Gaffes

Near the end, when Vicky is getting ready to go on stage for "The Red Shoes" once again, she's wearing the red dancing shoes, but the play starts with the white dancing shoes; only during the play does her character find the red shoes and put them on.

However, this is not an accidental goof. This is essential to the plot and the director wants us to overlook this detail so that all the symbolism of Vicky wearing those red shoes while "unable to stop dancing" can be fully explored.

The length of Julian's cigarette changes dramatically (gets longer and then gets much shorter than he could smoke it down to in the short time between shots) whilst he's playing the piano for Vicky in Lermontov's office.

The amount of champagne in Ljubov's big birthday bottle is not consistent between shots.

When Vicky begins to dance with the "newspaper" character, only the words "Le Journal" are typed across his face. Partway through the dance, his face is covered with newsprint.

Lermontov's invitation to Vicky says his car will pick her up at eight , so she dresses up expecting a formal evening dinner. The entire sequence of her arrival and departure to and from the meeting takes place in bright sunlight, obviously the middle of the day, nowhere near eight o'clock in the evening.

As Julian Craster is about to enter the stage of the Royal Opera House for the first time, to the right, there are two red fire buckets mounted on a piece of wood. The wood has 'D & P' stenciled on it, which is the name of the film studio where the interiors were shot and has no link to the Royal Opera House, where the scene is set.

Early in the ballet sequence, when Victoria slips into the red shoes, freeze framing shows the black strings pulled to tie to ribbons up.

During the lengthy ballet sequence, shortly before Vicky confronts the newspaper figure, she floats down in one segment, and the wires suspending her can be seen in the background.

Just before Julian Craster begins to play the piano for the first time for Lermontov, the shadow of a boom mic can be seen moving into position, projected against the wall behind him.

Right after Lermontov tells Vicki Page that she will be the principal in a new ballet and that she should go home to bed, as she leaves the shadow of a boom mic can be seen against the wall.

As Julian Craster walks to the theater, he is seen through an archway as a horse-drawn cart passes. Stepping into the street, he slips on what appears to be a piece of fruit, but doesn't fall, recovers, and continues walking.