Episode 270: BLACK NARCISSUS (1947)

Five nuns. One Briton man-whore. A harem-turned-convent high in the Himalayas. Fellas – what could go wrong???

In Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s BLACK NARCISSUS, an adaptation of Rumer Godden’s 1947 novel, external conditions reveal internal torment: Altitude, wind, and culture clashes in the hilltop former harem of Mopu help expose the repressed desires of a sisterhood operating in Calcutta. In our discussion of this Technicolor classic, we discuss BLACK NARCISSUS’s potential misnomer as a “haunted house” movie; its cultural implications in the wake of the British empire’s slipping stranglehold over India post-World War II; and how the film’s art, direction, and performances highlight its masterful double-dip into both “high” and “low” art.

Donate to help our friend and previous guest Nick Ransbottom get life-saving cystic fibrosis care:
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“Why Black Narcissus is a Haunted House Movie” by Sophie Durbin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2024/03/03/why-black-narcissus-is-a-haunted-house-movie/

“Black Narcissus” by Dave Kehr for The Current (2001): https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/94-black-narcissus

"‘Black Narcissus,' British Study of Missionary Nuns, Starring Deborah Kerr, Bill at Fulton -- Based on Novel by Godden” for The New York Times (1947): https://www.nytimes.com/1947/08/14/archives/black-narcissus-british-study-of-missionary-nuns-starring-deborah.html

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Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Closing audio: "Opening Theme" by Brian Easdale from the BLACK NARCISSUS soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 270: BLACK NARCISSUS (1947)

5:59 - The episode actually starts

8:03 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

10:05 - He’s a whore

12:29 - Location, ‘haunted house,’ and orientalism

20:15 - The movie’s construction and our mileage with BLACK NARCISSUS

25:35 - Irreverence, manipulative cinematography, and use of Technicolor

38:42 - Using heightened reality to reflect a certain perspective

44:12 - Mr. Dean, the holy man Sir Krishna Rai, and counterbalancing the nuns

54:02 - Striking scene-setting and an introduction to Mopu as a character

59:37 - The ending of the movie and why Cody muted the phrase “BLACK NARCISSUS” on Twitter

1:12:48 - The Junk Drawer

1:24:27 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1947

1:26:50 - Cody’s Noteys: Pack of Narcissists (trivia about people who excel in their fields)