Editing Black Narcissus

{{Short description|1947 British psychological drama film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger}}
{{for-multi|the 1939 novel from which the film was made|Black Narcissus (novel){{!}}''Black Narcissus'' (novel)|other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Black Narcissus
| image          = Blacknar.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical poster
| director       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Michael Powell]]
* [[Emeric Pressburger]]
}}
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* Michael Powell
* Emeric Pressburger
}}
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[Black Narcissus (novel)|Black Narcissus]]''<br>1939 novel|[[Rumer Godden]]}}
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* Michael Powell
* Emeric Pressburger
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Deborah Kerr]]
* [[Sabu (actor)|Sabu]]
* [[David Farrar (actor)|David Farrar]]
* [[Flora Robson]]
* [[Esmond Knight]]
* [[Jean Simmons]]
* [[Kathleen Byron]]
}}
| music          = [[Brian Easdale]]
| cinematography = [[Jack Cardiff]]
| editing        = [[Reginald Mills]]
| studio         = [[Powell and Pressburger|The Archers]]
| distributor    = [[General Film Distributors]]
| released       = {{Film date|1947|4|24|London|ref1=<ref name=24april>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Daily Mirror]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/789888146/?match=1&terms=narcissus|last=Whiteley|first=Reg|title=It Won't Be Long Now|via=Newspapers.com|page=2|date=18 April 1947}}</ref>|1947|8|13|US|df=y}}
| runtime        = 100 minutes
| language       = English
| color_process  = [[Technicolor]]
| country        = United Kingdom
| budget         = £0.3 million (or $1.2 million)<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety168-1947-11#page/n19/mode/1up|title=Pressburger|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=5 November 1947|page=20}}</ref>{{sfn|Macdonald|1994|p=268}}
| gross          =
}}

'''''Black Narcissus''''' is a 1947 British [[psychological drama]] film jointly written, directed and produced by [[Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger]], based on the 1939 [[Black Narcissus (novel)|novel]] by [[Rumer Godden]]. It stars [[Deborah Kerr]], [[Sabu (actor)|Sabu]], [[David Farrar (actor)|David Farrar]], and [[Flora Robson]], and features [[Esmond Knight]], [[Jean Simmons]], and [[Kathleen Byron]].

Set during the final years of [[British Raj|British colonial rule in India]], the film depicts the growing tensions within a small convent of [[Anglican religious order|Anglican sisters]] who are trying to establish a school and hospital in the old harem of an Indian Raja at the top of an isolated mountain in the [[Himalayas]]. The nuns have trouble adapting to the harsh climate and antagonistic population. They come to rely on the help and advice of the Raja's [[Agencies of British India|British agent]], a cynical Englishman whose attractiveness and [[panache]] become a source of temptation for the sisters.

''Black Narcissus'' received acclaim for its technical mastery, with the cinematographer, [[Jack Cardiff]], winning an [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography]] and a [[Golden Globe Award]] for Best Cinematography, and [[Alfred Junge]] winning an [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Academy Award for Best Art Direction]].<ref name=oscar>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1948/B?qt-honorees=1#block-quicktabs-honorees|work=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |publisher=AMPAS |access-date=4 March 2016 |title=1948, Oscars.org, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref><ref name=globe>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.com/film/black-narcissus|work=[[Golden Globe Award]] |publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association |access-date=4 March 2016 |title=Black Narcissus, Golden Globes}}</ref>

According to film critic [[David Thomson (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".<ref>{{cite book| first=David| last=Thomson| title=The New Biographical Dictionary of Film| edition=4th reprint| location=New York| publisher=Alfred Knopf| year=2002| url=https://archive.org/details/newbiographicald0000thom_g3v7/page/694/mode/2up?q=%22kathleen+byron%22| page=694| isbn=978-0-3754-1128-1| access-date=25 May 2022}}</ref>

==Plot==
General Toda Rai, the [[Rajput]] ruler of a [[princely state]] in the [[Himalayas]], invites an order of [[Anglican]] nuns to establish a school and hospital at Mopu, a former [[harem]] situated on a high cliff. The ambitious Sister Clodagh is appointed Sister Superior and is sent to Mopu with four other nuns: Sister Philippa for gardening; Sister Briony for the infirmary; Sister Blanche, better known as "Sister Honey", to teach lace-making; and the emotionally unstable Sister Ruth to teach English and maths. All five women are white Britons in an unfamiliar, colonial setting.

