Black Narcissus (1947) Review

This review will be covering British writer-producer-director team Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s
Black Narcissus (1947) and will be looking at melodrama and how it is found within the Film, using set designs,
lighting and colour choices. Key sources in this review will be Jim Davis and Janice Norwood’s ‘The History And
Legacy Of Melodrama’, which investigates the history of melodrama, Michael Walker’s ‘Black Narcissus’ which
looks at exploring the film’s symbolism and is shown through different methods like lighting and colour choice,
and Kent Jones’s essay, ‘Black Narcissus: Empire of the Senses’ which talk about different symbolism in the film.

Fig 1: Black Narcissus (1947)

Black Narcissus tells the story about a group of Anglican nuns, who travel to the Himalayas to set up a convert
in a former brothel. However, their surroundings threaten to seduce them, one of which is the local British agent,
Mr Dean (David Farrar). Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), the Sister Superior, is attempting to forget a failed romance
from her home in Ireland. Tensions mount as Dean's laid-back charm makes an impression on Clodagh, but also
attracts the mentally unstable Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron), who becomes pathologically jealous of Clodagh,
resulting in a nervous breakdown. Driven by jealousy, Ruth is promptly rejected by Mr. Dean after she is
confessing her love and leaving the sisterhood. She then attacks Clodagh in a fit of rage but falls to her death
instead.

The definition of Melodrama is that it is a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and
that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization. Originally, a
melodrama was a stage play that had orchestral accompaniment and was interspersed with songs. Nowadays,
modern melodramas don’t necessarily have any songs but rather deal with stereotypical characters and
exaggerated conflicts or emotions.

Melodrama is generally regarded as having developed in France as a result of the impact of Jean-Jacques
Rousseau’s ‘Pygmalion (1762/1770)’ and is thought to be a part of the Romantic Literary Period. The romantics
wanted to express their emotions through art and embraced imagination, individuality, and nature as a source
of spirituality and intuition. This new dramatic form triggered emotions using spoken lines with alternating
musical accompaniment to show a battle of good and evil, complete with special effects like train crashes, horse
races and earthquakes (Carroll,2018).

In general, melodramas are moral tales that illustrate a battle between good and evil, where good would triumph
and bring morality or justice in society. Rather than have realistic characters, the melodrama has what are known
as stock characters, or characters based on set personalities or stereotypes.

Melodrama typically have three major plot elements; provocation is whatever provokes the villain, in the case
of Black Narcissus Ruth would be seen as the villain and her jealousy of Clodagh in the film, along with her mental
state would be seen as the provocation. Pangs are the pains other characters goes through because of the villain,
like in Black Narcissus, as Ruth desire for Mr. Dean gets out of hand, it causes many problems through the
convert. And finally, the penalty is the last part of the play as it is where the villain gets their punishment that
they deserve, for example when Ruth tries to attack Clodagh, she ends up being killed instead.

Looking at melodrama in the sets of Black Narcissus, they are presented through the use of sets by Alfred Junge
combined with matte painting backgrounds by Walter Percy Day. One such scene is the cliff side palace or the
drop by the bell. These paintings and models create this vast and remote location, which gives an example of
breath-taking falseness which we only really find in todays use of digital effects. These give the location Black
Narcissus is set in a larger then life feel that plays with the audience’s emotions, linking back to melodrama by
using them.

Fig 2: Red Sky Matte Painting Fig 3: Bell ringing session

The matte paintings of the sets have another purpose other than just creating this larger the life world. The way
in which the Nuns descend into madness is demonstrated through these matte paintings. When the film starts
the matte paintings start off bright, fresh and vibrant, representative of a new beginning as the nuns start their
journey into transforming this former brothel in to a convert. However, as the film becomes tenser and
unnerving, these paintings begin to change and become darker. They start to develop a deeper reddish tone,
bring a more dramatic tint to the scenes. These changes show how the painter used tone and colour to increase
the tension and show the nuns loss of control. After the chaotic climax of the film, the clouds cover the scene,
and everything is cold and grey, like the paintings have achieved what they set out to do, allowing the nuns to
return to the colourless place they originated from. Displaying this melodramatic alignment between the
characters and emotions presented through the scene, creating an exaggerated and dramatic feeling.

Lighting in the film is often purposely dramatic and sometimes tinted with colour to hint at meaning and
undertones. These is used mostly in the end of the film than the begin as the exaggerated lightning and use of
colour are more significant. In the film, blues and white are used in the beginning and through out to convey a
sense of ‘holiness’ from the nuns and the convert. Later in the film these blues and whites’ transition to vivid
reds and browns as Ruth and the sisters descend into madness, the use of red lighting contributes to the
atmosphere of tension, as said by Walker, “the use of such red lighting contributes to the atmosphere of tension”
(Walker,1978-9).

