A Nun Catfight and America on Trial

A copyrighted film that I expect won’t be on YouTube forever is Black Narcissus, a sort of pessimistic answer to Lost Horizon. Like many Powell and Pressburger productions it’s unusual and not to everyone’s taste. The climatic scene where Deborah Kerr confronts Kathleen Byron, who is going mad with sexual desire, is truly remarkable, being both hilarious and terrifying. The influence of Powell on Hitchcock is apparent here, especially in Vertigo.

https://youtu.be/iL8FpRgLeu0

What the heck, here’s another favorite that’s even stranger. A Matter of Life and Death is known in America as Stairway to Heaven. It starts with an emotionally devastating radio chat between David Niven and Kim Hunter. He quotes Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” indicating his dying words are intended to seduce the girl he can hear but not see. Which he succeeds in doing.

Rock (of Ages) Music

I try to sustain a mostly buoyant tone in my posts, but I’ve been grappling with a difficult and stressful personal situation. Fifty years ago, during the craziness of adjusting to college life, I bought a record of Gregorian Chants. Listening to it on headphones helped to calm my nerves, so I’m going to give it a try today. Track 9, “College Runt”, is a favorite. 😉

When fully restored, I’ll follow that up with this musical meditation. See? Buoyancy!