Mr Dean, the general's [[Agencies of British India|British agent]], is deeply sceptical of the project, citing a variety of social and environmental difficulties. He predicts the nuns will leave as soon as the [[monsoon]] season ends. It is critical for Clodagh to manage the nuns' well-being, since the Congregation allows every nun to resign at the end of the year.

The sisters struggle to adapt to the local population. The native caretaker, Angu Ayah, dislikes sharing the palace with the nuns. The general's wealthy uncle, now a Hindu holy man, spends all his time meditating on a mountain within the monastery grounds, refusing to speak to anyone. The sisters agree to mentor Kanchi, a local girl with a reputation for erratic behaviour, but Ayah whips her for stealing.

Each convent member starts to experience ill-health and/or emotional problems caused by their surroundings. Clodagh recalls a failed romance which prompted her to leave Britain and join the order. Ruth grows jealous of Clodagh. Philippa loses herself in the environment and plants the vegetable garden with flowers. Honey's attachment to the local children ends disastrously after she gives ineffective medication to a fatally ill baby. The nuns' failure to save the child's life angers the locals, who abandon the mission. Mr Dean encourages Clodagh to leave, but she insists on staying.

The sisters also struggle with their vows of chastity. They are constantly tempted by the old harem's erotic wall paintings. In addition, although the sisters planned to educate only girls, they feel compelled to make an exception for the general's boy heir, who needs tutoring in Western culture. He soon falls in love with Kanchi. Ruth grows obsessed with the carnally handsome Mr Dean and orders an alluring, modern dress to charm him one day. Although Clodagh is irked by Mr Dean's nonchalance and irreverence, she also finds herself increasingly attracted to him. Philippa requests a transfer to a new convent, complaining that to survive in the colonies, "either you must live like Mr Dean, or like the holy man. Either ignore it or give yourself up to it."

Ruth resigns and announces her intent to go back to Britain. Clodagh visits Ruth to convince her to stay, as the convent is extremely shorthanded. Ruth, who has already changed out of her nun's habit into her new dress, defiantly puts on lipstick in front of Clodagh to signal her personal liberation. She escapes the convent and visits Mr Dean's house to declare her love, but he rebuffs her advances. Heartbroken, Ruth suffers a mental breakdown and returns to the mission, intent on killing Clodagh. When Clodagh rings the morning service bell, Ruth attempts to push her over the cliff edge. In the ensuing struggle, Ruth falls to her death.

Ruth's death is the last straw for the Congregation, which closes the mission. The remaining nuns leave just as the monsoon season begins, even earlier than Mr Dean had originally predicted. Mr Dean meets the caravan to say goodbye, when Clodagh gives him one final request which he accepts: to tend to Ruth's grave. Clodagh and Mr Dean clasp hands and share a meaningful look, but Clodagh gathers herself and continues on her way.

==Cast==
{{col-begin|width=50%}}{{col-break}}
* [[Deborah Kerr]] as Sister Clodagh
* [[Sabu (actor)|Sabu]] as The Young General (Dilip Rai)<ref>{{cite web |title=Black Narcissus (1947) |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a5551ac |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306085621/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a5551ac |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2016 |website=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=16 July 2020}}</ref>
* [[David Farrar (actor)|David Farrar]] as Mr. Dean
* [[Flora Robson]] as Sister Philippa
* [[Esmond Knight]] as The Old General
* [[Jean Simmons]] as Kanchi
* [[Kathleen Byron]] as Sister Ruth
* [[Jenny Laird]] as Sister Honey
* [[Judith Furse]] as Sister Briony
* [[May Hallatt]] as Angu Ayah
* Eddie Whaley Jr. as Joseph Anthony
* Shaun Noble as Con
* Nancy Roberts as Mother Dorothea
* Ley On as Phuba
{{col-end}}

