visitors into the press view, so much has been written about the film that these perspectives can almost certainly be found elsewhere already.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror is showing at BFI Southbank until 7th January.
