User Reviews

Mr Review- BBC 3part mini series "Black Narcissus "

My Rating 7/10 I rarely find any satisfaction with remakes of Classic films unless they can add something new apart from new Actors in roles that have been so iconically associated with their famous original interpretations I can't rubbish this 3 part series that has padded out to 187 minutes what the original 1947 Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell masterpiece achieved more effectively in 101. If you haven't seen the original film put in on your list but see this series first and I'd be amazed if you don't prefer the original as I do . I'm inclined to agree with Rotten Tomatoes review which reported an approval rating of 53% based on 19 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.69/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Black Narcissus doesn't quite escape the shadow of its cinematic forebear, but this miniseries sufficiently keeps the faith with excellent performances and visual splendor. What I enjoyed about this new version were the performances mostly all excellent ,especially Gemma Arterton as Sister Clodagh she had tough shoes to fill as Deborah Kerr was extraordinary in the original. Set in 1934 Sister Clodagh leads an order of hand picked British nuns from her order in Darjeeling to the remote Palace of Mopu in the Himalayas where she sets up a mission school. It's a curious and eerie place, full of shadows, with memories of tragedy attached to its perilous bell tower seemingly soaked in the walls. However the unsettling atmosphere, the distracting presence of Mr. Dean and the ghosts of the previous occupants stir memories she'd thought she had forgotten. In a way it seemed to me the three key characters of Sister Clodagh , Sister Ruth and especially Mr Dean ( Alessandro Nivola) who was eerily like David Farrar the original character were cloned to be as identical as possible to the Original Actors In the 1947 film and they all give terrific performances. Is that a compliment? I suppose so but why copy the mannerisms of the original character if not adding anything new? What I missed in this new version was the magic of the sounds and music of the original. This version looks magnificent,so does the original but the original in my opinion is superior because it looks like a beautiful exotic painting come to life. It's no wonder the 1947 film won 2 Oscars for Best Colour Cinematography and Best Art Direction -Colour Set Direction , The 1947 film Black Narcissus was famously filmed entirely in the UK, shot inside Pinewood Studios and in the sub-tropical Leonardslee Gardens in West Sussex. The painted backdrops of the mountains became synonymous with the film, as they helped create the dreamlike atmosphere. However, the BBC One/ FX limited series was shot partly on location, with the crew filming exterior shots in Jomsom, Nepal, in addition to shooting in Pinewood Studios. Location was key for the limited series, as the beauty of the remote palace of Mopu tests all the nuns in different ways. I also prefer the supporting characters in the original film like Sabu as the young General and Flora Robson as Sister Philippa are irreplaceable and seemed ordinary in this. Even the odd casting of Jean Simmons as Kanchi the lower class young native girl seemed more effective in the original. It however would cause an outrage now if a white actor was artificially coloured to play a native girl and Dipika Kunwar is lovely in the role of Kanchi. It was a joy to see Dame Diana Rigg who plays Mother Dorothea, the senior nun who tells Sister Clodagh about the mission at Mopu and expresses her reservations about their future success - given a group of German monks fled the same place months earlier under mysterious circumstances. Black Narcissus is one of Dame Diana's final performances before she died on September 10, 2020 aged 82 after suffering from lung cancer. I can recommend this series with a few reservations. I enjoyed it and it's better than I imagined. If it's your first experience with Black Narcissus you'll enjoy the performances mystery and exotic location of the story.

I cannot help but compare this with the 1947 movie of the same name. This may not be fair but I cannot separate the two. In a lot of ways, this remake is a lot more coherent than the original. At least I found it easier to follow which may be a detriment. Easier turns into simpler and overall, flatter than the original. It misses opportunities to be weird, ambiguous, humorous that the 1947 version did not. My advice, watch the original...obviously. If for no other reason than to see a large man bouncing on a small burro up and down the Himalayas. Then compare it to the simple horse in 2020/ Just one example of greatness vs average.

The story was interesting enough, and much better than the usual fare in the "nuns + supernatural" genre. The acting was excellent, as well as the script, though a little slow: basically it's a three hour suspense/drama movie, not a series.

The elephant in the room (or behind the palace) was the fake scenery. This could have been a minor flaw in the execution, except that the fake view was heavily featured throughout, with the apparent intent to be awe-inspiring. But it just seemed to be an actual vista inserted onto a green screen behind the palace set, and/or via CGI. And then when certain effects were added to the skyline to further the plot, they looked hopelessly amateurish and even more fake.