==Production==
===Development===
{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 250
| image1    = Deborah Kerr 3.jpg
| caption1  = Deborah Kerr as Sister Clodagh
| image2    = David Farrar.jpg
| caption2  = David Farrar as Mr Dean
}}{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 250
| image1    = Kathleen Byron.jpg
| caption1  = Kathleen Byron as Sister Ruth
| image2    = Black Narcissus (1947), screenshot of Jean Simmons.png
| caption2  = Jean Simmons as Kanchi
}}
''Black Narcissus'' was adapted from [[Rumer Godden]]'s 1939 novel of the same name.{{sfn|Street|2015|pages=5–8}} Michael Powell was introduced to the novel by actress [[Mary Morris]], who had appeared in ''[[The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)|The Thief of Bagdad]]'' (1940) and an earlier film where Powell had collaborated with Pressburger, ''[[The Spy in Black]]'' (1939).{{sfn|Street|2015|p=11}} Godden had adapted her novel for a stage production for [[Lee Strasberg]] in the United States, but allowed Pressburger to write his own screenplay adaptation with Powell.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=11}}

===Casting===
Kathleen Byron was among the first to be cast in the film, in the role of the unstable Sister Ruth.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=22}} Pressburger described Byron as having a "dreamy voice and great eyes like a lynx", which he felt appropriate for the mentally disturbed character.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=22}} Deborah Kerr was cast in the role of the leading Sister Superior, Sister Clodagh.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=22}} Pressburger chose Kerr for the role despite the reservations of Powell, who felt she was too young for the part.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=22}} At one point, Powell considered [[Greta Garbo]] for the part.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=22}}  Kerr was paid £16,000 for fifty-five days of work.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=23}}

David Farrar was cast as Mr Dean, the virile British agent who becomes the object of Sister Ruth's obsession.{{sfn|Street|2015|pages=22–23}} Farrar was paid £4,500 for forty-five days of shooting.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=23}} Flora Robson appears as Sister Philippa, a gardener in the convent.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=23}}

Of the three principal Indian roles, only the Young General was played by an ethnic Indian, Sabu; the roles of Kanchi, played by Jean Simmons,{{sfn|Street|2015|p=24}} and the Old General, played by Esmond Knight, were performed by [[Racial brownface|white actors in make-up]].{{sfn|Street|2015|pages=22–25}} Kanchi, 17, is described by Godden as "a basket of fruit, piled high and luscious and ready to eat. Though she looks shyly down, there is something steady and unabashed about her; the fruit is there to be eaten, she does not mean it to rot." Godden approved of Simmons's casting, remarking that she "perfectly fulfilled my description".{{sfn|Street|2015|p=25}} The Indian extras were cast from workers at [[Surrey Commercial Docks|the docks]] in [[Rotherhithe]].<ref>Michael Powell, commentary on the Criterion Collection DVD, ch.6</ref>

[[File:Black_Narcissus_-_painting_comparison.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Before-and-after stills: the top shows the scene as shot, the bottom incorporates W. Percy Day's [[Matte (filmmaking)|matte painting]], creating the illusion of a deep cliff]]

===Filming===
Filming of ''Black Narcissus'' began on 16 May 1946, and was completed on 22 August.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=28}} The film was shot primarily at [[Pinewood Studios]] but some scenes were shot in [[Leonardslee]] Gardens, [[West Sussex]], the home of an [[Indian Army (1858–1947)|Indian army]] retiree, which had appropriate trees and plants for the Indian setting.{{sfn|Powell|1986|p=562}} While Powell at the time had been known for his love of location shooting, with ''Black Narcissus'' he became fascinated with the idea of filming in the studio as much as possible.{{sfn|Street|2015|p=12}}

The film is known for making extensive use of [[matte (filmmaking)|matte paintings]] and large-scale landscape paintings (credited to [[Walter Percy Day|W. Percy Day]]) to suggest the mountainous environment of the Himalayas, as well as some scale models for motion shots of the convent.{{sfn|Street|2015|pages=27–30}} Powell said later: "Our mountains were painted on glass. We decided to do the whole thing in the studio and that's the way we managed to maintain colour control to the very end. Sometimes in a film its theme or its colour are more important than the plot."

