- Black Narcissus
Infobox Film
name = Black Narcissus
image_size = 225px
caption = poster
director = Michael PowellEmeric Pressburger
producer = Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger
writer =Rumer Godden "{novel)"
Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger
starring =Deborah Kerr
Sabu
David FarrarFlora Robson
music =Brian Easdale
cinematography =Jack Cardiff
editing =Reginald Mills
distributor =General Film Distributors
released = 26 May fy|1947 "(UK)"
13 August fy|1947 "(US)"
runtime = 100 minutes
language = English
country = United Kingdom
budget = £280,000 "(est.)"
gross =
imdb_id = 0039192"Black Narcissus" (fy|1947) is a film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel of the same name by
Rumer Godden . It is a psychological drama about the emotional tensions within a convent of nuns in an isolated Himalayan valley, and starsDeborah Kerr , Sabu, David Farrar andFlora Robson , and featuresEsmond Knight ,Jean Simmons andKathleen Byron .Plot
A group of
Anglican nun s travels to a remote location in theHimalayas to set up a school and hospital and 'tame' the local people and environment, by conversion and gardening, only to find themselves increasingly seduced by the sensuality of their surroundings in a convertedseraglio , and by the local British agent Dean (David Farrar). Clodagh (Deborah Kerr ), the Sister in charge, is attempting to forget a failed romance at home inIreland . Tensions mount as Dean's laid-back charm makes an impression on Clodagh, but also attracts the mentally unstable Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron ), who becomes pathologically jealous of Clodagh, resulting in a nervous breakdown and a violent climax. In a subplot, 'the Young General' (Sabu), heir to the throne of a princelyIndia n state who has come to the convent for his education, becomes infatuated with a lower caste dancing girl (Jean Simmons ); the film's title refers to a perfume that he has imported from England.Cast
*
Deborah Kerr as " Sister Clodagh"
*Flora Robson as "Sister Philippa"
*Jean Simmons as "Kanchi"
*David Farrar as "Mr. Dean"
*Sabu as "The Young General"
*Esmond Knight as "The Old General"
*Kathleen Byron as "Sister Ruth"
*Jenny Laird as "Sister Honey"
*Judith Furse as "Sister Briony"
*May Hallatt as "Angu Ayah"
*Shaun Noble as "Con, Clodagh's Childhood Sweetheart"
*Eddie Whaley Jr. as "Joseph Anthony, Young Interpreter"
*Nancy Roberts as "Mother Dorothea"
*Ley On as "Phuba, Dean's Servant"Production
The film was made primarily at
Pinewood Studios , but some scenes were shot inLeonardslee Gardens,West Sussex , the home of anIndia n army retiree which had appropriate trees and plants for the Indian setting. [Cite book | author = Michael Powell | authorlink = Michael Powell (director) | title = A Life in Movies | year = 1986 | publisher = Heinemann | id = ISBN 0-434-59945-X | pages = 562 ] [Cite book | author = Sarah Street | title = Black Narcissus, TCM British Film Guide | year = 2005 | publisher =I.B. Tauris | id = ISBN 1-84511-046-3 ] The film makes extensive use of matte paintings and large scale landscape paintings to suggest the mountainous environment of the Himalayas, as well as some scale models for motion shots of the convent. Of the three principal Indian roles, only the Young General was played by an ethnic Indian; the roles of Kanchi and the Old General were performed by white actors in makeup. The Indian extras were cast from workers at the docks inRotherhithe . [Michael Powell, commentary on the Criterion Collection DVD, ch.6]The version of the film originally shown in the United States had scenes depicting flashbacks of Sister Clodagh's life before becoming a nun edited out at the behest of
Catholic Legion of Decency . [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/5906/Black-Narcissus/overview] NY Times review of Black Narcissus]Crew
* Cinematography by
Jack Cardiff
* Original music byBrian Easdale
* Production Design byAlfred Junge
* Costume Design byHein Heckroth
* Film Editing byReginald Mills
* Special Effects byW. Percy Day ,Peter Ellenshaw Historical context
"Black Narcissus" was released only a few months before India achieved independence in August 1947. Film critic
Dave Kehr has suggested that the final images of the film, as the nuns abandon the Himalayas and process down the mountain, could have been interpreted by British viewers in 1947 as "a last farewell to their fading empire"; he suggests that it is not an image of defeat "but of a respectful, rational retreat from something that England never owned and never understood". [Dave Kehr, [http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=93&eid=101§ion=essay&page=1 'Black Narcissus'] , "The Criterion Collection" official website.] It should be noted, however, that the story in the film quite closely follows that of the book, which was written in 1939.Awards
*
Jack Cardiff won anAcademy Award for Best Cinematography and aGolden Globe Award for Best Cinematography
*Alfred Junge won anAcademy Award for Best Art Direction
*Deborah Kerr won aNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress References
Notes
Bibliography
* Godden, Rumer. "Black Narcissus". London: Peter Davies, 1939.
* Powell, Michael. "A Life in Movies: An Autobiography". , 1986. ISBN 0-434-59945-X.
* Powell, Michael. "Million Dollar Movie". London: Heinemann, 1992. ISBN 0-434-59947-6.
* Street, Sarah. "Black Narcissus". London:I.B. Tauris , 2005. ISBN 1-845-11046-3.
* Vermilye, Jerry. "The Great British Films". Citadel Press, 1978. ISBN 080650661X. 112pp.External links
*
*
*
*. Full synopsis and film stills (and clips viewable from UK libraries).
* [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/47_BN Reviews and articles] at the [http://www.powell-pressburger.org Powell & Pressburger Pages]
* [http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=93&eid=101§ion=essay&page=1 Criterion Collection essay by David Kehr]DVD Reviews
* [http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReview2/blacknarcissus.htm Comparison of Region 1 and two Region 2 DVDs] at "DVDBeaver"
* [http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=63206 Review] by Noel Megahey of French Region 2 at [http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.php "DVD Times"] (UK)
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