Fig 4: Sister Ruth

Jack Cardiff, cinematographer for the film, used artists such as Van Gogh, Vermeer and Rembrandt as influences
for the films lighting (Morris, 2001). And in a short documentary about the film ‘Painting with light: Jack Cardiff
on Black Narcissus’ said that “colour itself became the emotion of the picture” as it drove the characters and
their motivations. This links in to lightning on the characters as it can be used to show what each character
feeling and references different things about them. For example, here is” dreamy lighting and stark,
expressionistic shadows” that” mirror characters’ internal conflicts” (Renfrow, 2012). This internal conflict can
be seen with Clodagh as she attempts to repress her emotions and memories of the time before she became a
nun. Clodagh is usually also surrounded by softer, more muted colours to create contrast with Sister Ruth. For
example, Clodagh is shown to be associated with the colour white as it is the only colour the audiences see her
wear. Whereas on Ruth, the lightning is typically harsher than the other characters which gave her skin a shiny
and perhaps purposely unflattering appearance. The use of red added to this light, highlights the face she is
driven repressed by her repressed emotions towards Mr. Dean and will stop at nothing to get her way.

In contrast to Clodagh, Ruth is Associated with the colour red, as through out the film red slowly starts to creep
into the lighting around her and her clothes, for example there is a scene near the start of the film, where Ruth
comes in covered in blood, and a famous scene where she applies red lipstick and wears a red dress. The colour
red in Ruth case could be used to represent, as is mention early, her repressed emotions like desire and passion,
and can be used to show her hatred towards Clodagh and her sisterhood. In contrast, Clodagh’s use of white in
the film creates a juxtaposition between Clodagh and Ruth, as they are both opposites and clash against each
other. One example of this would be the scene where they are sitting opposite each, they mirror each other and
can clearly see the different between them by what there holding, a bible for Clodagh and lipstick for Ruth.

Fig 5: Ruth and Clodagh

Overall, it is clear that the sets, Lighting and colour choices used in Black Narcissus create strong differences
between the characters Ruth and Clodagh, used to amplify the intense melodrama created in the film. The
symbolisms in the film are used to show the different motivations and personality each character has. These use
of lighting, sets and colour choices also helped set the tone and mood of each specific scene. All these features
together create a immersive and interesting scenes, and without them the melodrama may have not be as
effective.

Illustration Bibliography:

Fig. 1: Black Narcissus poster (1947). [Poster] [Online] at: https://m.media-

amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTg3MDQxMzg2OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDY5NTY3MzE@._V1_UY1000_QL80.jpg [Accessed 30th Dec. 2018]

Fig. 2: Red Sky Matte Painting (1947). (Walter Percy Day). [Scene] [Online] at: http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2016/5/23/the-furniture-black-narcissuss-
maddening-matte-paintings.html [Accessed 30th Dec. 2018]

Fig. 3: Bell Ringing Session (1947). [Scene] [Online] at: https://analiseindiscreta.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/narciso-negro-1947/ [Accessed 30th Dec. 2018]

Fig. 4: Sister Ruth (1947). [Scene] [Online] at: https://theartsdesk.com/film/dvd-release-black-narcissus [Accessed 30th Dec. 2018]

Fig. 5: Ruth and Clodagh, (1947). [Screenshot] [Online] at: https://analiseindiscreta.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/narciso-negro-1947/ [Accessed 30th Dec.
2018]

Bibliography:
Carroll, H. (2018), Elements of Melodrama: From Early Theater to the Modern Soap Opera. [Online] At: https://study.com/academy/lesson/elements-of-
melodrama-from-early-theater-to-the-modern-soap-opera.html (Accessed 30th Dec. 2018)

Davis, J. and Norwood, J. (2017), The History and Legacy of Melodrama. [Online] At: https://www.elephantmelodrama.com/elephant-melodrama-blog/the-
history-and-legacy-of-melodrama (Accessed 30th Dec. 2018)

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc. (2018) Melodrama Narrative Property. [Online] at: https://www.britannica.com/art/melodrama (accessed 30th Dec.
2018)

Estrada, O. (2017), Why Red Lipstick Is Powerful and Deadly, According to History. [Online] At: https://preen.inquirer.net/38318/red-lipstick-powerful-deadly-
according-history (Accessed 30th Dec. 2018)

Jones, K. (2010), Black Narcissus: Empire of the Senses. [Online] at: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1517-black-narcissus-empire-of-the-senses
(accessed 30th Dec. 2018)

Morris, G. (2001), Powell and Pressburger’s Black Narcissus (1947). [Online] At: https://brightlightsfilm.com/wp-content/cache/all/powell-pressburgers-black-
narcissus-1947/ (Accessed 30th Dec. 2018)

Olesen, J. (2017), Biblical Meaning of Colours. [Online] At: https://www.color-meanings.com/biblical-meaning-colors/ (Accessed 30th Dec. 2018)

Painting With Light: Jack Cardiff On Black Narcissus (2007). Directed by McCall, C. for the release of the Black Narcissus DVD. London: Modus Operandi Films
.
Renfrow, J. K. (2012), Through This Lens: Powell and Pressburger’s ‘Black Narcissus’ [Online] At: https://www.popoptiq.com/through-this-lens-black-narcissus/
(Accessed 30th Dec. 2018)

Walber, D. (2016), The Furniture: Black Narcissus’ Maddening Matte Paintings. [Online] At: http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2016/5/23/the-furniture-black-
narcissuss-maddening-matte-paintings.html (Accessed on 30th Dec. 2018)

Walker, M. (1978), Black Narcissus. [Online] At: http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/47_BN/Walker.html (Accessed 30th Dec. 2018)