For the costumes, [[Alfred Junge]], the art director, had three main colour schemes. The sisters were always in the white habits that he designed from a medley of medieval types. These white robes of heavy material stressed the sisters' other-worldliness amid the exotic native surroundings. The chief native characters were robed in brilliant colours, particularly the generals in jewels and in rich silks. Other native characters brought into the film for "atmosphere" were clad in more sombre colours with the usual native dress of the Nepalese, Bhutanese and Tibetan peoples toned down to prevent overloading the eye with brilliance.

According to Robert Horton, Powell set the climactic sequence, a murder attempt on the cliffs of the cloister, to a pre-existing musical track, staging it as though it were a piece of visual choreography. There was some personal, behind-the-scenes tension, as Kerr was the director's ex-lover and Byron his current one. "It was a situation not uncommon in show business, I was told," Powell later wrote, "but it was new to me."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-21-ca-34463-story.html| title=Really Big Shoes| date=21 September 1997| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| language=en-US| author=Turan, Kenneth| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009043003/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-21-ca-34463-story.html| archive-date=9 October 2019| url-status=live}}</ref>

The film was intended to end with an additional scene in which Sister Clodagh sobs and blames herself for the convent's failure to Mother Dorothea. Mother Dorothea touches and speaks to Sister Clodagh welcomingly as the latter's tears continue to fall. When they filmed the scene with the rainfall on the leaves in what was to have been the penultimate scene, Powell was so impressed with it that he decided to designate that as the last scene and to scrap the Mother Dorothea closing scene. It was filmed but it is not known whether it was printed.<ref name=lostscene>{{cite web |url=http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/47_BN/LostScene.html |access-date=31 October 2009 |title=Lost Scene from Black Narcissus |first=Steve |last=Crook |website=The Powell & Pressburger Pages}}</ref>

==Release==
===Box office===
''Black Narcissus'' had its world premiere at the [[Odeon Leicester Square]] in London on 24 April 1947 attended by [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], before opening to the public there the following day and being shown in 20 key cities in the UK within 10 days.<ref name=24april/><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Evening Standard]]|page=10|title=Picture Theatres (West End)|date=25 April 1947}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|page=4|title=Cinemas|date=24 April 1947}}</ref> According to trade papers, the film was a "notable box office attraction" at British cinemas in 1947.{{sfn|Murphy|2003|p=209}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/Screen_Volume_32_Issue_3/page/n17 |magazine=[[Screen (journal)|Screen]] |page=258 |volume=32 |issue=3 |title=The popular cash and culture in the postwar British cinema industry |first=Janet |last=Thumim}}</ref> It premiered in the United States on 13 August 1947 in New York City at the [[Fulton Theatre]].{{sfn|Slide|1998|p=38}}

In France, where it was released in 1949, the film sold 1,388,416 tickets. In Japan, it was the fifth top-grossing film of 1950, earning {{JPY|60 million|link=yes}} in [[theatrical rental]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Japan 1950 |url=http://www.boxofficestory.com/japon-1950-s-c29019210 |website=Box Office Story |language=fr |access-date=30 June 2020}}</ref>

