Sister Clodagh's life before becoming a sister edited out at the behest of the Legion of Decency. The 10 cuts to the film, of about 900 feet of film, were supervised by Pressburger, who commented that the cuts were "reasonable, fair and just," and that he made them to further the film's distribution, as the only bookings it had while on the "condemned" list were in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. After the cuts were made, the Legion of Decency removed the film from the list, and further bookings were possible. Critical response The Manchester Guardian described the film as possessing "good acting and skilfully built-up atmosphere" and praised the cinematography. Philip Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times gave the film high praise, deeming it an "exquisite cinematic jewel", continuing: "I can't say how authentic Black Narcissus is, but the lotus land to which it carries us is uniquely unforgettable." Jane Corby of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle described the film as a "peculiar recital of religious life" and praised the cinematography, but felt that the "mixed atmosphere of religious seclusion and romantic vagaries is very confusing". In The New York Times, Thomas M. Pryor wrote: "[t]he writing-directing duo [of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger]] have attained new artistic stature via "Black Narcissus". Seldom has Technicolor been used so realistically and with such exciting dramatic effect as in this picture." He also praised the film's use of miniatures and process shots in creating the atmosphere of the Himalayas, wrote that the drama was presented "exceedingly well", and said that the cast was "generally excellent." However, Pryor also noted that the film's "detached air of cynicism [regarding the nuns] may be disturbing to some". Awards and honors Home media The Criterion Collection, an American home media distribution company, released Black Narcissus on laserdisc in the early 1990s, and issued it on DVD in 2002. Noel Murray, writing for The A.V. Club, deemed the 2002 DVD as a "crackerjack release," noting it was a direct copy of the old laserdisc. In 2008, ITV, the corporate heir to the Rank Organisation's General Film Distributors, released a restored version of the film on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom. The Criterion Collection subsequently issued the restored version on DVD and Blu-ray on 20 July 2010. Network Distributing, under license from ITV, released another Blu-ray edition in the United Kingdom in 2014. Historical relevance Black