Black Narcissus

Fig.1

Black Narcissus was directed by Micheal Powel and Emeric Pressburger. This movie won an academic award for the best cinematography, best production design and a golden globe for best cinematography. The movie is well known because of the colours used which were a big thing in the 1940’s because the audience was used to watching black and white movies, the fact that they saw a coloured movie left them astounded.

Reverend Mother chose Sister Clodagh (played by Deborah Kerr) to lead a group of nuns who were sent in the Himalayas. Their aim was to work and establish a school and a hospital, however, they begin to question their faith as some falls of the path of righteousness and into temptation.

Fig.2

“The nuns' mountain enclave as an ashen and distant; colorless as the sisterhood's singular devotion to their vocation. The local Indian populace is backdropped with vibrant color, looking more natural and lively. But it is in the second half of the film where Powell's use of Technicolor is stunning. The introduction of the more vibrant hues dominate the film.” (Mirasol, 2010) Just as Mirasol said the mountain and the matte painting used to represent the contrast of colourless and colour was to show the purity of the nuns, and how it differs from the “ones” outside. The costumes were naturalistic as this is what you would expect a nun to wear, however when they arrived at the mountain in the Himalayas you are able to see people dressed in rags or beautiful, colourful, stylish clothes. The costume designs were thought of carefully and representatively as the costumes are what you would expect a specific character or class to wear. As the movie progresses you are able to see how the director uses costumes to represent the nuns and the “sinners.” For example, the lipstick scene, Sister Ruth (played by Kathleen Byron) was seen wearing a slim fit outfit describing her body figure and a knee-length skirt worn being able to show off her legs. In contrast to Sister Coldagh she wears the complete opposite of Sister Ruth. The directors chose to show all these different types of contrasts to represent the things that nuns have and don’t have and to show the temptations that are deep within them.

Fig.3

“an unsurpassed showcase for the possibilities of Technicolor — heightens the very meaning of the story, as a slash of red lipstick clashes with the bleached white of a nun’s habit to say so much about repressed desires.” (Thomas, 2015) as said before, the movie is commonly known because of its “Technicolor” and cinematography. When Sister Ruth decided to stop being a nun and got rejected by Dean (played by David Farrar) she decided to kill Sister Clodagh. The lighting surrounding her was red and dark as seen in Fig. 3 to represent evil and danger. The lighting got even more effective as it started from a high angle shot and gradually turned into a low angled shot making her look more devious.

Fig.4

“a magnificent performance from Kathleen Byron - who conceives an erotomaniacal obsession for Dean, and her final appearance in the film, gaunt and wraithlike, is still one of the scariest moments in British cinema history.” (Bradshaw, 2005) Agreeing with Bradshaw the acting was dramatically performed expressing everybody’s inner feelings for lust.

Overall, the lighting was one of the most important things in the movie as it helps express the characters emotions and intentions. Not only does it help the characters, however, helps a passive audience as they are warned that something is going to happen to make them feel tense.

Bibliography:

Bradshaw, Peter (2005) - Black Narcissus at:

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2005/aug/05/3 [Accessed: 13/12/2017]

 Mirasol, Michael (2010) - "Black Narcissus," which electrified Scorsese at: https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/black-narcissus-which-electrified-scorsese [Accessed: 13/12/2017]

Thomas, William (2015) - Black Narcissus Review at: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/black-narcissus/review/ [Accessed: 13/12/2017]

Illustration:

Fig.1 - Black Narcissus - Micheal Powel, Emeric Pressburger – Movie Poster (1940)

Fig.2 - Black Narcissus - Micheal Powel, Emeric Pressburger – Still Image (1947)

Fig.3 - Black Narcissus - Micheal Powel, Emeric Pressburger – Still Image (1947)

Fig.4 - Black Narcissus - Micheal Powel, Emeric Pressburger – Gif image (2000)