===Legion of Decency condemnation===
In the United States, the Catholic [[National Legion of Decency]] condemned the film as "an affront to religion and religious life" for characterising it as "an escape for the abnormal, the neurotic and the frustrated".<ref>{{cite news| newspaper=[[The Tablet (Brooklyn)|The Tablet]]| location=Brooklyn, New York| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38848844/the_tablet/| title=Legion Condemns British Film| page=1| via=Newspapers.com| date=16 August 1947}}</ref> The version of the film originally shown in the United States had scenes depicting flashbacks of Sister Clodagh's life before becoming a sister edited out at the behest of the Legion of Decency.<ref name=allmovie>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmovie.com/work/black-narcissus-5906/review |website=[[AllMovie]] |first=Bruce |last=Eder |access-date=11 November 2019 |title=Black Narcissus: Review}}</ref> The 10 cuts to the film, of about 900 feet of film, were supervised by Pressburger, who commented that the cuts were "reasonable, fair and just", and that he made them to further the film's distribution, as the only bookings it had while on the "condemned" list were in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. After the cuts were made, the Legion of Decency removed the film from the list, and further bookings were possible.<ref>Staff (March 21, 1948) [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/03/21/96588779.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 "Background on Black Narcissus"], ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>

===Critical response===
<!-- Newspaper title correct for 1947 -->''[[The Guardian|The Manchester Guardian]]'' described the film as possessing "good acting and skilfully built-up atmosphere" and praised the cinematography.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Guardian|The Manchester Guardian]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38853792/the_guardian/ |date=6 May 1947 |page=6 |author=C. T. |via=Newspapers.com |title=Odeon– "Black Narcissus"}}</ref> Philip Scheuer of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' gave the film high praise, deeming it an "exquisite cinematic jewel", continuing: "I can't say how authentic ''Black Narcissus'' is, but the lotus land to which it carries us is uniquely unforgettable."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38852409/the_los_angeles_times/| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| last=Scheuer| first=Philip K.| date=19 September 1947| via=Newspapers.com| page=10| title='Black Narcissus' Exquisite Production}}</ref> Jane Corby of the ''[[Brooklyn Eagle|Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]'' described the film as a "peculiar recital of religious life" and praised the cinematography, but felt that the "mixed atmosphere of religious seclusion and romantic vagaries is very confusing".<ref>{{cite news| newspaper=Brooklyn Daily Eagle| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38853500/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/| last=Corby| first=Jane| page=11| date=14 August 1947| via=Newspapers.com| title='Black Narcissus' at the Fulton}}</ref>

Thomas M. Pryor of ''[[The New York Times]]'' lauded the creative collaboration of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the writer-director duo, for their notable artistic achievement in ''Black Narcissus''. Pryor particularly highlighted the groundbreaking use of Technicolor in the movie, noting its exceptional realism and its ability to create a riveting dramatic impact. He further commended the film's adept employment of miniature sets and process shots to authentically evoke the ambience of the Himalayan setting. Pryor found the presentation of the film's dramatic elements to be exceptionally well-executed and praised the overall performance of the cast as commendable. Nevertheless, Pryor observed a subtle undercurrent of detachment and cynicism in the portrayal of the nuns within the narrative, acknowledging that this aspect might prove disconcerting to certain viewers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pryor |first=Thomas M. |date=1947-08-17 |title=TRIO FROM BRITAIN; Some Reflections on 'Green for Danger,' 'Black Narcissus' and 'Frieda' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/08/17/archives/trio-from-britain-some-reflections-on-green-for-danger-black.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-05-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |volume=96 |issue=32712 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pryor |first=Thomas M. |date=1947-08-14 |title=The Screen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/08/14/archives/black-narcissus-british-study-of-missionary-nuns-starring-deborah.html |access-date=2024-05-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |volume=96 |issue=32709 |issn=0362-4331}} Republished in {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesfilm0003unse/page/2197 |title=The New York times film reviews |date=1968 |publisher=Arno Press |volume=3 |location=New York |page=2197 |url-access=registration |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

Writing in ''[[The Nation (magazine)| The Nation]]'' in 1947, critic [[James Agee]] stated, "It is all intended to be very "psychological," "atmospheric," "rueful," and "worldly wise." {{nbsp}}... Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were badly mistaken in trying to make a movie at all. There is some unusually good color photography, and as movie-making some of it is intelligent and powerful. But the pervasive attitude in and toward the picture makes it as a whole tedious and vulgar."<ref>Agee, James - ''Agee on Film Vol.1'' © 1958 by The James Agee Trust.</ref>

