Restored 'Red Shoes' to show at UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater

After a triumphant world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the North American debut of the newly restored version of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's beloved "The Red Shoes" will take place at UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater in the Hammer Museum in Westwood. Which is only fitting, because it was the UCLA Film & Television Archive that did the restoration.

Robert Gitt, UCLA's preservation officer, who spent 2 1/2 years supervising the restoration, will introduce the film at the first Billy Wilder screening at 7:30 p.m. July 31. The film will also screen at 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 1 and at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Aug. 2.

Starring Moira Shearer as a star-crossed ballerina and inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the deadly power of a pair of enchanted ballet slippers, "The Red Shoes" was a huge success when it was released in 1948, garnering five Oscar nominations. That triumph came both from its position as a film that passionately celebrated creativity as well as the gorgeous color photography of cinematographer Jack Cardiff.

The UCLA restoration does full justice to what has to be one of the most exquisite color films ever made.

Advance tickets are $10 at www.cinema.ucla.edu.

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kenneth.turan@latimes.com