Black Narcissus: Turner Classic Movies British Film Guide (Turner Classic Movies British Film Guides)

Black Narcissus: Turner Classic Movies British Film Guide (Turner Classic Movies British Film Guides)

Black Narcissus, now heralded as a masterpiece, is a landmark film in the influential canon of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. With the centenary of Powell's birth in 2005 this timely book--the first dedicated exclusively to the film--draws on archival documents, original set drawings and stills to demonstrate its remarkable achievements, both as a production and as a vehicle for ideas. Looking at the film's enduring images of both place and gender, Sarah Street also examines Black Narcissus as a masterly technical accomplishment, as well as a meditation on the end of empire. Looking too at the film's controversial reception by international critics and censors, and its subsequent impact on experimental filmmakers, Street explores issues of technique, style, performance and interpretation to reveal the continued relevance of the film today.

Customer Review: Interesting but slim
This film guide about Black Narcissus is very interesting but not as complete as I would have wanted. One should not read it before watching the movie or reading the novel the film is based on. The guide does, sometimes, compare the two works but much of the time focuses on the movie. But there are many things I wanted to know about the film - how they selected the cast, information about decisions made, about the differences between the book and the movie. The sources in the back of the book does allow me to see other books I can get but as a film guide I wanted more information about the film. How people reacted to the film and how the movie has effected future film making is nice but I wanted to know more about how the film was crafted. For example, why the red dress? That wasn't in the book. Why Jean Simmons as Kanchi? Why does the Palace have no windows when in the book it does? What changes happened because the film was made after the war when the book was created before the war? The guide barely really touches many of the subjects or issues I wanted to know about.
Customer Review: Everything you ever wanted to know about Black Narcissus
Really great thorough book on the background, making, and themes of the Powell/Pressburger classic. Fun facts, interviews and pics. Really nicely done and not pretentious. You'll get more out of the film which is really a high compliment to this type of book.