On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of [[List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes|100%]] based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10.<ref>{{cite web|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/black_narcissus |access-date=11 June 2024 |title=Black Narcissus (1947)}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 86 based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|website=[[Metacritic]] |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/black-narcissus |access-date=1 June 2023 |title= Black Narcissus}}</ref> Reviewing the film in 2005, [[Peter Bradshaw]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' gave it five out of five stars, praising its direction, performances, and production design, and calling it "an all-time top 10 favourite of mine".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2005/aug/05/3|title=Black Narcissus review|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Bradshaw|date=4 August 2005|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref> In another retrospective review, Tim Dirks of [[Filmsite]] called the film "provocative, dazzling and rich-colored".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmsite.org/blacknarcissus.html|title=Black Narcissus (1947)|last=Dirks|first=Tim|website=[[Filmsite]]|access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref>

====Awards and honours====
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:55%;"
|-
! style="width:23%;"| Institution
! style="width:20%;"| Category
! style="width:20%;"| Recipient
! style="width:12%;"| Result
! style="width:1%;" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| [[Academy Awards]]
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Color Cinematography]]
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Jack Cardiff]]
| {{won}}
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=awards>{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/5906/Black-Narcissus/awards |title=Black Narcissus&nbsp;– Awards |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022232036/https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/5906/Black-Narcissus/awards|department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 22, 2012 |archive-date=22 October 2012}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|  [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Color Art Direction]]
| style="text-align:center;"|  [[Alfred Junge]]
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | [[Golden Globe Award]]s
| style="text-align:center;"| Best Cinematography
| style="text-align:center;"| Jack Cardiff
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle]]
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Deborah Kerr]]
| {{won}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Kathleen Byron]]
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38852053/daily_news/| newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]| date=30 December 1947| page=28| last=Cameron| first=Kate| title=N.Y. Critics Pick Best Pix of '47| via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
|-
|}

===Home media===
[[The Criterion Collection]], an American home media distribution company, released ''Black Narcissus'' on [[laserdisc]] in the early 1990s, and issued it on [[DVD]] in 2002.<ref name=murray>{{cite web| url=https://www.avclub.com/black-narcissus-dvd-1798197271| website=[[The A.V. Club]]| title=Black Narcissus (DVD)| last=Murray| first=Noel| date=19 April 2002| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105024553/https://film.avclub.com/black-narcissus-dvd-1798197271| archive-date=5 November 2019}}</ref> Noel Murray, writing for ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', deemed the 2002 DVD as a "crackerjack release", noting it was a direct copy of the old laserdisc.<ref name=murray/>

In 2008, [[ITV Studios|ITV]], the corporate heir to [[the Rank Organisation]]'s General Film Distributors, released a restored version of the film on [[Blu-ray]] in the United Kingdom. The Criterion Collection subsequently issued the restored version on DVD and Blu-ray on 20 July 2010.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/43353/black-narcissus/| website=[[DVD Talk]]| title=Black Narcissus (Blu-ray review)| date=12 July 2010| last=Tyner| first=Adam| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818022943/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/43353/black-narcissus/| archive-date=18 August 2014}}</ref> Network Distributing, under licence from ITV, released another Blu-ray edition in the United Kingdom in 2014.<ref>{{cite web| website=Cineoutsider| title=Black Narcissus Blu-ray review| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322033910/http://www.cineoutsider.com/reviews/bluray/b/black_narcissus_br.html| url=http://www.cineoutsider.com/reviews/bluray/b/black_narcissus_br.html| archive-date=22 March 2019}}</ref>

==Historical relevance==
''Black Narcissus'' was released only a few months before [[Partition of India|India achieved independence]] from Britain in August 1947. Film critic [[Dave Kehr]] has suggested that the final images of the film, as the sisters abandon the Himalayas and proceed down the mountain, could have been interpreted by British viewers in 1947 as "a last farewell to their fading empire"; he suggests that for the film-makers, it is not an image of defeat "but of a respectful, rational retreat from something that England never owned nor understood".<ref>{{cite web |first=Dave |last=Kehr |url=http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/94 |title=Black Narcissus |website=[[The Criterion Collection]] |access-date=31 October 2009
|date=29 January 2001}}</ref> The story in the film quite closely follows that of the book, which was published in 1939.

