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| Fig 1: Black Narcissus film poster. |
A fascinating rendition of the original novel “Black Narcissus” (1939), written by
Rumer Godden, the film “Black Narcissus” (1947)
directed by the duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is a post World War
II emotional drama that conveys the journey of lust, jealousy, eroticism and sinfulness.
A group of nuns, who are indefinitely holy and
conservative, are suddenly shrouded in seduction and temptation with the accompaniment of a handsome man. This film can be seen to also include horror
nearing the ending, and such a contrast is amounted compared to the beginning.
Upon further research, the film’s title originates from
the perfume that the general in the film uses. As Michael Mirasol explains: “It’s scent taken from a flower, named after
a Greek mythological youth of the same name, who died of his own vanity.”
(Mirasol, 2010).
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| Fig 2: The Sexualised Male: Mr Dean |
There is a heavy contrast between the gentle nuns and the
isolated structure situated high on the mountains – two worlds collide and
clash, with unknown circumstances. The nuns are seemingly repressed; they have
let go of their worldly ties, dedicated themselves to God and doing good, only
to come to a land full of lust and temptation, thus throwing them face first
into the aspects they were avoiding.
Of course, the main artery of this feature are the
symbols of sex and presence of sexual tension. The audience see the enormous
bell rung many times, long, protruding horns played by men, the character Mr.
Dean (as seen in Fig 2) with his revealing body and handsome features; here Joseph Jon Lanthier
elaborates on this: “The story teased and
tempted Anglo nuns into a hornily unholy froth through the piercing clarity of
the Himalayan elements and the ubiquity of Hindu fertility totems”
(Lanthier, 2012). Indeed, the viewers are also presented with wall paintings of
naked figures that coat an entire room, so that there isn’t a possibility to
look at anything else. Being seen a few times, this emphasizes the sexual
content even more.
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| Fig 3: Sister Ruth and Sister Clodagh |
Another intriguing factor to “Black Narcissus” (1947) is the use of male objectification. The
singular character, Mr Dean, is straight away shown to be a object of pleasure;
some eye candy, and is almost always in high cut shorts showing off his legs,
or shirtless or exposing his chest in some way; his handsome features host
green glistening eyes that captivate who ever looks at him. This all adds up to
the main cause of sexual frustration between the nuns. In addition to this, his
flirtatious manner and attention seeking is usually seen in the female
character. The roles are also reversed for the nuns – the main female characters
are fully covered up, showing no skin except hands and face.
The interesting
point of male objectification comes from how throughout cinematography and film
in general, the female is seen as a sex symbol, invites male attention, and is
usually “something for the men”, so this change in roles is quite refreshing,
and challenges the norm.
The immense contrast from the beginning of the film,
which is innocent, orderly and calm, to the end that is tragic, dark and
dramatic is careful unraveled as the film goes on.
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| Fig 4: An example of the matte painting used |
A group of five nuns decide to create a school and
hospital on the site which is high on the Himalayan mountains. Upon arriving,
Sister Clodagh (seen in Fig 3) speaks to Mr Dean about work, where as he is straight away
playful, flirtatious and not at all serious. His charming manner does appear to
have some sort of effect on Sister Clodagh (seen in Figs 5 and 6), however it has an even bigger
effect on Sister Ruth, who becomes increasingly jealous of her superior. At the
same time, Sister Clodagh recalls when she was in love with a young man of her
past, her past lover is supposedly reminded because of the presence of Mr Dean. Michael Mirasol goes on to explain: “Ruth, who was
emotionally disturbed even before joining the expedition seems to become
completely unhinged once Dean shows her an act of kindness which she might have
been seeking for so long” (Mirasol, 2010). Once rejected by Dean, she is
shown to be almost possessed with evil, and returns to the mountains in attempt
to push Clodagh of the cliffs edge, however in a climatic ending, it is Ruth
who plummets to her death.
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| Fig 5: The change in Ruth |
It can be seen that the gradual “madness” of Ruth
materializes with her reddened under eyes, warm red lighting and eventually, her
removal of holy garments and addition of red lipstick and a red dress. Note the
theme of the colour red: this can be linked to love, lust and passion –
something with Ruth is desperately longing for. Ultimately, her own demise
resulted in her desperation and clouded thoughts; extreme sexual frustration and tension.
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| Fig 6: Ruth removes her nun robes and applied red lipstick. |
Looking at the actual surroundings and set of “Black Narcissus” (1947), the use of miniatures, highly detailed matte paintings (seen in Fig 4), production art and Technicolor all
contribute to a highly immersive experience. Even with the lack of music at
times, it focuses the viewers on the characters words, and when there is music,
it fits well with the highly dramatic and tense scenes – loud string music
blares at you and heightens the senses.
All in all, “Black Narcissus” (1947) is a film not to be missed. It sits on the brink of the
end of World War II, and at this time, the world of cinema was a rich period in
film history. The relief of the end of the War can be seen with the time, dedication
and production art of this film.
Bibliography
Lanthier, J. December 30, 2012. Black Narcissus, Slant Magazine, (Accessed on 10/11/2015) http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/black-narcissus
Mirasol, M. March 5, 2010. "Black Narcissus" Which Electrified Scorsese, rogerebert.com, (Accessed on 10/11/2015) http://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/black-narcissus-which-electrified-scorsese
Pryor, T. August 14, 1947. BLACK NARCISSUS, nytimes.com, (Accessed on 10/11/2015)
Illustration List
Fig 1: "Black Narcissus film poster." (Accessed on 10/11/2015) http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Posters/B/Poster%20-%20Black%20Narcissus_10.jpg
Fig 2: "The Sexualised Male: Mr Dean" (Accessed on 10/11/2015) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIORUwKVo7nIZtQdar_JuZRuJufIyuHCzPbiiNLh76J1fnzaHXhVnq9Ubtr3_QbZJSrCuBpqh3Cu1xiyh6RJ1M2zW2CQv7lvrpZpXWcqaaCPP2fOlkrVV4TVCAAmXVN1xVmdtxOFw_VwgN/s1600/black-narcissus-10.jpg
Fig 3: "Sister Ruth and Sister Clodagh" (Accessed on 10/11/2015) http://www.cineoutsider.com/reviews/pix/b/bl/blacknarcissus06.jpg
Fig 4: "An example of the matte painting being used" (Accessed on 10/11/2015) https://40.media.tumblr.com/6eebe06d8c3510db4f6e835b57891ae1/tumblr_ng53biG9Kn1rtynt1o1_500.jpg
Fig 5: "The change in Ruth" (Accessed on 10/11/2015) http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5460e7eee4b076fac27240d4/t/559c9992e4b0e5fcdc233efb/1436326291576/
Fig 6: "Ruth removes her nun robes and applied red lipstick" (Accessed on 10/11/2015) http://image.glamourdaze.com/2012/09/1940s-lipstick-Kathleen-Byron-in-Black-NarcissusC.jpg
Interesting review Manisha - good discussion around the 'role reversal' between the objectification of men and women :)
ReplyDeleteMy only suggestion would be that you order your images more logically...so for example, at the moment your matte painting example is sitting rather randomly in amongst other discussions, where it would have made more sense to have it nearer the end, where you are actually discussing the technique.
Also, in the bibliography, you only need the year, not the month too, and that should be in brackets.
Looking forward to reading the next one!