The black daffodil

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Movie
German title The black daffodil
Original title Black Narcissus
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 1947
length 97 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Michael Powell ,
Emeric Pressburger
script Michael Powell,
Emeric Pressburger
production Michael Powell,
Emeric Pressburger
music Brian Easdale
camera Jack Cardiff
cut Reginald Mills
occupation
synchronization

The black narcissus (original title: Black Narcissus ) is a British film drama with Deborah Kerr from 1947. The novel Schwarzer Narcissus (Black Narcissus) from 1939 by the British writer Rumer Godden served as a literary model .

action

In the motherhouse of an active Anglican religious community in Calcutta , the sister Clodagh is commissioned to establish a new school with a small convent in the remote Mopu in the Himalayas , to run a school and provide medical care for the population. Sister Clodagh has no experience leading a community, but she is determined to do her job. A former palace at an altitude of 9,000 feet is given to the sisters by an Indian general as a place to live and work. The concubines of a previous ruler once lived there, which is still reflected in the atmosphere and furnishings of the palace.

The British administrator of the place, Mr. Dean, is very skeptical of the nuns' plan. He is convinced that the women will return to Calcutta before the onset of the rainy season. To get rid of them, he brings to them the orphaned girl Kanchi, who is a do-no. She is to receive an education in the monastery and to be supervised by the sisters until she gets married. When the general's nephew arrives in Mopu to take private lessons with the sisters, he cannot be turned away because of his uncle. Sister Ruth, who is always ready to be ridiculed, compares him to a (black) narcissus because of the splendor of his appearance . Over time, the young general lets himself be seduced by Kanchi.

The climate and the altitude are hard on the nuns, both physically and mentally. The sisters remember their lives more and more often before entering the monastery, which makes them doubt their task. Sister Clodagh keeps coming back to the man she was once in love with. When she confides in Mr. Dean, he gives her the advice to leave Mopu with the community immediately.

Sister Philippa asked the superior to send her back to Calcutta. She finally agrees and wants to send Sister Ruth back as well. This resists indignantly. When a child dies who cannot be helped either by the sisters, a catastrophe ensues: The general and Kanchi leave the monastery and no one from the village comes to school or the infirmary because they are the sisters for the death of the child hold responsible and seek revenge. The mentally unstable sister Ruth is now so infatuated with Dean that she does not renew her vows and sneaks to him in the village at night in civilian clothes and make-up. When he rejects her, she goes mad. In her madness she is convinced that Dean is in love with sister Clodagh and that she has therefore rejected her. Out of jealousy, she lies in wait for her supposed rival and wants to topple her from the bell tower of the monastery, but she herself falls into the depths. The sisters, whose mission has failed, return to Calcutta. As they set off, Dean says goodbye to Sister Clodagh, who asks him to take care of Sister Ruth's grave. Immediately afterwards the first rain sets in.

background

The film is based on the novel Black Narcissus ( 1939) by Rumer Godden, an Englishwoman who lived in India for a long time and who made her breakthrough as a writer with this book. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger , the founders of the production company The Archers , acquired the film rights and, in addition to the production, also directed and scripted . Not a single scene was shot on an original location. The scenes in the Himalayas were shot in London's Pinewood Studios . Black-and-white photographs were used as the background, which were hand-colored by the production designers. Miniature models were used for the close-up shots of the convent, while the jungle scenes were staged in a tropical garden in Horsham , West Sussex . Cinematographer Jack Cardiff later revealed that the film's lighting and color dramaturgy were inspired by paintings by Dutch painters Jan Vermeer , Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh .

The film was supposed to end with a scene in which Sister Clodagh blames the mother superior for the failure of the mission. As a fitting conclusion, director Michael Powell ultimately preferred the scene with the onset of the rainy season.

