Review of Black Narcissus (1947) by Joe C — 04 Aug 2015
Only the visual visionary dream team of Powell and Pressburger could've made a film so aesthetically striking that Technicolor's then CEO claimed it was the best utilization of their process. P&P's borderline-insane efforts for artistic perfection in Black Narcissus was rewarded with censorships by a studio that feared exposing nuns to temptation would invoke controversy.
The sexual and sacrilegious undertones, now hilariously subtle by today's standards, have since faded and brought to light what a brilliant marriage of style and substance Black Narcissus truly is.
The plot concerns a group of nuns setting up convent in the Himalayas as they toil against the endless wind and native drumming on the outside and the lusty forces on the inside, but it's the imagery that make this film essential.
This is visual storytelling at its most astonishing, with an enrapturing elegiac atmosphere that seems to possess the whole film, and the most emotional rainstorm in history acting as the fitting denouement.
This review of Black Narcissus (1947) was written by Joe C on 04 Aug 2015.
Black Narcissus has generally received very positive reviews.
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