I've never read the book - and most reviewers say don't bother! The '47 film was superb and one can not compare a TV version of 180 minutes with a far shorter film. David Farrar was memorable, and his performance is matched by the current guy, who I suspect is of Italian origin, although married to Emily Mortimer. Professional TV critics in the UK have a very mixed range of stars and that indicates a very mixed range of talent. I suspect the older critics that saw the film will rate the TV series a lot lower than younger critics. For my part the writing and directing are both sub-standard, with ridiculous brief 3 seconds? flashbacks that have no dialogue or clues as to what is being shown. The last two episodes will not be watched by me.

I loved the authenticity of this film!

Honestly ive seen loads of nuns over my years and they all had loads of makeup on and perfectly fashioned eyebrows with shaved heads......

Characters lacked depth as did the script and the plot. It resembled a mediocre episode of Death in Paradise, painfully and laboriously stretched out across three tedious hours. Repetitious, predictable and irritating. Given the continual windy conditions one would have also thought Mr Dean might have found time in his busy schedule of getting on and off his horse to fix some bolts on the shutters and a balustrade around the bell tower!

It was a bit slow in places but it kept you guessing and the final ending wasn't quite as I would have expected. Definitely not the worst out there at the moment, give it a try.

Great novel by Margaret Rumer Godden. Great 1947 movie with Deborah Kerr. Poor 2020 BBC adaptation. This mini tv series is not only lacking vigour and enthusiasm but technically the poor cinematography really begs the question. I watched this in UHD and could not believe how dull the quality of the picture was. Perhaps a successful attempt to complete the dullness of this series.

Nothing; not other worldly cinematography , superb performances, excellent editing and remarkable direction can save Black Narcissus from it's source material, which is far too heavy handed and moralistic to be considered a classic.

7 stars for extraordinary effort but I barely made it through Black Narcissus, the original Soap Opera.

While I enjoyed the middle episode and got a good laugh at the end of the first episode ("It has started."), the third episode ended without a whimper or a bang.

Overall, this was a real muddle. It didn't work as a story about sexual tension and it didn't work as a ghost story.

Where was the sexual tension? There were far too many flashbacks to Sister Clodagh's hornier early days. It seemed like these were included because the writers couldn't work out how to build sexual tension in the present.

Where were the scares of an effective ghost story? I got much more of a scare from the faffing about on the bell tower than from any ghostly goings on. (Probably not best watched if you suffer from a fear of heights.)

So something you might have on in the background, but nothing worth watching intently.

I thoroughly enjoyed this three part series, a dark, intense series, packed with tensions, undertones, and a ghostly gothic vibe.

Anyone watching this expecting an action packed drama, perhaps has never read the book, that was never the direction of the original text, instead you get an intense character driven story of repression, passion and jealousy.

Gemma Arterton is the true standout, her performance is excellent throughout, Rosie Cavaliero, Aisling Franciosi and Gina McKee are very good also.

It looks sublime, bright vibrant colours contrasted against the simplicity of the nuns, vast, breathtaking landscapes, it's a visual feast.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, a nice end to 2020, 8/10.

...had the opportunity of being so much more! The storyline is very good and it had so much potential. Disappointing really, as the list of actors was impressive and no bad performances. A sprinkle of sex, violence and some ruffty tuffey fun would have been excellent!!

Thinking of watching this? DON'T! In the 1st hour nothing happens. In the 2nd hour nothing happens. In the 3rd hour nothing happens. Switch your TV off and watch the blank screen for 3 hours instead because that has more story, and more excitement than this dross.

I endorse most reviewers here in saying that this three-hour mini-series was long-drawn out and somewhat tedious. Acting was good but they didn't have much material to truly excel. The directing was good but again nothing to shout about. Most re-makes of original films or drama series seldom better the originals, and this mini-series is no exception. One shout-out that deserves mention though is that the original 1947 film was far ahead of it's time in questioning the nuances of the Catholic religion as well as religion generally. Not that this is a surprise in modern times. A good watch, but certainly not edge-of-your-seat stuff...

