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From Amazon.co.uk
In spite of their patriotism and love of Britain, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger remain the most "un-British" of movie makers. Much of this has to do with the almost hyper-real, super-intensity of their films, in terms of their editing, the soundtracks and their peculiar colour schemes. This is especially the case with Black Narcissus. A group of Catholic British nuns invited by an Indian ruler to open a hospital in the Himalayas. However, the strain of exposure to the elements, to the native culture and to the broody, handsome presence of British agent David Ferrar, tell on the sisters. It's all Deborah Kerr can do to hold on to her vows, as she she is tormented by memories of a lost love in Ireland. Kathleen Byron's more hysterical nun is made of less stern stuff and succumbs, leaving the order and going mad with lust for Ferrar. The final confrontation between the two, maroon Byron versus white Kerr atop a belltower, is reminiscent of Eisenstein and also prefigures the climax to Hitchcock's Vertigo. The (award-winning) cinematography is the true star of this film. --David Stubbs
Product Description
A classic Powell/Pressburger tale of sexual awakening based on the Rumer Godden novel. A group of British nuns are sent into the Himalayas to set up a mission in what was once the harem's quarters of an ancient palace. The clear mountain air, the unfamiliar culture and the unbridled sensuality of a young prince (Sabu) and his beggar-girl lover (Jean Simmons) begin to play havoc with the nuns' long-suppressed emotions. Whilst the young Mother Superior, Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), fights a losing battle for order, the jaunty David Farrar falls in love with her, sparking uncontrollable jealousy in another nun, Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron).
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
I have previously bought this wonderful film on laserdisc from Criterion and I have loved it and thought the transfer was good, even though colour strips weren't 100% synced. It has become one of my very favourite movies and the partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger one of my all time favourite director/writer team (Life and Death of Coronel Blimp and the Red Shoes are also totally wonderful).
Before I saw this movie again on this Blu-ray I had no idea that it could as awazing as it did on this release. Not only were the colours even more vibrant than ever, but the detail in the picture was staggering. I can now see all the detail in the walls, costumes and props. Alfred Junge got the Oscar for production design on this movie and it is understandable now more than ever. Everything looked totally breathtaking and I could now, more than ever, understand the distraction and beauty that make the nuns forget what they were doing. This is also thanks to the wonderful photography of Jack Cardiff, who won the Oscar for it. His use of colors and the lighting are nothing short of brilliant. When viewing the film it is hard to believe that everything was shot at Pinewood studios, save for some shots from the English countryside. It is a lesson to filmmakers nowadays that you can make a believable movie totally in the studio.
The documentary "The profile of Black Narcissus" is included and is quite informative and interesting, featuring interviews with several of the people who made it, including Jack Cardiff and Kathleen Byron. Is is presented in 576p, so some people with a TV that doesn't support this resolution may have problems viewing it. The Blu-ray is also region free.... Read more ›
Before I saw this movie again on this Blu-ray I had no idea that it could as awazing as it did on this release. Not only were the colours even more vibrant than ever, but the detail in the picture was staggering. I can now see all the detail in the walls, costumes and props. Alfred Junge got the Oscar for production design on this movie and it is understandable now more than ever. Everything looked totally breathtaking and I could now, more than ever, understand the distraction and beauty that make the nuns forget what they were doing. This is also thanks to the wonderful photography of Jack Cardiff, who won the Oscar for it. His use of colors and the lighting are nothing short of brilliant. When viewing the film it is hard to believe that everything was shot at Pinewood studios, save for some shots from the English countryside. It is a lesson to filmmakers nowadays that you can make a believable movie totally in the studio.
The documentary "The profile of Black Narcissus" is included and is quite informative and interesting, featuring interviews with several of the people who made it, including Jack Cardiff and Kathleen Byron. Is is presented in 576p, so some people with a TV that doesn't support this resolution may have problems viewing it. The Blu-ray is also region free.... Read more ›
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
The film covers the time that a small group of nuns occupy an old house at the top of a chasm in the "east" (I'd guess Tibet). The new convent is to be called "St Faith". The rarified air and stupendous views cause crises for many of the nuns (you knew it would, really) and the film covers their conflicts, internal and external.
Powell & Pressburger have made every image a photograph worth printing - they won an oscar for best Cinematography. The view from the convent is as stunning for us viewers as it for Sister Clodagh (et al). The crises aren't stock ones - they vary from madness (chillingly portrayed) to the gardening nun planting flowers, instead of vegetables.
My favourite scene would be the flashbacks of Sister Clodagh, reliving her life with her fiancé prior to the order. One scene has her calling out his name as she leaves the house and stepping into absolute blackness...
