Black Narcissus
Short description
A group of Anglican nuns travels to a remote mountain region of the Himalayas, led by Sister Clodagh, to open a school and a hospital for the local population. They settle into an old palace whose atmosphere proves as unsettling as the harsh climate around them. The British agent Mr. Dean is meant to assist them, but his manners and outlook quickly put him at odds with Sister Clodagh, while the isolation and unfamiliar surroundings wear on the community.
The tensions among the nuns grow as the mission struggles. Sister Ruth develops an obsession with Mr. Dean that leads her to question her vows, while Sister Clodagh finds herself revisiting memories of a love she left behind. Five sisters, and the order that once bound them, are tested by a place they cannot easily leave.
Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell directed Black Narcissus and wrote the screenplay together, with their production company The Archers making the film for the J. Arthur Rank Organisation. It followed their earlier collaborations The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and A Matter of Life and Death, and stands between them and The Red Shoes. Deborah Kerr plays Sister Clodagh, with David Farrar as Mr. Dean, Flora Robson as Sister Philippa, Jean Simmons as Kanchi and Sabu as the Young General. Made for about a million dollars, the British drama runs 100 minutes. On IMDb it holds 7.7/10 from around 31,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.5/10 from 573 votes, while a critics' rating of 9.2/10 from 39 reviews is noticeably higher than those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The backdrops were enlarged black and white photographs, colored with pastel chalks.
- To the surprise and disappointment of some actors and crew members who had expected a trip to the Himalayas, all the magnificent views of the Himalayas were created in the studio.
- Cinematographer Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) stated that when choosing the lighting and color palette of the film, he drew inspiration from the paintings of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675).
- Director, screenwriter, and producer Michael Powell (1905-1990) initially ordered that the actresses playing nuns should not use lipstick. However, a couple of days into filming, someone noticed that on Technicolor film, the actresses still looked as if they were wearing lipstick. A solution was found: the actresses were advised to apply flesh-toned lipstick, which made their lips simply look natural on film.
- The final scene of the film featuring David Farrar (1908-1995) was staged with particular care. Showing the first raindrops hitting the flowers was the idea of cinematographer Jack Cardiff. However, Cardiff later regretted this idea. Initially, the scene was supposed to show Deborah Kerr's (1921-2007) character returning to Calcutta and talking to the Mother Superior.
- Representatives of Technicolor claimed that "Black Narcissus" was the best example of the application of their technologies.
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