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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Powell and Pressburger in the 40's were a sure fire guarantee of cinema that was imaginative, innovative and involving - and this was one of the pinnacles of their career.
On the surface another British melodrama, this was made into much more, using the relatively new and cumbersome Technicolor process for heretofore unimagined uses. While America was using colour as a way of making musicals and location work bigger and more exciting, Powell and Pressburger were finding ways of using it as a way of expressing the internal - emotions as colour.
In this movie, we have Deborah Kerr as a nun who has been sent as Mother Superior to a palace (and former harem) in India in the shadow of the Himalayas to make of it a school and dispensary. However the location and its otherworldliness begin to gnaw at the nuns in different ways, digging up old forgotten memories of their previous lives, and forcing one all the way to madness. The presence of the Englishman who is their only source of help, only adds to a simmering atmosphere of repressed emotion which threatens to burst out as time progresses.
As a melodrama this might seem a little dated by modern viewers eyes, however as an expression of the dichotomy between our human nature and the nature of religion (in this case Christianity) this is a fascinating and timeless piece - and as a piece of cinema, this will stay with you for a very long time, with its stunning expressionist style and startling colours. One moment, when a nun driven mad appears in a doorway with murderous thoughts in mind, is more chilling than anything I have seen in a long time, all captured in one look through fantastic lighting. The achievements in creating such a vivid and authentic atmosphere are all the more amazing considering it was all shot in Pinewood studios.
Jack Cardiff's pioneering use of Technicolor (for more on Jack Cardiff see Jack Cardiff - Cameraman [DVD] [2009])shows how he was guided by an admiration not for the technical side but for the artistry, quoting Vermeer, Van Gogh and Rembrandt as influences in his technique. Fascinating. The feature on the film itself necessarily covers some of the same ground, but is also worth watching.
Whether you simply enjoy a good melodrama, or are a student of cinema as art, or just like to keep up with movies Scorcese recommends, this is worth watching.
On the surface another British melodrama, this was made into much more, using the relatively new and cumbersome Technicolor process for heretofore unimagined uses. While America was using colour as a way of making musicals and location work bigger and more exciting, Powell and Pressburger were finding ways of using it as a way of expressing the internal - emotions as colour.
In this movie, we have Deborah Kerr as a nun who has been sent as Mother Superior to a palace (and former harem) in India in the shadow of the Himalayas to make of it a school and dispensary. However the location and its otherworldliness begin to gnaw at the nuns in different ways, digging up old forgotten memories of their previous lives, and forcing one all the way to madness. The presence of the Englishman who is their only source of help, only adds to a simmering atmosphere of repressed emotion which threatens to burst out as time progresses.
As a melodrama this might seem a little dated by modern viewers eyes, however as an expression of the dichotomy between our human nature and the nature of religion (in this case Christianity) this is a fascinating and timeless piece - and as a piece of cinema, this will stay with you for a very long time, with its stunning expressionist style and startling colours. One moment, when a nun driven mad appears in a doorway with murderous thoughts in mind, is more chilling than anything I have seen in a long time, all captured in one look through fantastic lighting. The achievements in creating such a vivid and authentic atmosphere are all the more amazing considering it was all shot in Pinewood studios.
Jack Cardiff's pioneering use of Technicolor (for more on Jack Cardiff see Jack Cardiff - Cameraman [DVD] [2009])shows how he was guided by an admiration not for the technical side but for the artistry, quoting Vermeer, Van Gogh and Rembrandt as influences in his technique. Fascinating. The feature on the film itself necessarily covers some of the same ground, but is also worth watching.
Whether you simply enjoy a good melodrama, or are a student of cinema as art, or just like to keep up with movies Scorcese recommends, this is worth watching.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1947 masterpiece Black Narcissus was probably the most revolutionary, innovative and daring film of the period (certainly of British films) and still stands up well today. When the Archers (the name under which P&P made their films) raised the proposed subject matter of the film (a group of nuns, sexual repression, murder, etc) with Arthur Rank, who had his hands on the purse strings at the time, he was understandably nervous, but largely due to Powell's characteristic determination, thankfully the film got made.
Black Narcissus' story centres on a group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Superior Clodagh (superbly played by Deborah Kerr), who are sent to a remote part of the Himalayas to establish a school and hospital for the benefit of the local population. Their objectives are undermined by a combination of factors, including the reluctance of the local British agent Mr Dean (David Farrar) to support them and the increasingly eccentric behaviour from the mentally unstable Sister Ruth (played by Kathleen Byron, in a film-stealing performance).
Black Narcissus was way ahead of its time in many elements. The most notable is undoubtedly the way in which the film creates a brooding, and increasing, atmosphere of sexual tension between the three main characters, Sisters Clodagh and Ruth and Mr Dean, as the latter parades through the nuns' living quarters (ironically a converted harem!) in shorts and bare, hairy legs. Visually, the film is also uniquely stunning. With Oscar-winning cinematography by Jack Cardiff and art direction by Alfred Junge, incredibly the film was shot primarily at Pinewood Studios, with some exterior shots being filmed at Leonardslee Gardens in West Sussex, home to an Indian army retiree who maintained an array of authentic Indian flora. The quality of the interior set design was so high that, after the film's release, the film-makers were contacted by various people claiming to recognise actual Indian locations!
