alexkalognomos

When I was a boy I did not relate to this story. It was shown to me in school and I guess adults expect children to relate to it but it didn't move me at all. I found it hard to believe that a dear couldn't be kept out of a yard.

Flash forward 20 years. I just watched this film again. It's a tear jerker the way "Citizen Kane" could never be - though they're essentially about the loss of innocence. I really loved it this time around. I was moved beyond tears. Maybe b/c I just watched the new Bambi DVD.

Killing dears is a timeless Hollywood device.

This is a strong comedy with faces you rarely get to see on the big screen taking center stage!

I was lucky to see this film at a festival before it opened everywhere else in Los Angeles. It was as hilarious, good-hearted, and inventive as "Dude Where's my Car" - but even better because of John Cho's brand of humor: the nice, smart guy you know and like, who always finds a way to get into "schemes" that cause trouble later on.

I hope he takes on more starring roles. He's reminds me of early Tom Hanks - especially in the films he made after "Bosom Buddies" and before "Philadelphia." I MISS THAT GUY! I'm glad Cho is here.

I just viewed this film on Turner Classic Network. I'd heard and read about it many times over the years (it's a sure sign that a film wants to be seen by you when you keep reading or hearing about it!) but it took me much too long to finally see it. I plan on owning this film by tomorrow morning.

I wish I'd seen The Red Shoes (1948) when I was younger because it is a masterwork. In this film, there are no American movie stars - which is what I most love about films from the Golden Age. The winning charisma of Fred and Gene and Ginger and Rita and Betty is not to be found. Instead, this film has a dreamlike cast that brings a classical aesthetic sensibility to the presentation of music and dance. The beautiful, tortured, God-given talents of Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring et al infuse this film with a tragic, romantic artistry that I have never experienced in any other film.

This film inspires. The special effects that were used to heighten the drama of the ballet sequence are as sensational today as they MUST have been 50+ years ago. I discovered my higher self while watching this film. Some people might say it's too grand, too histrionic but I feel that truly great artists - dancers and musicians - are compelled by the same divine madness that possess the characters of The Red Shoes.

Please see this film, for yourself, for your children, for the future of cinema.