| Black Narcissus (The Criterion Collection) | 
| Director: Emeric Pressburger;Michael Powell
Actors: Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Flora Robson, Jean Simmons, Sabu
Studio: Criterion Collection
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $27.49
as of 9/7/2010 09:10 CDT details
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Rating:  79 reviews
Sales Rank: 24,952
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 715515061117
UPC: 715515061117
EAN: 0715515061117
ASIN: B003ICZW7I
Theatrical Release Date: 1947
Release Date: July 20, 2010
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Product Description
Led by the stern Sister Clodagh, a group of nuns tries to establish a convent in the Himalayas.
Amazon.com
Appropriately enough for a picture named for a flower, Black Narcissus exists in a color-drenched, hothouse atmosphere. The setting is a nunnery in the Himalayas, where sister Deborah Kerr has her hands full with an envious nun (the remarkable Kathleen Byron) and a sardonic Englishman (David Farrar). Director Michael Powell and screenwriter Emeric Pressburger, the team responsible for the mid-forties masterpieces A Stairway to Heaven and The Red Shoes, decided to shoot Black Narcissus entirely in the studio, so they could create their own controlled, slightly unreal world. The choice paid off, as both art director Alfred Junge and cinematographer Jack Cardiff won Oscars for their blazing Technicolor work. The climactic sequence--a murder attempt on the cliffs of the cloister--bears special attention, as Powell "set" the sequence to a preexisting musical track, staging it as though it were a piece of visual choreography. Adding a bit of behind-the-scenes tension to the production was the fact that Kerr was the director's ex-mistress, and Byron his current one. "It was a situation not uncommon in show business, I was told," he later wrote, "but it was new to me." --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 79
 High Class Criterion August 22, 2010
Mjhood
Great issue from Criterion. There is no need for me to speak about this movie - enough has already been said about this great classic.
If anyone really wants to see what bluray can do for an old classic movie,then this (and the sister issue from Criterion "The Red Shoes")is it. Combined with the movie's own recent full restoration and criterion's attention to every detail - this is an absolute joy to watch - buy it.
Two minor criticisms - It is the slowest loading bluray I have yet to experience (not serious)
And - it is a Region A locked issue.
There are many devoted followers of The Criterion Collection here in europe, who will always prefer their releases (for obvious reasons), but will have to watch out which of them are locked or not.Thankfully [...] keeps us up to date with this imformation.
Try to Resist! July 27, 2010
S. P. McCauley
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A must have. This is state of the art blu-ray imaging--so sharp and detailed the close-ups are constantly startling. The long shots and landscapes are breathtaking.
With proper color-balance settings, the nuns look appropriately pale, while The Archers' logo and the vibrant flowers and foliage are still stunningly brilliant. One of the supplements notes that after two weeks of shooting, Jack Cardiff complained that even though the actresses were wearing NO make up (purposely to produce an appropriate pallor), their lips were photographing as red as if they were wearing lipstick--so they used a concealer over their natural lip color to mute this effect. As this pallor is intentional, and the first few scenes are almost monochromatic, try to resist the temptation to crank up the color. Be patient, because the film establishes this early quiet, pale baseline as contrast to the florid, exotic seduction and horrifying madness and tragedy to follow. This is glorious melodrama exalted to classic tragedy, that brilliantly shows an order of women--repressing their memories and their desires--uprooted, and physically AND emotionally unsettled and seduced by new surroundings that are exotic, and erotic, and dangerous.
This masterpiece has shocked and haunted us for decades. The stunning blu-ray redoubles that pleasure.
 Chromatic Flutter July 25, 2010
Thunderhead22 (Decatur, GA USA)
I'm a big fan of this movie. I hate to knock a star off the Criterion blu-ray, but there is a flaw that I can't ignore. Perhaps this goes back to the original Technicolor, but there is a consistent instability in the color throughout the film. It's most noticeable in scenes involving the nuns (pale faces, white walls, and light colored clothing). It's as if subtle color filters are rapidly appearing and disappearing. This seems to be an effect that could have been addressed in the remastering process. I find it quite distracting. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has noticed this. Still a worthy buy though.
Nuns Go Wild in Mystical Classic July 19, 2010
A Customer (L.A.)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Sublime and serious as a heart attack; this film concerns a convent beset by mundane and mystical sexual disturbances. Sabu and Jean Simmons join Deborah Kerr in this "noir"ish quicksand of a morality tale by the potent Powell and Pressberger team. They are as slick as anybody today.
Criterion's BD tops all previous versions; including ITV's BD's pic and more so the sound .
Astonishingly clear...... April 17, 2010
stephen (Sydney, Australia)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Unlike the 50 or so other reviewers who insist on repeating the plot of this extraordinary film, ad nauseam, I am actually going to review the product. This is the most astonishingly clear DVD remaster I have ever seen. It is on par with the wonderful DVD remaster of "The Wizard of Oz".
The texture and colour of this film is amazing for a 63 year film and the lighting and cinematography is brillant.Thye have taken out the film 'noise' and artefacts and produced wonderfully rich colour and shading! The improvement over even new DVD's is startingly and one of the best I have seen. Highly recommended and if you want to see an amazing film that has been treated with great respect, this is it. Happy viewing.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 79
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