The film builds tension throughout and concludes in one of the most brilliant, and thrilling, closing 20 minute sequences in cinema history, as Sister Ruth's jealousy of Sister Clodagh boils over into a violent climax with tragic consequences. There is an excellent set of DVD extras which include interviews with both Jack Cardiff and Kathleen Byron, in which Byron describes how she was shocked to see in this final film sequence the effect Cardiff had achieved in making her appear totally deranged!
Another reason why there may have been abnormally high levels of tension on the film set was that Michael Powell was directing both his current lover (Byron) and his previous one (Kerr). I presume he kept his wife off the set at all times!
A magical film, which (as with all P&P films) gets better and better with repeat viewings.
Black Narcissus' story centres on a group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Superior Clodagh (superbly played by Deborah Kerr), who are sent to a remote part of the Himalayas to establish a school and hospital for the benefit of the local population. Their objectives are undermined by a combination of factors, including the reluctance of the local British agent Mr Dean (David Farrar) to support them and the increasingly eccentric behaviour from the mentally unstable Sister Ruth (played by Kathleen Byron, in a film-stealing performance).
Black Narcissus was way ahead of its time in many elements. The most notable is undoubtedly the way in which the film creates a brooding, and increasing, atmosphere of sexual tension between the three main characters, Sisters Clodagh and Ruth and Mr Dean, as the latter parades through the nuns' living quarters (ironically a converted harem!) in shorts and bare, hairy legs. Visually, the film is also uniquely stunning. With Oscar-winning cinematography by Jack Cardiff and art direction by Alfred Junge, incredibly the film was shot primarily at Pinewood Studios, with some exterior shots being filmed at Leonardslee Gardens in West Sussex, home to an Indian army retiree who maintained an array of authentic Indian flora. The quality of the interior set design was so high that, after the film's release, the film-makers were contacted by various people claiming to recognise actual Indian locations!
The film builds tension throughout and concludes in one of the most brilliant, and thrilling, closing 20 minute sequences in cinema history, as Sister Ruth's jealousy of Sister Clodagh boils over into a violent climax with tragic consequences. There is an excellent set of DVD extras which include interviews with both Jack Cardiff and Kathleen Byron, in which Byron describes how she was shocked to see in this final film sequence the effect Cardiff had achieved in making her appear totally deranged!
Another reason why there may have been abnormally high levels of tension on the film set was that Michael Powell was directing both his current lover (Byron) and his previous one (Kerr). I presume he kept his wife off the set at all times!
A magical film, which (as with all P&P films) gets better and better with repeat viewings.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
It's always tempting for the film buff to buy the R1 Criterion edition of any film they love, but the picture and sound of this Network DVD of the wonderful Black Narcissus are at least the equal of the Criterion, until Criterion produce a new one (and that'll be twice the price of this one anyway).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A stunning film!
The opening sequences include the focus on some wall pictures that convey a former erotic function for the palace; a euphemism for a windswept compound on the shelf of a mountain. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ian Hunter
The Archers
I have been an Archers fan since I was a kid and first saw "The Thief of Baghdad" which Michael Powell had a large hand in, and despite the aged effects still remains a most... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2010 by George F. Fry
Suppressed sexual desires
I first saw this film just a couple of years ago and was amazed at how good it was. At times you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2010 by A customer
Powell & Pressburger, The Sublime & The Ridiculous. Not For The...
I have seen this superb melodrama broadcast in the afternoon on British TV, a fact which always strikes me as potentially unsound because, as anyone who has seen it all the way... Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2009 by Philoctetes
Deborah Kerr at her best
This fancy movie by Powell and Pressburger contains everything one might expect from them, yet it is only really saved by the central performance of Deborah Kerr. Read more
Published on 14 July 2009 by Mr. J. Carr
Black Narcissus
I remember this movie from when I was a child and I have had a video for several years which has now lost a lot of quality. Since buying this DVD I am enjoying it once again. Read more
Published on 13 July 2009 by June R from Oz
a pleasant enough film
i'd heard many good things about this film so I decided to give it a go. Deborah Kerr's performance was amazing and the plot was moving but I felt there was something lacking to... Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2008 by Ms. F. I. Macdonald
Splendid Isolation
In a nutshell, a bunch of Nuns are faced with their inner demons up in the Himalayas.
I have to admit, this is by far my favourite Powell and Pressburger movie. Read more
I have to admit, this is by far my favourite Powell and Pressburger movie. Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2008 by JEY
Which was which?
The cinematography and design are rightly honoured in this classic melodrama about nuns in the Himalayas but the story is a bit thin and you do have to concentrate not to get the... Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2007 by Mr. Derek R. Osbourne
A 1947 classic
I loved this film and its a great choice for a wet afternoon in with a box of chocs. I probably loved it for all the wrong reasons though. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2007 by Four Violets
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