Kathleen Byron Has Died

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Sad news. The actress Kathleen Byron, unforgettable as the sex-maddened nun, in British classic Black Narcissus, (pictured), has died. This is one of Eyewear's favourite films, since its exotic blend of garishness, artifice, the perverse, religiosity, the far-flung, and Englishness combine to make it a truly strange and potent blend - subversive popular cinema.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Black Narcissus is a very problematic film: an undercurrent of late-Empire racism runs through it, a Conradian fear of the darkness of the other that's written into the very (fake) Himalayan landscape. For my money Byron put in a much better and more moving performance in P&P's much better, more complex and more progressive 'A Matter of Life and Death'.
Thu Jan 22, 10:27:00 am 2009
Dona said…
Black Narcissus has been on my "to watch someday" list for a long time. This might be a good time.
Thu Jan 22, 12:46:00 pm 2009
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