Director
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Leading Actors/Actresses
Deborah Kerr, Sabu, and David Farrar
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Kathleen Byron, Flora Robson, and Jenny Laird
Genre
Psychological Thriller
Language
English
Awards
Won the Academy Award for Best Color Cinematography and Best Color Art Direction
Date of Release
13th August 1947
Producer
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Setting and Context
The Himalayan Mountains
Narrator and Point of View
Told from a third-person point of view
Tone and Mood
Erotic, Chaotic, Violent, Sickening, and Fantastical
Protagonist and Antagonist
The Nuns (Protagonists) vs. their conditions (weather, isolation, altitude, etc.) [Antagonists]
Major Conflict
The Nun's struggle to establish a convent in the mountains despite rough weather, altitude, and other bad conditions.
Climax
When the screen turns red as Ruth screams “Clodagh” constantly
Foreshadowing
Ruth not renewing her vows is foreshadowed early on in the film
Understatement
The power of religion is understated in the film.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
At the time of release, Black Narcissus' use of color was exceptionally innovative (particularly a shot towards the start of the film of a pink flower).
Allusions
The book of the same name on which the film is based by Rumer Godden, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Cantebury Tale (1943), The Spy in Black (1937), geography, history, religion, and more specifically, the Bible.
Paradox
Sister Ruth is mentally ill, yet is sent to a place which is not at all conducive to her mental health.
Parallelism
N/A
