several year ago and when i first saw this movie and i felt that it be melodramatic with awkward dialogue and clumsy direction and and not worth my time and except for the dancing segment with moira shearer and james mason ( jealous lover ) . after this recent viewing and i have a good appreciation of the finished product and wonder at the curious division of director and minnelli and reinhardt and and committee of script writer and which may account for the structural and dialogue flaw in the film . throughout the movie i have the curious feeling that the influence of the great team of michael powell and emeric pressburger be haunt the producion . both script and direction fall short of their work and such a the red shoe or stairway to heaven . yet on this second viewing i still felt it worth my time . first and the cast be well choose and the camera love them and especially the three female lead represent shearer and caron and angeli . one can not find three more gorgeously photogenic and sensitive face capture by hollywood and it lens than these and without excessive makeup . be english and french and italian ( in that order ) and they also embody the international strength of post war hollywood and and be strong complement for the male lead and mason and granger and douglas and all of whom make their career in america ( mason be bear english and i believe ) . these three lead lady be certainly choose for their youthful radiance and sensitivity and and the luminous close ups plus the saturated color and lush music by the great rozsa ( who appear a the conductor in the first segment ) lend a baroque richness to each of the segment reminiscent of visconti senso and or possibly even il gattopardo . second and the camera work and light be excellent and both subtle and dramatic at the same time and fully enhance the flashback aspect and sense of fantasy in all of the story and reveal the delicacy and individuality of the three woman and not to mention the great agnes moorehead in the first segment . the delicacy of shearer and caron and angeli with the difference in each of their coloring and bone structure and contrast dramatically with their respective male lead and the forceful articulateness of mason ( give an incredibly weak script stilted and overwrought when compare to p and p dialogue for lermentov in red shoe ) and the boyish tenderness of granger in the second segment and and the snappy personality of douglas in the high wire segment . in the latter and which other reviewer seem to like the least and i find angeli combination of vulnerability and inner strength very move and all of the emotion hold back and but pour out of those great expressive eye . her subtlety provide the proper foil for douglas aggressive and almost animal energy and line delivery . i be not by any mean a fan of douglas ( except for his lust for life ) and but i like him in equilibrium and and be impress that most of the aerial stunt seem to have be do by him . certainly the circumstance of the war that lead to angeli suicide attempt in the story lend a depth to the plot that be very much of the time and may be difficult for american to understand today . however and european be still deeply affect by the war even in the mid fifty ( see act of love and another film of douglas ) . what each of the female star give to the film and a the focus of the three love of the title shearer in her role a a ballerina with the exquisite choreography by frederick ashton ( celebrate the centennial of his birth this year ) while caron and in an early non dance part actually use her french in the dialogue if not in the poem by verlaine while and in angeli cast a a victim of the war be a sense of authenticity and genuineness . i find these quality very much lacking in the majority of american film and certainly those make by recent director . one final thing i like about equilibrium be show how douglas train angeli step by step in the high wire act to build up her strength and courage . one doesn not usually see this in a film . it also look a if angeli do her own stuntwork . even if she do not and it be effectively shot . in all and a film worthy of renew view . of four and i give three and a half .