Tribute to Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger 2010 / Black Narcissus / United Kingdom 1947
Awarded two Oscars, this psychological drama with an intense erotic charge tells the story of a group of English nuns (portrayed, among others, by Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron) whose efforts to transform a former harem into a hospital and school high in the Himalayas come up against the sensuous atmosphere of a world shrouded in mystery.
This 1947 psychological drama deserves an honored place in British film history not only for its exceptional camerawork (Jack Cardiff won an Oscar) but also as one of the first films with an intensely erotic charge. Rumer Godden’s novel served as the literary basis for a story about a group of English nuns who undertake a journey to a remote Himalayan village. There they attempt to convert the palace of an Oriental ruler into a hospital and a school for local children. Guided by strict rules, the community of nuns comes up against the sensuous atmosphere of the mysterious high mountain location that once served an autocratic rajah as a harem. With the emphasis on the conflict between discipline and passion, Powell and Pressburger anticipate the central theme of The Red Shoes, but in the present case involving the controversial theme of nuns’ suppressed desires, they make greater use of the mystical power of the landscape (as in I Know Where I’m Going!). Production designer Alfred Junge also won an Oscar, and he and Cardiff deserve the lion’s share of the credit for creating the illusion of breathtaking Himalayan scenery at London’s Pinewood Studios.
102 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
/ Screenplay Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger podle stejnojmenného románu Rumer Goddenové / based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden
/ Dir. of Photography Jack Cardiff
/ Music Brian Easdale
/ Editor Reginald Mills
/ Producer Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
/ Production The Archers
/ Cast Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, David Farrar, Jean Simmons, Sabu
/ Contact Park Circus Group
Park Circus Group
15 Woodside Crescent, G37UL, Glasgow
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 141 332 2175
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