ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (December 2021): Criterion have released Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Red Shoes to 4K UHD in one of the most desirable digital releases of the entire year. The 3840 X 2160 resolution is based on the 2009 restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in association with the BFI, The Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd., and Janus Films. Restoration funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation, and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation. This was the same as used on their 2010 Blu-ray, in fact it Is the same Blu-ray included as a second disc in the package as evidenced by the file dates:

We are treated to Dolby Vision HDR, and the resulting image looks as luscious and gorgeous as I have seen Three-Strip Camera Technicolor look for home theater presentations. This gorgeous film look stunning in 4K UHD. A highly notable leap above 1080P. There are heavy blue leanings - not reaching teal, but I presume this is accurate and the other dominant pastels and primaries don't make it seem abnormal.

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 64 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Citizen Kane (software uniformly simulated HDR), Unbreakable (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mulholland Dr. (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Hills Have Eyes (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc),  Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Chernobyl  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsing (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

Audio is the same linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language as found on the 2010 Blu-ray. What is always amazing is the depth that the mono track can export. I'm always flabbergasted at the richness. The film's music is credited to Brian Easdale who did the beautifully dramatic scores in Powell and Pressburger's Gone to Earth, Battle of the River Plate, and Black Narcissus. He wrote "The Ballet of The Red Shoes" and "Bougainvillia" for the film and there is, of course, music; Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Op.20: No.13 Danse Des Cygnes: II. Moderato Assai and VII. Coda: Allegro Vivo, Franz Liszt's Les Sylphides, La Boutique Fantasque based on the music of Gioachino Rossini and Delibes' Danse de la poupée. It sounds spectacular. The 4K UHD and Regfion 'A' Blu-ray discs have optional English (SDH) subtitles and, like all of this format's transfers the 4K UHD disc is Region FREE.  

As stated, the second disc Blu-ray, is the one produced by Criterion in 2010 and is stacked. We get the 5-minute introductory restoration demonstration with filmmaker Martin Scorsese showing many split screen comparisons amongst discussion of the mold and color breathing. As most know the restoration was a major challenge undertaken in 2009 by the Film Foundation from the film's original three-strip Technicolor negatives - supervised by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. We get the same excellent audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and Scorsese... plus the duplicated The “Red Shoes” Sketches, an animated film of Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards, with the Red Shoes ballet as an alternate angle as well as the interesting gallery of items from Scorsese’s personal collection of The Red Shoes memorabilia and the rare publicity stills and behind-the-scenes photos. Excerpts of the aforementioned Jeremy Irons reading excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes which was also available on the 1999 DVD. New for Criterion is a Profile of “The Red Shoes,” a documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with members of the production team also found on the ITV Blu-ray but here is in NTSC and in HD. I could have listened to Thelma Schoonmaker Powell (Michael Powell’s widow) in the included 15-minute video interview from the 2009 Cannes Film Festival (also on the ITV), in which she discusses Powell, the film, and the restoration. We get a 2.5 minute theatrical trailer also in HD (as are all video extras) and a 26-page liner notes booklet featuring an essay by critic David Ehrenstein and a description of the restoration by UCLA film archivist Robert Gitt.

Criterion's 4K UHD release of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Red Shoes is breathtaking in this higher resolution.  Every cinephile HD enthusiast should have in his/her digital library. It is the pinnacle, for a film of this stature and era in 4K UHD. The image is as pristine as one could imagine and the Technicolor is as close to theatrical as fans could have hoped. This will get plenty of votes in our year-end poll, and it, obviously, has our highest recommendation!

Gary Tooze