Martin Scorsese Wishes He Could Watch This Classic Movie In IMAX – BGR

Martin Scorcese, legendary director and filmmaker — also renowned for the “absolute cinema” meme – knows a thing or two about good movies. “The Last Waltz,” “The Irishman,” “The Departed,” “Goodfellas,” “Taxi Driver,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” — he’s a legend for a reason. That being said, it’s interesting to see what such a revolutionary filmmaker considers the magnum opus of theater-going.

In a recent interview with IMAX Movies, the official YouTube account of IMAX, several actors were asked if they could go back and watch any movie, from any time, in full IMAX glory, what would it be? Scorcese named 1948’s “The Red Shoes,” and said it would be “amazing” to see it in the bigger format.

Based on the classic fairytale from Hans Christian Andersen, “The Red Shoes” flim is a British dance drama, following a lovely ballerina named Victoria Page — played by young actress Moira Shearer. She joins a famous ballet company called Ballet Lermontov, where her mentor, the owner and operator of the ballet, Boris Lermontov — played by Anton Walbrook — forces her to choose between her career as an elegant dancer and her budding romance with the theater’s composer, Julian Craster — played by Marius Goring. The epic tale sounds like it might give Nolan’s upcoming “The Odyssey” a run for its money, if it were to come to IMAX.

It’s no secret that Scorsese is an enormous fan of “The Red Shoes,” especially given that he owns the titular prop. Looking at the film reviews, it’s easy enough to see why it’s at the top of his list. On IMDb, “The Red Shoes” has an 8.1 rating out of 10 total. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 98% rating on the Tomatometer from critics, and a 91% rating on the Popcornmeter from users. That’s phenomenal, but even more so with over 10,000 user ratings.

Inspired by true ballet, it would be like watching a live performance. Roger Ebert, long-time movie reviewer and avid critic, said in his review that the movie is “voluptuous in its beauty and passionate in its storytelling.” Rather than watching, he says that “you bathe in it.” That explains why the film might be such a treat in IMAX. The conclusion reveals the true power of the film. Ebert says the “ending is a shocker,” but it’s an obvious one, and “there’s no way around it.” It’s unlikely “The Red Shoes” ever will make it to IMAX, but if it did, Scorsese would be there.

Slightly unrelated, but comically relevant, Disney Plus is giving Marvel and superhero movies a big IMAX upgrade. You can’t watch “The Red Shoes” in IMAX format yet, but if you have an IMAX Enhanced TV, you can watch Marvel movies in the expanded aspect ratio. On the other hand, if you want to watch “The Red Shoes” at home, you can rent or buy it on most streaming platforms, including Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, and HBO Max. Also, you can watch it for free on Tubi, and if you have an account, it saves your progress.