Black Narcissus (1947) - The Criterion Collection
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Black Narcissus
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Blu-Ray
1 Disc
SRP: $39.95
Criterion Store price:$31.96 + Add to CartAdd to Wish List
United Kingdom
1947
101 minutes
1.33:1
English
Spine #93
SYNOPSIS: This explosive work about the conflict between the spirit and the flesh is the epitome of the sensuous style of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. A group of nuns¡ªplayed by some of Britain¡¯s finest actresses, including Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, and Flora Robson¡ªstruggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad. A darkly grand film that won Oscars for Alfred Junge¡¯s art direction and Jack Cardiff¡¯s cinematography , Black Narcissus is one of the greatest achievements by two of cinema¡¯s true visionaries.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
Sister Clodagh
Deborah Kerr
The Young General
Sabu
Mr. Dean
David Farrar
Sister Philippa
Flora Robson
The Old General
Esmond Knight
Kanchi
Jean Simmons
Sister Ruth
Kathleen Byron
Sister Honey
Jenny Laird
Sister Briony
Judith Furse
Angu Ayah
May Hallatt
Joseph Anthony
Eddie Whaley, Jr.
Con
Shaun Noble
Mother Dorothea
Nancy Roberts
Credits
Director
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Written, produced, and directed by
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Adapted from the novel by
Rumer Godden
Photographed in Technicolor by
Jack Cardiff
Music and sound score composed and conducted by
Brian Easdale
Editing
Reginald Mills
Costumes
Hein Heckroth
Production design
Alfred Junge
Disc Features
New, restored high-definition digital transfer, created with the participation of cinematographer Jack Cardiff and director Michael Powell¡¯s widow, editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
Video introduction by filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier
Audio commentary featuring Powell and director Martin Scorsese
The Audacious Adventurer, a video piece in which Tavernier discusses the film and Powell
Profile of ¡°Black Narcissus,¡± a documentary featuring members of the Archers¡¯ production team
Painting with Light, a documentary on Cardiff¡¯s Oscar-winning work on Black Narcissus
Original theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Kent Jones
From the CurrentView the Current ?
Film Essays
Black Narcissus: Empire of the Senses
By Kent Jones July 20, 2010
¡°It is the most erotic film that I have ever made,¡± wrote Michael Powell of Black Narcissus. ¡°It is all done by suggestion, but eroticism is in every Read more ?
Black Narcissus
By Dave KehrJanuary 29, 2001
When Black Narcissus opened in England in 1947, Great Britain was barely emerging from the agony and exhaustion of World War II. Nothing could be further from gray, hungry postwar Read more ?
Black Narcissus
By Ronald HaverJuly 11, 1998
Black Narcissus was the sixth production from that remarkable pair of artists Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, collectively known as The Archers, who dominated the creative Read more ?
Photo Galleries
Scaling the Himalayas
Interviews
On Jack Cardiff: An Interview with Cameraman director Craig McCall
May 13, 2011
Craig McCall¡¯s labor of love documentary Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff, a darling of the film festival circuit Read more ?
News
Cardiff Documentary Opens
September 10, 2010
Starting today, Angelenos should dance their way over to the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theatre in West Hollywood, where the new documentary Cameraman: The Life and Work of Read more ?
The BFI Celebrates Cardiff¡¯s Career
May 05, 2010
Oscar-winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff, whose ravishing Technicolor compositions graced the Powell and Pressburger tours de force Black Narcissus and Read more ?
Clippings
Celebrating Cardiff
January 19, 2011
British cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who passed away in 2009 at the age of ninety-four, was a Technicolor trailblazer. When the American film lab opened an outpost at England¡¯s Read more ?
Powers¡¯s Picks
December 03, 2010
¡¯Tis the season for DVD gift guides, and critic John Powers is quick out of the gate with a lineup of movie recommendations for NPR¡¯s Fresh Air. Among his top choices are works Read more ?
Press Notes
Press Notes: Black Narcissus
July 21, 2010
¡°The most beautiful Technicolor movie ever made,¡± writes critic Ty Burr in a Boston Globe review of the new Criterion release of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger¡¯s Read more ?
Other Editions
DVD
1 Disc
SRP: $29.95
Criterion Store price:$23.96 + Add to CartAdd to Wish List
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