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| Figure 1. Black Narcisuss (poster art) |
Black Narcissus, created in 1947 and based on the novel by Rumer Godden, is an intimate and sensual film that gradually builds upon a sexual theme. I will be discovering how Art director Alfred Junge and Cinematographer Michael Powell used ‘Mise-en-scene’ to create this ongoing theme.
The story closely follows a group of Nuns, who decide to set up a school and hospital for the local people living in the Himalaya’s. However the Nuns struggle with the environment that they’re living in, influencing the way they should behave as nuns.
The film was made in Pinewood Studio’s, with many scenes actually being shot in the Leanardslee Gardens in West Sussex, home to an Indian army retiree.
As CGI (Computer Generated Image) wasn’t an option back then, they used techniques such as Matte Paintings. A Matte Painting would have been painted onto a glass panel, leading the viewer to believe that they’re really looking at the Himalayan Scenery. There is one scene when Sister Clodagh is ringing the giant bell at the edge of the cliff. The camera gives us an ariel perspective of what’s below the cliff. “Here we see it show the bell at the edge of the cliff, and the drop into the forest below. It appears to be hundreds of feet high but in fact, sister clodagh…is only ten feet off the ground.”
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| Fig.2.Black Narcissus (film still) |
Technicolour was a relatively new technique at the time this film was produced. This was good as Colour Symbolism features throughout the film and is crucial to the film’s aesthetics. For example, as jealousy and sexual tension rises from Sister Ruth, the lighting also conveys this change in emotion through the use of warmer tones
“The palette starts to change as Sister Ruth starts to go off the rails. A copper light is thrown onto the walls through grills and windows and the scene of sister Ruth applying red lipstick, holding a vivid red compact, is spellbinding.” (Production Designer Michael Howells,19 March 2011)
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| Fig 3. Black Narcissus (film still) |
It could be said that when Sister Ruth applies her red lipstick, she’s rebelling against the “nuns way of life” and trying to start a new one. Interestingly lipstick actually has sexual connotations behind it. Diane Ackerman, author of “A history of the senses” says that “The lips remind us of the labia, because they flush red and swell when they’re aroused, which is the conscious or subconscious reason women have always made them look even redder with lipstick.” (Yesterface)
Colour symbolism is also evident throughout the costume design. The nuns wear only white robes, which signify “purity” and “innocence”. This contrasts with the erotic paintings on the wall of naked women.
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| Fig 4. Black Narcissus (film still) |
The films name “Black Narcissus” is suggestive of a flower or organic plant. The flower Narcissus actually has pale yellow or white petals with a darker yellow centre. The introduction of the word black is almost a juxtaposition as the words don’t naturally sit together. It could be interpreted as the foreshadowing of rebirth or a nuns new lifestyle.
Many of the scenes were fairly melodramatic, especially when the camera focused on exaggerated, facial expressions. There is a scene when British Agent Mr. Dean walks in without a shirt on and Sister Ruth looks longingly at him. It would have been particularly unusual at the time for the focus to have been on the male naked form. This is the opposite of the “male gaze.”
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| Fig. 5 Black Narcissus (film still) |
This film and the way in which the staging was manipulated to convey high spaces, enclosed spaces, intimacy and emotion has been fascinating. The impact of colour to convey the feelings of the characters has taught me how powerful this tool is.
Illustration List:
Figure 1. Black Narcissus (poster art) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Narcissus (Accessed on 26 November 2016)
Figure 2. Black Narcissus (film still) https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=black+narcissus&view=detailv2&&id=4C528BF07547F779055FB33F56A0ED1E7B254B5E&selectedIndex=13&ccid=PY7WrKP1&simid=608038203557285138&thid=OIP.PY7WrKP1tmJVP4BvjNsUGwEsDb
(Accessed on 26 November 2016)
Figure 3. Black Narcissus (film still) https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=black+narcissus&view=detailv2&&id=E181B487F55FD530CEB68CA444CC8674882F92D9&selectedIndex=129&ccid=IuYVaPCU&simid=608031292947694784&thid=OIP.M22e61568f094df839897f6774975cabao0&ajaxhist=0
(Accessed on 26 November 2016)
Figure 4. Black Narcissus (film still) https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=black%20narcissus%20inside%20the%20palace&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=black%20narcissus%20inside%20the%20palace&sc=0-16&sp=-1&sk=(Accessed on 26 November 2016)
Figure 5. Black Narcissus (film still) https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sister+ruth+staring+at+dean+black+narcissus&view=detailv2&&id=039FCCC9F4A12CA4ECBB933BDF8D86A225662D5A&selectedIndex=87&ccid=yfr5Ymni&simid=608014216155825648&thid=OIP.Mc9faf96269e2cc772dee47256f8247fao0&ajaxhist=0
(Accessed on 26 November 2016)
Bibliography
Yesterface, 'Why do women wear read lipstick?' ( June 5, 2011) In: Yesterface [online] At: URL: https://yesterface.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/why-do-women-wear-red-lipstick/ (Accessed on 26 November 2016)
Guru, Production Designer Michael Howells (Shackleton, Nanny McPhee), 19 March 2011 In: Guru At: URL: 2011.http://guru.bafta.org/behind-mask-production-design-black-narcissus (Accessed on 26 November 2016)
Film Directing Tips, '12 Colors and Their Meanings' by In: Film Directing Tips At: URL: http://filmdirectingtips.com/archives/157 (Accessed on 26 November 2016)
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