==Legacy==
''Black Narcissus'' achieved acclaim for its pioneering technical mastery and shocked audiences at the time of release with its vibrant colour and the themes of the film. Audiences gasped at some of the scenes, notably the shot of the pink flowers which, shown on the big screen, was a spectacle at the time.<ref name="DVD">''Black Narcissus'' (The Criterion Collection) (2001) DVD commentary</ref> The film's lighting and techniques have had a profound impact on later film makers, notably [[Martin Scorsese]] who used the extreme close-ups of the sisters as the inspiration for the treatment of [[Tom Cruise]]'s character around the pool table in ''[[The Color of Money]]''.<ref name="DVD"/> Scorsese has said that the film, particularly in its last quarter, is one of the earliest erotic films.<ref name="DVD"/> The film was one of his favourites as a boy and one of the greatest experiences he has had with film is viewing ''Black Narcissus'' projected on a massive screen at the [[Directors Guild of America|Directors Guild]] in 1983. In Michael Powell's own view, this was the most erotic film he ever made. "It is all done by suggestion, but eroticism is in every frame and image from beginning to end. It is a film full of wonderful performances and passion just below the surface, which finally, at the end of the film, erupts." The English film critic [[Peter Bradshaw]], who put it on his list of the ten best films ever made, took Powell's statement further, and said that it was the most erotic film he had ever seen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |date=19 September 2019 |chapter=The Meaning of ''Black Narcissus'' |title=The Films that Made Me |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaWmDwAAQBAJ&q=black+narcissus&pg=PA200 |page=511 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4482-1756-4}}</ref>

In ''The Great British Picture Show'', the writer George Perry stated, "[Powell and Pressburger's] films looked better than they were&nbsp;– the location photography in Technicolor by [[Jack Cardiff]] in ''Black Narcissus'' was a great deal better than the story and lifted the film above the threatening banality." In contrast, the critic [[Ian Christie (film scholar)|Ian Christie]] wrote in the ''[[Radio Times]]'' in the 1980s that "unusually for a British film from the emotionally frozen forties the melodrama works so well it almost seems as if Powell and Pressburger survived the slings and barbs of contemporary criticism to find their ideal audience in the 1980s".{{sfn|Christie|1994}} [[Marina Warner]], introducing the film on BBC2 (on a nun-themed film evening, with ''[[Thérèse (film)|Thérèse]]''), called it a masterpiece.

The film's resonance with populations exploring previously stifled sexual desires and expression extends beyond its contemporary milieu of women in the post-war era. ''Black Narcissus'' also influenced the themes and aesthetic of the ground-breaking gay experimental film ''[[Pink Narcissus]]'', which portrays a series of pornographic vignettes in vivid colour as the fantasies of a prostitute between visits from his keeper.<ref name="Ottaviani">{{cite web |last1=Ottaviani |first1=Maria |title=James Bidgood, the pope of queer culture? |url=https://www.numero.com/en/photography/james-bidgood-queer-culture-pink-narcissus-movie-super-8-technicolor-kenneth-anger-pierre-et-gilles-david-lachapelle |website=Numero |access-date=3 April 2019}}</ref> Although ''Pink Narcissus'' was lost in obscurity for some time, in recent years it has resurfaced as a cult classic, due in part to the vivid, fantastical aesthetic inspired by ''Black Narcissus''.<ref name="Heath">{{cite web |last1=Heath |first1=Roderick |title=Pink Narcissus (1971) |url=http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2017/pink-narcissus-1971/30460/ |website=Ferdy on Films |access-date=3 April 2019 |date=14 May 2017}}</ref>

