Black Narcissus (1947)

The greatest movie ever made..!

disgusting, overrated, pointless

Brilliant and touching

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

BLACK NARCISSUS is a sumptuous film. From the psychological point of view this is a particular type of incident or conflict of two distinct human nature. Physical and spiritual. Luxurious scenery and great costumes become a trademark of British films, at least in this period. Some staff work wonderfully. Technicolor with this fact has nothing to do. It affects the overall impression, however, is not decisive.In this film all the elements are somehow synchronized. The story is not controversial. The conflict between the soul and the body is.Cynical drama about morals. How is this movie actually intelligent? Seek solace in religion and reject the love and passion that inflict only pain. In this regard see the two frustrated dominant women is interesting. It is not intelligent. Religious practices and commitment are closely linked with the social environment. The magnificent beauty of nature and primitive society are contrasts that influence the human psyche. Black Narcissus is not something so special. The film definitely has its own magic. The essence of the conflict.Deborah Kerr as Sister Clodagh is confident in her performance. Character challenged. The commitment of heart and mind. Kathleen Byron as Sister Ruth is truly magnificent, at times erotic, women with strong emotion. The conflict between the two main female character is the culmination of the story. Both in different ways touch the bottom. The film is an explosion of color, beauty and hidden passions that eventually erupt together.

A film about emotional tensions, jealousy and lust starring... nuns. That automatically makes this religious drama considerably more interesting, but with its amazing photography and acting, this emotional roller coaster hits peaks as high as the mountain range it's set in. The story follows a group of nuns and their emotional crisis while isolated in a valley in the Himalayas. This is the first Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger film that I've seen, and based on this I'd certainly be up for watching more. Sadly, like many older movies it suffers from pacing problems which will put off viewers used to faster paced and dumber modern cinema. Still, despite its dips, it completes its dramatic story arc in satisfying style and ultimately delivers on the hard hitting emotion. It's a very well acted movie, with Deborah Kerr standing out in particular as the lead, while every shot is stunning. It's a very well filmed movie and many images linger in the memory long after the emotionally stirring ending.Black Narcissus works very well as a story. It's emotional without being manipulative and sentimental and the characters are complex and fully realized. It may seem slow and mundane to modern viewers, which admittedly it is at times, but whenever the pace dips the film usually manages to regain your attention one way or another. Thematically it's a deep movie, and thanks to intelligent writing it all comes together very well. Today it remains a striking film, but it's difficult to imagine how powerful this was for viewers in 1947. It's recommended viewing for those who enjoy classic movies and it's a triumph for British cinema. It's not as quite as strong as, say, The Third Man, but be prepared before viewing. This one has a real sting even today, and it's worth watching for the wonderful cinematography alone.9/10

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's Black Narcissus is a movie about nuns that takes every religious drama up to a whole new level. The movie tells the story about 5 nuns who are Protestants instead of Catholics led by Sister Clodagh (played by Deborah Kerr) who end up setting up a school in the Himalayas with lots of struggles of their own with lots of children wanting to learn things from them. The way that both Powell and Pressburger direct this movie reminds me of how the Coen brothers would direct their movies only that the Coen brothers movies are much more entertaining. There was a lot of other great performances in this movie from Kathleen Byron as the nun who is really sick of what Sister Clodagh is doing that she gets driven insane, a young Jean Simmons as an Indian teenager known to cause trouble frequently, Flora Robson, Jenny Laird, and Judith Furse as the three other nuns, Sabu (who was famous for playing Mowgli in the 1942 adaptation of The Jungle Book) as the young General, and David Farrar as Mr. Dean a man who would always help the nuns with their work and answer any questions they had for him. The most entertaining part of this movie is one of the final scenes in which you see Sister Clodagh is ringing the bell and then you see Sister Ruth (played by Kathleen Byron) trying to kill her when the attempt fails and especially for my first time ever seeing this film and that scene was the scene in the film that I least expected to happen. A masterpiece, as well as one of the greatest movies ever made.

After opening a convent in the Himalayas, five nuns encounter conflict and tension - both with the natives and also within their own group - as they attempt to adapt to their remote, exotic surroundings.This film has absolutely amazing color, and has gone on to be known as the film that best demonstrated how Technicolor should be used. I would agree completely with this assessment. I had no idea that color could look so good in the 1940s, and in many ways it looks better than it does today.The film's themes are also good. Some have said it is about "nuns and lust", but not in the sense that was made popular in the 1970s. That is certainly true, but many other themes exist -- not the least of which is the British influence on India, not long before their independence.