Steve Crook

Hello everyone, I thought you might like a bit more information about Black Narcissus and related films. The matte painting on Black Narcissus was mainly done by Peter Ellenshaw & W. Percy Day. Peter went on to work for Disney, supervising the matte work on films like The Black Hole (1979). When I saw Black Narcissus at The Arts Club in London, that matte painting of the vertiginous drop below the bell tower got a spontaneous round of applause. It looks great in the images above. It's even better on a full sized screen so that it fills your field of vision. That's how it was made to be seen. Black Narcissus was made by "The Archers" who weren't just Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger themselves, they were a team of highly skilled people who had usually worked together on many films under the banner of The Archers. Jack Cardiff worked very closely with production designer Alfred Junge and his team of designers (including Peter Ellenshaw) to get just the look and feel they wanted. They often got complaints from Technicolor in the shape of Natalie Kalmus who tried to get them to follow the rigid Technicolor standards about colours and light levels that should be used. Luckily they totally ignored her, and were supported by Michael Powell who said that the people at Technicolor didn't understand about art :) As well as matte paintings they also used a lot of other tricks like hanging miniatures. The exterior shots of the Palace at Mopu show it as a multi-storied building. It was really only a single storey. And that bell tower is really only one or two feet above the ground. The views of the Himalayas seen through the windows of the palace are B&W photographs of the real mountains blown up to a huge size given a light pastel "wash" to add some colour and highlights. For other examples of the work of Jack Cardiff and The Archers, check out The Red Shoes (1948) and A Matter of Life and Death (1946) [AKA Stairway to Heaven] You should also read Jack's autobiography, Magic Hour: The Life of a Cameraman (Faber & Faber, 1996. ISBN 0-571-17640-2) where he describes his continuing life as a cinematographer and director. He's now 93, and still working - when a project intrigues him enough. A wonderful man. Steve Crook The Powell and Pressburger Appreciation Society http://www.powell-pressburger.org