The look and cinematography of the 2013 Disney film ''[[Frozen (2013 film)|Frozen]]'' was influenced by ''Black Narcissus''. While working on the look and nature of the film's cinematography, ''Frozen'' art director Michael Giaimo was greatly influenced by Jack Cardiff's work in ''Black Narcissus''.<ref name="Desowitz">{{cite web |last=Desowitz |first=Bill |title=Immersed in Movies: First Look: Designing the Winter Wonderland of "Frozen" |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/animationscoop/frozen-preview-designing-arrendelle |website=Animation Scoop |access-date=22 October 2013 |date=7 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018044831/http://blogs.indiewire.com/animationscoop/frozen-preview-designing-arrendelle |archive-date=18 October 2013 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[BFI Top 100 British films]]
* [[Black Narcissus (TV series)|''Black Narcissus'' (TV series)]], a 2020 British series based on the same book
* [[Time Out 100 best British films]]

==References==
{{reflist|24em}}

'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book| last=Christie| first=Ian| title=Arrows of Desire: The Films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger| publisher=Faber & Faber| location=London| year=1994| isbn=978-0-5711-6271-0| url=https://archive.org/details/arrowsofdesirefi00chri}}
* {{cite book| last=Macdonald| first=Kevin| author-link=Kevin Macdonald (director)| title=Emeric Pressburger: The Life and Death of a Screenwriter| year=1994| publisher=Faber and Faber| location=London| isbn=978-0-571-16853-8| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/emericpressburge00macd}}
* {{cite book| last=Murphy| first=Robert| date=3 September 2003| title=Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xtGIAgAAQBAJ&q=Realism+and+Tinsel:+Cinema+and+Society+in+Britain+1939-48| publisher=Routledge| location=New York| isbn=978-1-134-90150-0}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Michael Powell|last=Powell |first=Michael |title=A Life in Movies: An Autobiography |publisher=[[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]] |location=London |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-3945-5935-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Slide |first=Anthony |date=15 December 1998 |title=Banned in the U.S.A.: British Films in the United States and Their Censorship, 1933-1966 |location=London |publisher=I. B. Taurus |isbn=978-1-860-64254-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Street |first=Sarah |chapter=Black Narcissus |title=Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide |edition=Revised |publisher=Penguin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6MIBDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 |date=29 September 2015 |page=64 |isbn=978-0-1475-1682-4}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Black Narcissus}}
* {{IMDb title|0039192}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/black-narcissus-am27508 ''Black Narcissus'' at AllMovie]
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|2=Black Narcissus}}
* {{TCMDb title|68909}}
* {{Screenonline title|438337}}, with a full synopsis, film stills, and clips viewable from UK libraries
* [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/47_BN Reviews and articles] at the Powell & Pressburger Pages
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1517-black-narcissus-empire-of-the-senses ''Black Narcissus: Empire of the Senses''] an essay by Kent Jones at the Criterion Collection
* [https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/11/sophie-goldstein-on-crafting-house-of-women-an-art.html Sophie Goldstein on Crafting House of Women, an Art Nouveau Sci-Fi Exploration]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/black-narcissus Gemma Arterton takes the lead role in new BBC and FXP drama Black Narcissus]

{{Powell and Pressburger}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1947 drama films]]
[[Category:1947 films]]
[[Category:1940s British films]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:1940s psychological drama films]]
[[Category:British erotic drama films]]
[[Category:British psychological drama films]]
[[Category:Films about educators]]
[[Category:Films about nuns]]
[[Category:Films about religion]]
[[Category:Films about sexual repression]]
[[Category:Films based on British novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Rumer Godden]]
[[Category:Films by Powell and Pressburger]]
[[Category:Films set in convents]]
[[Category:Films set in India]]
[[Category:Films set in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Films set in monasteries]]
[[Category:Films set in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1930s]]
[[Category:Films set in the British Raj]]
[[Category:Films set in the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Films shot at Pinewood Studios]]
[[Category:Films shot in England]]
[[Category:Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films scored by Brian Easdale]]