This was three 1.5 hr episodes. Episode 2 was useless. Even with only the first and third episode, I never really saw a story. Why was there a haunting? Did the German monks have the same haunting? Does it only affect women? I'll leave the source of the name a secret. But, it was very lame and is not related to the baseline(?) haunting story.

Watching this tripe is rather like being Prometheus and having your liver eaten by crows for every minute watched.

I give it 3 stars because of the dramatic setting and architecture.

Give this bore fest a miss.

When i first heard of this and the cast therein I thought, I'm having that. However what I saw was truly disappointing. It was dull, very dull. Giving the actors at their disposal they certainty did not get the best from them. There was no Va Va Voom or depth to any of the characters and scary it was not. The whole thing seemed sub standard to me especially given the material and actors on show. Watch the 1947 version and skip this, you will be doing yourself a favor.

Black Narcissus is a story of ghosts, wind, faith, frustration, sexual tension and madness. The story has touches of gothic horror with nuns unraveling against a mountainous backdrop. The production values , period costumes and also by the maddening wind, which fills the sound design of the musical score it is extremely effective in this FX miniseries event remake of the classic 1947 film of the same name.

The underrated Gemma Arterton steps into the shoes of Deborah Kerr to play the role of Sister Clodagh, and she made the character her own. Arterton is a very talented actress. She conveys one individual's inner conflicts within an organized religious group; and the suggestion that all the nun's had lives before they became nuns and not all of them are suited to "The Life". She adds depth and tension with her struggle with lust and temptation, regret, devotion, and cultural differences.Her acting superb.

As the deranged Sister Ruth (Aisling Franciosi) is fabulous in her role, falling victim to various desires and insecurities in ways that are heartbreaking.

The performances by Gemma Arterton and Aisling Franciosi sister Ruth (who starts to unravel from pretty much the minute she gets to the Himalayas) are superlative, their facial expressions revealing deep heartfelt emotion and pain.

Black Narcissus FX mini series event was well done. This is satisfying melodrama and wonderful television . Bravo. FX/BBC .

If this is supposed to be a story about the head nun questioning her vow of celibacy and another having the hots for a man, then it's failing miserably. Currently watching the 3rd episode and I'm thinking where's the story going, it is so slow. It needs to have an ending like Ken Russell's'The Devils' then the 3 hours of tedium would have been worth it.

What were FX and the BBC thinking? 70-plus years on from the spectacular and memorable original and they can't do better than this? Dreadful photography, heavy handed digital tweaking of the color, hopeless continuity, and really stilted directing. And what was with the awful CGI backgrounds? They were not even stylised, they were just bad, with focus that didn't match the foregrounds in many cases. Every time one of those shots came up it took you right out of the show. Not that we were ever much into it. What a shame.

Despite some cameo appearances of favorite actors, it wasn't compelling to me.

Do not waste 3 hours of your life on this drivel. Nothing happens at all!

I can't agree with the grumbling viewers here who obviously are not used to thoughtful slow paced dramas. Black Narcissus the new T V version stays fairly close to the Powell and Pressburger classic 1948 film that made a star of Deborah Kerr, although I did see it a long time ago. Gemma Arterton, who I have no trouble watching for three hours, takes the Kerr lead, all very strict and committed on the outside but throbbing with burning passion inside her breast. Her object of desire is the handy man Mr Dean, looking and acting not dissimilar to David Farrar in the film, who clearly feels the chemistry and would like to return it. This can only be achieved on screen by long drawn out moments that build to a finality of some sort, be it happy or sad, but I'm not revealing it here. This pairing is complicated by Sister Ruth who has an overwhelming crush on Mr Dean but finds her love unrequited when she first tells him. This leads to the inevitable triangle, but will any of them achieve any happiness? The nuns are played by some well known actresses including the great Rosie Cavaliero and Gina McKee. Yes, it's slow but my wife an I were hooked for the 3 night showings. Jim Broadbent crops up to see if Sister Clodagh (Arterton) is successful or not at the teaching mission, rather like an area manager checking the staff at Tesco. I loved the special effects, excellent for a TV film, unlike some grumblests on here. I suspect some critics with low attention spans are only used to the fast edit movies of these days and have no appreciation of old fashioned melodramas like this. More please.

I thought something would happen to make this plot interesting but everything that happened was like soggy bread. I didn't expect a sex scene, and thank dog there wasn't one, but SOMETHING was needed to make this better. There wasn't any depth to any of the characters.