The film premiered on April 24, 1947 in London . At the urging of the American Catholic Legion of Decency, scenes were removed from the film for release in the United States that flashbacks show Sister Clodagh's relationship with a man before she became a religious. In Germany, the film was released for the first time on August 29, 1948 and was shown again on January 13, 1994. In 2007 the film was released on DVD. Two years later a digitally revised version was released on DVD.

Reviews

The Monthly Film Bulletin noted at the time that “the subject of frustrated women in a mostly pseudo-religious atmosphere can be uncomfortable”, but “the sheen” and “the undeniable elegance of the presentation” would mark the film “as a significant production”. The camera and color were combined “great”. In the close-ups, "the brilliant cut" gives the sisters' critical moments "unusual intensity". According to Variety , the production and its optics succeed in "balancing out some of the weak points in the plot". Jack Cardiff's camera work is "outstanding". The cast was "well selected", with Kerr "only occasionally given the opportunity" to "show their talent".

Looking back, Hal Erickson of the All Movie Guide found that "the dramatic plot" had lost its appeal over the years, but "the individual portrayals, production values ​​and especially the Oscar-winning Technicolor cinematography by Jack Cardiff were just as impressive as they were back then “Be. The lexicon of international films described The Black Narcissus as “a gripping melodrama in an exotic setting, which is entirely dedicated to the cinema and uses the religious background only as accessories”. The result is a “prime example of effective color dramaturgy”.

Awards

At the Academy Awards in 1948 , the film received two Oscars in the categories of Best Camera / Color Film , for which Jack Cardiff was responsible, and Best Production Design / Color Film , for which Alfred Junge received the award. Cardiff also won a Golden Globe for its cinematography . Deborah Kerr was the best actress with the New York Film Critics Circle Award.

In a 1999 British Film Institute poll of the best British films of the 20th century , The Black Daffodil was ranked 44th.

German version

The German dubbed version was created in 1947 in the Eagle-Lion Synchron Atelier in Hamburg . The nickname of a sister, "Sister Honey", was changed to "Sister Goldig" to reflect the popularity of the character in the German version.

role actor Voice actor
Sister Clodagh Deborah Kerr Gerda Maria Terno
Sister Philippa Flora Robson Annemarie Holtz
Kanchi Jean Simmons Lilo Müller
Mr. Dean David Farrar Paul Klinger
young general Sabu Klaus Kinski
old general Esmond Knight Theo Paul Münch
Sister Ruth Kathleen Byron Ursula Traun
Sister Goldig Jenny Laird Lia L'Arronge
Sister Briony Judith Furse Grete Volkmar
Angu Ayah May Hallatt Gertrud Spalke

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ian Christie: Arrows of Desire . London, 1994, p. 59.
  2. ↑ cf. Articles on tcm.com
  3. ↑ cf. imagesjournal.com
  4. ↑ cf. powell-pressburger.org
  5. ↑ cf. omovie.com
  6. ↑ “The theme of frustrated womanhood in what is rarely more than a pseudo-religious atmosphere may be unpleasing, but the polish, the unquestionable style of its exposition, mark this an outstanding production. Camera and color make a great combination. [...] In personal close-ups, brilliant cutting brings an unusual intensity to the moments of crisis between the sisters. " The Monthly Film Bulletin , May 1947, p. 60, cf. screenonline.org
  7. ↑ "The production and camera work atone for minor lapses in the story, Jack Cardiff's photography being outstanding. [...] The cast has been well chosen, but Kerr gets only occasional opportunities to reveal her talents. " See Review: 'Black Narcissus' ( Memento from July 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ). In: Variety , 1947.
  8. ↑ "While the dramatic content of the film hasn't stood the test of time all that well, the individual performances, production values, and especially the Oscar-winning Technicolor photography of Jack Cardiff are still as impressive as ever." Hal Erickson , cf. omovie.com
  9. ↑ The black daffodil. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 11, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  10. ↑ cf. official website ( Memento of 29 February 2000 in the Internet Archive ) of the British Film Institute
  11. ↑ cf. synchrondatenbank.de