Come back, Powell & Pressburger! We need you
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Deberah Kerr is placed in charge of a crumbling abbey and a handful of difficult nuns on a terribly remote mountain in India. Staunch Christianity and Eastern Mysticism smack reverberatingly against each other, as these supposedly pious and pure nuns struggle against human desires and the pegan seductivesness around them. Deberah Kerr is magnificent and watch for the small supporting role by jean simmons who sparkles as a fallen but temptingly beautiful waif they take in.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
I have long admired the "Black Narcissus" with it's almost choking atmosphere of high emotions and ethereal beauty. It is simply astonishing to think how long ago it was filmed, and the fact that it was all incredibly filmed within Brittania's shores. Those were the days when improvisation, ingenuity and no little talent were to be found in abundance. The film is set in the Himalayas but the outdoor scenes were actually filmed in the gardens of a retired Indian Officers home, which had many of the plants native to his old home. There are some lovely shots of vividly coloured Camelias, Rhodedendroms and Magnolias in all their glory. Most of the Indian extras were grabbed from the docks at Rotherhithe. The beautiful matte paintings gave the Himalayas an almost mythical "Lord of the Rings" feel, and added much to the character of the film. These paintings are reminiscent of the very finest work the Disney studios created in their earlier years. Who needed to travel to the Himalayas with such talent at your disposal on your very doorstep?
In the film a group of nuns are sent to open a new school and hospital in the Palace of Mopu high in the Himalayas near to Darjeeling. The palace was a former seraglio with murals of the semi naked wives of past rulers adorning the walls in an erotically suggestive manner. The nuns hope to convert some of the locals to their religion but find that the palace begins to exert its own malevolent influence on them. Tensions begin to bubble into a simmering Mount Vesuvius of repressed emotions, ready to explode before the final credits roll. We head to a giddy climax.
The film is based on a book by that excellent writer Rumer Godden who knew a thing or two about the sub continent having lived there in her formative years.... Read more ›
In the film a group of nuns are sent to open a new school and hospital in the Palace of Mopu high in the Himalayas near to Darjeeling. The palace was a former seraglio with murals of the semi naked wives of past rulers adorning the walls in an erotically suggestive manner. The nuns hope to convert some of the locals to their religion but find that the palace begins to exert its own malevolent influence on them. Tensions begin to bubble into a simmering Mount Vesuvius of repressed emotions, ready to explode before the final credits roll. We head to a giddy climax.
The film is based on a book by that excellent writer Rumer Godden who knew a thing or two about the sub continent having lived there in her formative years.... Read more ›
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
This movie deserves it's high reputation, but the film is badly let down by the quality of the transfer. It appears to have been made from a copy which predates the BFI/NFTA restoration of the mid-eighties - which did the film full justice - the colour often looks washed out and the image appears less sharp than one would expect. Best to wait for a new edition, or a Television screening.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ideal restoration
This 2010 Criterion edition NTSC Region 1 DVD is from a restored high definition transfer. Both the picture and the sound are superb. The picture is pristine. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2011 by Julian Hughes
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Reason why you bought a blu ray player.
This is a superb technicolor film, showing just how well a film can be restored onto blu-ray. The colours, and clarity are perfect and make it the film to own if you want a great... Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2010 by J. C. Nelhams
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just order this, you won't be disappointed!
This Blu-Ray version of BLACK NARCISSUS is truly fantastic. There have been DVD releases in the past in Australia, but they were from ordinary (probably ex TV) masters, so the... Read more
Published on 7 May 2010 by G. Feldwick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Blu-ray
The Blu-ray is very colourful and clear and is region free. This is one of Powell/Pressburger's best pictures.
Published on 1 Jan 2010 by R. BUKOWSKI
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting
It is an enjoyable film that I can watch with your family. This is not a masterpiece of cinema, but compared to movies of violence today, it is advised.
Published on 28 Nov 2009 by allecco
5.0 out of 5 stars
superb blu-ray of Technicolor classic
One of the most beautiful Technicolor films ever made in its best presentation on home video - awesome blu-ray - highly recommended -
if you own a player you owe it to... Read more
if you own a player you owe it to... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2009 by Philip R. Jaeger
4.0 out of 5 stars
"He Seems A Difficult Man...You Won't Get Much Help From Him..."
As the muscle-bound-creep whacks the iconic "J. Arthur Rank" gong in the opening credits of "Black Narcissus" - your heart sinks. The print is truly awful. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2009 by Mark Barry, Reckless Records, London
5.0 out of 5 stars
Visually Stunning
I recall an interview with Deborah Kerr shortly before she died when the interviewer put to her that Black Narcissus was "an erotic film". "Do you think so?", she said. Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2006 by "keefmc"
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