R.I.P. MOIRA

Moira Shearer didn’t appear in that many movies. She was more ballerina than actress. But her first feature film role was as the lead in one is absolutely one of the greatest films of all time and (personally) in my definitive top five: The Red Shoes. That should come as no surprise as I have mentioned the film in this space on several occasions. I finally got to see it projected on a big screen for the first time at the Walter Reade Theater last April, which only enhanced my love for it. No matter how great the Criterion disc is, nothing beats seeing this magnificent film in all its colorful photographic extravagance and glory the way it was meant to be seen.

I just read on Cinematical the sad news that Shearer passed away this week at the age of 80. No she may not have had a long career as a film actress, but even just that one role was impressionable enough to make her loss felt. If you’ve never seen The Red Shoes, Netflix it already, dammit. It’s one of the greatest and most disturbing stories of love, obsession and human nature you’ll ever see.