Film Review - Black Narcissus

This review will focus on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger film Black
Narcissus (1947) and how it is using the environment in form of set design and lighting as
an active component of the story and feel of the film. Key sources will be the artwork of
Walter Percy Day and concept art by Alfred Junge.

The film is about a group of British nuns moving to a new convent in an isolated village in
the Himalayas, which previously was used as a brother. Therefore the endless mountains,
as well as the joyful oriental feel of the place reawakens their suppressed passions which
causes a lot of conflict between the nuns.

While the story is located in India , the whole film was shot in a studio in the UK. They
used a combination of models and matte paintings to achieve the “fairytale“ India in the
film. The director Michael Powell said that they “decided to do the whole thing in the
studio“ because that way they “managed to maintain colour control to the very end“. He
added that “sometimes in a film its theme or its colour are more important than the plot.“

In the case of Black Narcissus the famous British painter Walter Percy Day and his team
had the most important role of the film by bringing the “fairytale“ India to life . His
“majesctic“ matte paintings provided the film with its breathtaking mountains of the
Himalayas, “adding a heavily stylized simulation of depth to a movie full of emotionally
evocative patterns of colors and shadow“. (Dorrk, 2016)

Fig 1 - Set without matte painting Fig 2 - Set with matte painting

Not only the outside shots of Black Narcissus are entrancing, but also the inside of the
place is full of abstract wallpaintings that catch your eye. Especially the colourful central
chamber (Figure 3) and “its lush blue frescoes take the power of the Himalayan exterior
and morph it into a floral delirium“ (Walber, 2016). However the new convent fails to hide
the buildings original purpose through paintings of naked women on the walls. Their
drawing style represents the old-fashioned orientalism and its joyful and free lifestyle as
seen in figure 4.

Fig 3 - central chamber Fig 4 - Painting in the movie

The extraordinary set design is the work of Alfred Junge, which concept art looks almost
identical to the final shot of the movie. His drawings provided “important cues for set
construction, set decoration, lighting, and cinematography“ (Dietrich, 2010). Junge’s
attention to detail, like the intricate carving or hand-painted murals, is the reasons why
this film feels so real.

Fig 5 - Concept drawing by Junge Fig 6 - Still from the movie

But the exotic set doesn’t only have an impact on the viewers but also the characters
itself. The plain white robes of the nuns clash with the colourful erotic wall paintings
surrounding them. They simply doesn’t seem to fit in their new convent since it is a big
contrast to their original Calcutta convent which had no paintings and bare white walls
(Fig 7). The oriental lifestyle expressed through dancing, music and colourful clothing of
the natives is a constant reminder of the ignored inner needs of the nuns. Furthermore the
beautiful landscape of the mountains is distracting them and tempts them to get lost in
the emotions and passions they had to depress.

Fig 7 - Calcutta convent Fig 8 - New St. Faith convent

The visual compelling film Black Narcissus by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
(1947) shows the conflict between two different world views of the strong Christian
believe of the nuns and the passionate lifestyle in Hinduism. That is supported by the
sexuality of the breathtaking environment, created by Walter Percy Day and Alfred Junge,
which reawakens their past lives and inner needs.

Therefore the nuns are like the convent itself – pure white from the outside, but hiding the
joyful pleasure of life inside.

Illustration List

Fig. 1 - Set without matte painting - http://www.thepropgallery.com/painting-in-pictures-

the-lost-art-of-the-matte-shot

Fig 2 - Set with matte painting- http://www.thepropgallery.com/painting-in-pictures-the-

lost-art-of-the-matte-shot

Fig 3 - Central chamber - http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2016/5/23/the-furniture-

black-narcissuss-maddening-matte-paintings.html

Fig 4 - Paintings in the movie - http://criterioncollection.blogspot.com/2009/08/93-black-

narcissus.html

Fig 5 - Concept drawing by Junge - https://silverscenesblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/set-

design-black-narcissus-1947.html

Fig 6 - Still from the movie - https://silverscenesblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/set-design-

black-narcissus-1947.html

Fig 7 - Calcutta convent - http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2016/5/23/the-furniture-

black-narcissuss-maddening-matte-paintings.html

Fig 8 - New St. Faith convent - https://medialifecrisis.com/acting-out/popgap-19-black-

narcissus-1947.html

Harvard List

Dessem, M. (2009). #93: Black Narcissus. [online] Criterioncollection.blogspot.com.

Available at: http://criterioncollection.blogspot.com/2009/08/93-black-narcissus.html
[Accessed 18 Nov. 2018].

Dietrich, A. (2010). Production Design: Alfred Junge's Oscar-winning design for "Black
Narcissus". [online] Sites.utexas.edu. Available at: https://sites.utexas.edu/
ransomcentermagazine/2010/01/28/production-design-alfred-junges-oscar-winning-
design-for-black-narcissus/ [Accessed 18 Nov. 2018].

Dorrk (2016). PopGap #19: Black Narcissus (1947). [online] Media Life Crisis. Available at:
https://medialifecrisis.com/acting-out/popgap-19-black-narcissus-1947.html [Accessed
18 Nov. 2018].

Rogers, N. (2016). The Furniture: Black Narcissus's Maddening Matte Paintings - Blog -

The Film Experience. [online] Thefilmexperience.net. Available at: http://
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2016/5/23/the-furniture-black-narcissuss-maddening-matte-
paintings.html [Accessed 18 Nov. 2018].

Sisters, T. (2014). Set Design - Black Narcissus ( 1947 ). [online]

Silverscenesblog.blogspot.com. Available at: https://silverscenesblog.blogspot.com/
2014/05/set-design-black-narcissus-1947.html [Accessed 18 Nov. 2018].

Thepropgallery.com. (2018). The Prop Gallery | Painting in pictures - The lost art of the
matte shot. [online] Available at: http://www.thepropgallery.com/painting-in-pictures-the-
lost-art-of-the-matte-shot [Accessed 18 Nov. 2018].