Black Narcissus – Streaming on Apple TV

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

19 May 2020 — 31 March 2021 Tickets from £3.50 — Book now

The legendary co-writer-producer-director duo of Powell and Pressburger are responsible for some of the great British films — including The Red Shoes (1948) and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) — and Black Narcissus’ dark, charged melodrama is amongst their very best. The film stars Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron as two of a group of nuns charged with turning a remote and ruined Himalayan palace into a working convent, complete with a school for the local children. Deeply atmospheric, Black Narcissus crackles with repressed sexuality as the nuns’ godly mission is tested by howling winds, difficult terrain and the arrival of David Farrar’s rakish handyman.

Through pure ingenuity, the film was produced in Pinewood Studios and a subtropical garden in Horsham, and its exoticised vision of the Himalayas tells us more about post-war Britain’s idea of India than anything else. Utilising Jack Cardiff’s ravishing three-strip Technicolor cinematography, and art director, Alfred Junge’s towering sets — both men would win Academy Awards for their work on the film — Powell and Pressburger conjure a fantastical setting, that is both beautiful and eerily oppressive.

Speaking later, director Michael Powell would call Black Narcissus “the most erotic film that I have ever made.” The sisters find themselves isolated in the mountains and are left with little to occupy their minds as they attempt to turn an abandoned palace, once reserved for a prince’s indulgence in earthly pleasures, into an outpost for their Christian God. The film recognises their colonial folly, and slowly the nuns fall to ruin as they are driven mad by lust, memories or simply the howling wind and chasmous valley below.

The films iconic image is of Kerr’s Sister Clodagh ringing the convent’s bell with a sheer drop inches from her feet. The effect was achieved with matte painting, but it reflects the precarious mental state of the character. It is this dark melding of landscape and psychology that lingers in the mind, and as the film winds towards its conclusion, Powell and Pressburger build a feverish, hyper-real atmosphere that matches the mounting psychological turmoil of the characters.

19 May 2020 — 31 March 2021 Tickets from £3.50 Book now

Where to go near Black Narcissus – Streaming on Apple TV

Kōdo Entrance
City Centre
Restaurant
Kōdo

Kōdo, a secret bar like no other. It is all about discovery. The only way to enter is with a special code, which changes weekly.

MediaCityUK
Café or Coffee Shop
Blanconero

High-level Italian food in Salford Quays, with no less than seven different lasagnas to choose from.

Yoga classes for all levels and aims.
Leeds
Yoga Hero

Yoga Hero offers various classes, including within their studio and online for all levels and all aims.

 Patrick, SpongeBob and Squidward at the UK's only Nickelodeon Land.
Blackpool
Tourist Attraction
Nickelodeon Land

Combine the thrill of an amusement park with the colourful world of Nickelodeon at the UK’s only Nickelodeon Land, located within Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort.

Leeds
Restaurant
Archive

Archive serving up speciality coffee and bespoke events to the people of Kirkstall, including craft fairs, vintage pop ups and exhibitions.

Ego Death
Manchester
Restaurant
Ego Death

Ego Death is a speakeasy-style secret bar in the Northern Quarter with a cocktail menu as good as its atmosphere.

Flat Iron Leeds
Manchester
Restaurant
Flat Iron Manchester

Relaxed restaurant in the centre of Manchester, serving impressively high-quality steaks at an affordable price point.

What's on: Cinema

Keswick Town
CinemaCumbria
Keswick Film Festival

Keswick Film Festival marks 25 years with a programme featuring some of the best of contemporary independent cinema, alongside select classics, and work from some choice Cumbrian talent.

from £5.00

Culture Guides

NEXT: A Primer on Urban Painting production still
Cinema in the North

Street art, LGBTQ+ History Month, and the first film festivals of the year are amongst our cinema highlights this month.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Feminist farce, a magical circus show and Oldham Coliseum return with a brand-new off-site show. All in our latest theatre guide.

FKA TWIGS
Music in the North

Masters of minimalism, leftfield electronica and cutting edge pop. We bring you the lot in our latest live music round up.

The Super Duper Family Festival
Family things to do in the North

We might be past the holiday season, but Manchester and the North's arts and cultural calendar is still packed with brilliant events and activities for families

A painting of a young child being bathed in a sink of a 197s style kitchen. Around the sink are a rubber duck, a bottle of  washing up liquid, a jug, a kettle and a mug.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries are racing to announce new exhibitions so check out our top picks, from art films and nostalgic paintings to Hockney's collages.