Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticIn retrospect, it may have been a mistake to watch the original Archers film production of “Black Narcissus” before screening the limited series “Black Narcissus,” produced for FX and BBC One.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1947 take on Rumer Godden’s novel is a cinematic landmark of its era, leaning on saturated colors, dramatic music cues and performances so pointed they threatened to draw blood.
It’s dated but deliberate, tense and taut with simmering lust. This 2020 update, from writer Amanda Coe and director Charlotte Bruus Christensen, is careful to state that its primary source material is Godden’s book rather than the Archers’ film, and as such, should have more room to play with and develop.
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