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Black Narcissus

  • 1947
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
26K
YOUR RATING
Black Narcissus (1947)
Trailer for this classic drama
Play trailer2:35
1 Video
99+ Photos
Drama

A group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.A group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.A group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.

  • Directors
    • Michael Powell
    • Emeric Pressburger
  • Writers
    • Rumer Godden
    • Michael Powell
    • Emeric Pressburger
  • Stars
    • Deborah Kerr
    • David Farrar
    • Flora Robson
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    26K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Michael Powell
      • Emeric Pressburger
    • Writers
      • Rumer Godden
      • Michael Powell
      • Emeric Pressburger
    • Stars
      • Deborah Kerr
      • David Farrar
      • Flora Robson
    • 189User reviews
    • 115Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 5 wins & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Black Narcissus
    Trailer 2:35
    Watch Black Narcissus

    Photos360

    Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Kathleen Byron in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr, Jean Simmons, and David Farrar in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, and David Farrar in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr, Judith Furse, Jenny Laird, and Flora Robson in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Sabu in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Esmond Knight in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr in Black Narcissus (1947)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Deborah Kerr
    Deborah Kerr
    • Sister Clodagh
    David Farrar
    David Farrar
    • Mr. Dean
    Flora Robson
    Flora Robson
    • Sister Philippa
    Jenny Laird
    Jenny Laird
    • Sister Honey
    Judith Furse
    Judith Furse
    • Sister Briony
    Kathleen Byron
    Kathleen Byron
    • Sister Ruth
    Esmond Knight
    Esmond Knight
    • The Old General
    Sabu
    Sabu
    • The Young General
    Jean Simmons
    Jean Simmons
    • Kanchi
    May Hallatt
    May Hallatt
    • Angu Ayah
    Eddie Whaley Jr.
    Eddie Whaley Jr.
    • Joseph Anthony
    Shaun Noble
    • Con
    Nancy Roberts
    Nancy Roberts
    • Mother Dorothea
    Ley On
    • Phuba
    Joan Cozier
    • Girl in Classroom
    • (uncredited)
    Maxwell Foster
    • Clodagh's Father in Flashback
    • (uncredited)
    Margaret Scudamore
    Margaret Scudamore
    • Clodagh's Grandmother in Flashback
    • (uncredited)
    Helen Debroy Summers
    • Clodagh's Mother in Flashback
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Michael Powell
      • Emeric Pressburger
    • Writers
      • Rumer Godden
      • Michael Powell
      • Emeric Pressburger
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The backdrops were blown-up black-and-white photographs. The Art Department then gave them their breathtaking colors by using pastel chalks on top of them.
    • Goofs
      An Australian kookaburra is heard laughing in a bamboo forest in the Himalayan foothills.
    • Quotes

      Sister Clodagh: [to Mr. Dean] You are objectionable when sober, and abominable when drunk!

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits:- Convent Of The Order of The Servants Of Mary - Calcutta
    • Alternate versions
      The flashbacks of Sister Clodagh's life prior to her becoming a nun were deleted from the original U.S prints of the film.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
    • Soundtracks
      Lullay My Liking
      (uncredited)

      Old Edwardian Carol

      Music by Sir Richard Terry

      New music by Brian Easdale

    User reviews189

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A Personal Rumination
    This is a spellbinding movie that has haunted me for years. No other film in my sixty- odd years of viewing has so affected me. There is, beyond the obvious tangibles of superb artistry, an intangible quality that continues to elude me. Maybe it's that last scene of departure - the man framed against the mountain, the raindrops evanescing from the leaves, the procession passing into the mist. I know something has passed, yet something remains. But what? I know now that the movie is to be experienced, not decoded, a case where the figurative whole becomes a sum greater than any of its truly astonishing parts. The result projects that rarest of film qualities—an aesthetic that transcends artistry. Someone once observed that strange things happen when the practical mind of the English encounters traditional mysticism of the East. Strange and sometimes wonderful things, it should be added.
    helpful•11
    2
    • dougdoepke
    • Apr 28, 2016

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 1947 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Crni narcis
    • Filming locations
      • County Galway, Ireland
    • Production companies
      • The Archers
      • Independent Producers
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £280,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $58,577
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 41 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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