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Black Narcissus

United Kingdom

1947

101 Min
Color
1.33:1
English
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
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DIR Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

SCR Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Rumer Godden

DP Jack Cardiff

CAST Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David Farrar, Flora Robson, Esmond Knight, Jean Simmons, Kathleen Byron, Jenny Laird, Judith Furse, May Hallatt, Eddie Whaley, Jr., Shaun Noble, Nancy Roberts

ED Reginald Mills

PROD DES Alfred Junge

MUSIC Brian Easdale

Karlovy Vary (Tribute to Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger)

Synopsis

Plagued by uncertainties and worldly desires, five Protestant missionary nuns, led by Deborah Kerr’s Sister Clodagh, struggle to establish a school in the desolate Himalayas. All the elements of cinematic arts are perfectly fused in Powell and Pressburger’s fascinating study of the age-old conflict between the spirit and the flesh, set against the grandeur of the snowcapped peaks of Kanchenjunga. —The Criterion Collection

Director

Original

Michael Powell

A one time studio gofer, still photographer, and comic actor, Michael Powell became one of the most celebrated and controversial directors ever to come out of England. Born in Canterbury, Powell became enamored of films while still a teenager and, after a start in the mid-’20s and a stint shooting stills and serving as a co-scenarist with Alfred Hitchcock in the early sound era, Powell broke into directing in low-budget British thrillers and comedies. After directing and writing his first notable movie in 1937, The Edge of the World, he moved to London Films where he began working with Emeric Pressburger, a gifted young author and screenwriter. Their two-decade association began shortly after they left London Films (where they collaborated on The Spy in Black and Powell co-directed The Thief of Bagdad). The wartime thrillers Contraband and Forty-Ninth Parallel, the latter attracted much attention (including Oscar nominations for Best Picture and best original story), resulted in the… read more

Original

Emeric Pressburger

The screenwriter half of the Powell/Pressburger team in association with Michael Powell, Hungarian-born Emeric Pressburger was a journalist before coming to films as a screenwriter in the late ‘20s. After working at Germany’s UFA studios for several years, he fled after Hitler’s rise to power and eventually came to England, where he joined London Films as a screenwriter and began his association with Michael Powell, a gifted young English filmmaker. The two worked together on The Spy in Black, and after leaving London Films, formed a filmmaking partnership, known corporately as The Archers, in which they shared joint screenwriter-producer-director credit. Their collaborations together included 49th Parallel, One of Our Aircraft Is Missing, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, A Canterbury Tale, I Know Where I’m Going, Stairway to Heaven (A Matter of Life and Death), Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, The Small Back Room, and The Tales of Hoffmann, most of which were extremely successful… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 44 wall posts.
Picture of Howard Orr

Howard Orr

25Dec11

To me this sums up everything that has been lost in cinema: rich and simple in its means of expression without *being* simple. Cinema as ballet; distainful of realism but anchored in warm human gestures and emotions.

Zach Eastman

1Dec11

A haunting tale of repressed passion and growing madness. An elegant psychological thriller with beautiful cinematography

Anthony

15Nov11

Hypnotic, beautiful, and full of sexual tension, this film doesn't warrant many viewings from me but is a great film nevertheless.

WhatsUpWill

12Nov11

Quite possibly the most beautiful film ever made. It sure gives Days of Heaven a run for its money! Deborah Kerr gives a career defining performance. The story is subtly complex. It's impossible not to be seduced by this wonderful master work of a film. My favorite Powell & Pressburger so far.

a Smith and 3 others like this

Howard Orr, Stu Witmer, Lady Spiggott

  • Picture of Howard Orr

    Howard Orr

    27Dec11

    I agree that Black Narcissus and Days of Heaven are about neck for the most beautiful film ever made. But, if it isn't inapporopriate to mix colour and b/w, I'd also add Lean's version of Oliver Twist as worthy of contention, imo.

Related Films

Fans

Displaying 5 of 920 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

Noir, Powell and Pressburger and More DVDs

By David Hudson on July 20, 2010

Dave Kehr in the New York Times on the fifth volume of Warner's Film Noir Classic Collection and the second volume of Sony's Columbia

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W184

Cannes 2010. Craig McCall's "Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff"

By David Hudson on May 24, 2010

Sheila Johnston at the Arts Desk: "The last time Jack Cardiff went to Cannes, nobody recognised him; wearing his trademark

read article
W184

Jean Simmons, 1929 - 2010

By David Hudson on January 23, 2010

"Jean Simmons, a radiant British actress who as a teenager appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in Hamlet and emerged a star whose career flourished

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Blank

Video of the day: RIP Jack Cardiff

By Daniel Kasman on April 22, 2009

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock; photographed by Jack Cardiff.  Jack Cardiff photographs one of the greatest single takes in cinema, from

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BLACK NARCISSUS Blu-Ray Review

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made many films, but the two works that have come to define them are Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948). These films are very different yet they share
read on Twitchfilm.com

BLACK NARCISSUS Blu-Ray Review

By Twitchfilm.net on July 26, 2010
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made many films, but the two works that have come to define them are Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948). These films are very different yet they share
read on Twitchfilm.net

Lists

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Reviews

Displaying 4 of 6

unpolluted visual beauty

By Pierlui​gi Puccini on November 6, 2010

Another cumulous of the talent of filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and cinematographer Jack Cardiff.

The arrival into the imponent temple on the mountain arouses various kinds…  read review

Black Narcissus

By Gino on June 25, 2010

When you think of a movie about a handful of nuns moving to a rural village in the Himalayas, you would never imagine the intense masterpiece that Black Narcissus is. The Film is visually stunning…  read review

Kitsch? Who cares?

By Ilivein​fear on December 26, 2009

Throughout the 1940’s, the team of director Michael Powell and screenwriter Emeric Pressburger (known together as the Archers) made several films that are today viewed as masterpieces. Some detractors…  read review

Untitled

By Musycks on August 6, 2009

Rumer Godden’s novel of a clash of cultures is given the full Powell and Pressburger treatment, complete with one of the cinema’s most delicious visual conceits. The astonishing studio fakery contributes…  read review

Forum

Displaying 1 discussion topic.

Ken Russells THE DEVILS and Michael Manns THE KEEP

4 posts by 4 people 6 months ago

DVD

Buy the DVD from The Criterion Collection.