Black Narcissus

Rumer Godden’s novel of an order of nuns trying to establish a remote Himalayan mission is transformed, in Powell and Pressburger’s fevered imagination, into a Technicolor masterpiece of heightened operatic intensity, repressed sexuality and cinematic audaciousness. Almost totally shot in the studio, this is one of cinema’s great synthetic achievements, featuring brilliantly atmospheric production design by Alfred Junge and breathtakingly expressive cinematography by Jack Cardiff, both of whom won Oscars for their contributions. With Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Jean Simmons, Flora Robson, Sabu and the indelible Kathleen Byron as Sister Ruth.