Black Narcissus is based on the 1939 novel of the same name by Rumer Godden. The film stars Deborah Kerr as Sister Clodagh, a headstrong Irish nun who is sent to a remote Himalayan mountaintop to establish a convent. The film also stars Kathleen Byron, Sabu, David Farrar, and Flora Robson.
Black Narcissus is a visually stunning film that explores the themes of colonialism, religion, and sexuality. The film was a critical and commercial success, and it is considered a classic of British cinema
The film begins with Sister Clodagh and her fellow nuns arriving at the palace, which is located in a remote Himalayan valley. The palace is a beautiful and secluded place, but it is also a place of danger and mystery. The nuns soon begin to experience strange and disturbing events, and they start to question their faith.
Sister Clodagh is particularly affected by the events at the palace. She is drawn to the palace's beauty and its sense of isolation, but she is also troubled by its dark history. As the film progresses, Sister Clodagh's faith is shaken
The use of color is beyond marvelous. The background paintings used to create a monastery in the Himalayas are works of great art.
Of the sixty or so movies I have featured on The Reading Life, this and another film from William Powell and Emeric Pressburger, The Red Shoes, jointly are in first place on my in the works list of favourite films, Mel's Marvelous Movies.
The film stars Roger Livesey as Clive Candy, a British officer who serves in the British Army from the late 19th century to the Second World War. The film follows Candy's life and career, and explores themes of patriotism, nationalism, and the futility of war.
The film was a critical and commercial success, and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It won the award for Best Original Screenplay. The film is considered to be one of the greatest British films ever made.
The film is divided into three parts:
The first part, set in the late 19th century, tells the story of Candy's early career in the British Army. He is a young and idealistic officer who is eager to fight for his country.
The second part, set in the First World War, tells the story of Candy's experiences in the trenches. He is a more cynical and disillusioned officer, but he still believes in the importance of fighting for his country.
The third part, set in the Second World War, tells the story of Candy's final years in the British Army. He is a retired officer who is watching the war from the sidelines. He is no longer sure what he believes in, but he still believes in the importance of fighting for what is right
Here are some of the things that make The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp a great film:
The performances: Roger Livesey gives a tour-de-force performance as Clive Candy. He captures the character's evolution from a young and idealistic officer to a cynical and disillusioned one. The supporting cast is also excellent, with Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook, and Stanley Holloway all giving memorable performances.
The direction: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger are masters of filmmaking. They use a variety of techniques to tell the story, including flashbacks, dream sequences, and symbolism. The film is visually stunning, and it is full of memorable images
I felt a strong personal identity with both of the lead male characters living now as widowers as do I.
Below is one of the very powerful scenes
The Archers made 20 films together, it is my hope to post on them all.
To me The Red Shoes is cinema as High Art. It may be seen for free on YouTube. I have watched it ten times since I was first made aware of it by Martin Scorese. To me, I have no formal training in the cinema, it is a flawless masterpiece.
The film follows Victoria Page (Moira Shearer), a ballerina who joins the world-renowned Ballet Lermontov, owned and operated by Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), who tests her dedication to the ballet by making her choose between her career and her marriage and romance with composer Julian Craster (Marius Goring). It is based on a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale.
From the movie:
"Boris Lermontov -The Ballet of the Red Shoes is from a fairytale by Hans Andersen. It is the story of a young girl who is devoured with an ambition to attend a dance in a pair of red shoes. She gets the shoes and goes to the dance. For a time, all goes well and she is very happy. At the end of the evening, she is tired and wants to go home, but the red shoes are not tired. In fact, the red shoes are never tired. They dance her out into the street, they dance her over the mountains and valleys, through fields and forests, through night and day. Time rushes by, love rushes by, life rushes by, but the red shoes go on.
Julian Craster: What happens in the end?
Boris Lermontov: Oh, in the end she dies"
The majority of the cast were professional dancers. Filming of The Red Shoes took place in mid-1946, primarily in France and England.
Upon release, The Red Shoes received critical acclaim, especially in the United States, where it received a total of five Academy Award nominations, including a win for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and was named one of the Top 10 Films of the year.
Retrospectively, The Red Shoes is regarded as one of the best films of Powell and Pressburger's partnership and one of the greatest films of all time. It was voted the 9th greatest British film of all time by the British Film Institute in 1999.
Having recently read Jennifer Homans brilliant biography of George Balanchine and her history of Ballet my appreciation of The Red Shoes was amplified. Boris Lermontov, like Balanchine did not like his dancers to have boyfriends and was adamantly opposed to ballerinas marrying.
"Boris Lermontov: You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never."
His Manor was imperious, The
Lermontov Ballet was the apex of the art. Victoria Page, from an aristocratic wealthy family, sought not monetary rewards but to reach her highest level of artistic achievement and Lermontov could bring her there.
We follow the company from Paris to Monte Carlo. The settings of street scenes in Paris and the seashore in Monte Carlo are wonderful. Scenes in hotels and Lermontov's home show a Baroque era splendour. The support characters are perfectly realized. The music is preformed by The Royal Philomonic Orchestra. The people are beautiful, I laughed in agreement when Victoria Page's aunt described Lermontov as "An Attractive Brute". Trains play a very important role. Scorese praises the use of color. There is a 15 minute ballet sequence.
I suggest you watch the movie then watch the Scorese presentation then watch the movie again. The sheer beauty of this film is amazing.
I will soon post on another film by Powell and Pressburger, the 1949 Elusive Pimpernel, set in France and England after the French Revolution.
