Black Narcissus
| Black Narcissus | |
|---|---|
Poster
|
|
| Directed by |
Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger |
| Produced by | Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger |
| Screenplay by | Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger |
| Based on |
Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden |
| Starring |
Deborah Kerr Sabu Jean Simmons David Farrar Flora Robson |
| Music by | Brian Easdale |
| Cinematography | Jack Cardiff |
| Edited by | Reginald Mills |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors (UK), Universal-International (USA) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
100 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £280,000 (or $1.2 million) |
Black Narcissus is a 1947 Technicolor religious drama film by the British writer-producer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden. It is a psychological drama about the emotional tensions of jealousy and lust within a convent of nuns in an isolated valley in the Himalayas, and features in the cast Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, Sabu, David Farrar, Flora Robson, Esmond Knight, and Jean Simmons.
Black Narcissus achieved acclaim for its pioneering technical mastery, with the cinematographer Jack Cardiff, shooting in vibrant colour, winning an Academy Award for Best Cinematography and a Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography, and Alfred Junge winning an Academy Award for Best Art Direction.
According to film critic David Thomson "Black Narcissus is that rare thing, an erotic English film about the fantasies of nuns, startling whenever Kathleen Byron is involved".
A group of Anglican nuns travel to a remote location in the Himalayas (the Palace of Mopu, near Darjeeling) to set up a school and hospital for the local people, only to find themselves increasingly seduced by the sensuality of their surroundings in a converted seraglio high up in the mountains, and by the local British agent Mr Dean (David Farrar). Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), the Sister Superior, is attempting to forget a failed romance at home in Ireland. 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 princely Indian state who has come to the convent for his education, becomes infatuated with Kanchi, a lower caste dancing girl (Jean Simmons).
...
Wikipedia