Fresh
There's something truly unearthly about this place of howling winds, yawning chasms and atmosphere thick with temptation. Sanctity, it will be proven, is no match for sin.
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York
Black Narcissus
A story of exquisite yearning in a strange and beautiful land. Towering over the screen ... as the mountains that saw it happen.
1947 · 1h 40m · Approved
Drama
Directed by
Michael Powell
,
Emeric Pressburger
Overview
A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.
Director and cast
- Michael Powell Director
- Emeric Pressburger Director
- Deborah Kerr as Sister Clodagh
- David Farrar as Mr. Dean
- Flora Robson as Sister Philippa
- Kathleen Byron as Sister Ruth
- Sabu as The Young General
- Jean Simmons as Kanchi
- Jenny Laird as Sister Honey
- Judith Furse as Sister Briony
- Esmond Knight as The Old General
- May Hallatt as Angu Ayah
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
100%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Powell's equally extravagant visual style transforms it into a landscape of the mind -- grand and terrible in its thorough abstraction.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Fresh
Production has gained much through being in color. The production and camerawork atone for minor lapses in the story, Jack Cardiff's photography being outstanding.
Variety Staff, Variety
Fresh
Theatre this Michael Powell film most certainly is, as stressed by the gothic melodrama of the story and the acting, the studio setting with its beautiful backdrops and vivid colours and the most deliberate of characters and events.
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
Fresh
While Messrs. Powell and Pressburger may have a picture that will disturb and antagonize some, they also have in Black Narcissus an artistic accomplishment of no small proportions.
Thomas M. Pryor, New York Times
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Comments
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