Cameraman The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)

Review: written Nov 2010

Cineastes will revel in the story of, and stories from, this artist of the big screen

Craig McCall has put a film together capturing the essence - though certainly not the life story of, the great Jack Cardiff. In a series of frank and casual interviews with Cardiff himself, and through contemporaries - actresses, directors and cinematographers he has worked with, we get a real flavour of the artistic drives the man had, and how he became the legend of cinematography, arguably most synonymous with Technicolor.

His pioneering work on the very first British colour films of Powell and Pressburger ( The Red Shoes [Blu-ray] [1948 ], A Matter Of Life And Death [DVD] [1946 ] and Black Narcissus [Blu-ray] [1946 ] of course being the most famous) is covered, as are snapshots throughout his career, even going back to his time as a clapper boy after the First World War, and mentions of his later career as director and also as cinematographer on movies with less artistic resonance (Rambo 2!). However also included are insights into his relationship with painting and photographs. The way he talks about collecting beautiful women in his astonishing set of portraits of some of the biggest names of the Golden age of Hollywood is illuminating, as he talks about how the importance of altering the light to suit the face and the circumstances. It is surprising to see his painting, and how prolific an artist he was, and to hear how much of his understanding of painting coloured his view of `painting with light'.

At one point, he casually mentions how cinema has elements of all the art forms, with the added dimension of movement. It's no wonder Scorcese speaks so highly of this warm and vibrant character, who has influenced so much of the 20th Century artform we call cinema.

The extras on the blu-ray edition I watched are carefully chosen and work well - an interview with the director, and some expanded scenes which were cut from the movie but are fascinating in their own right. Also an expanded section of Jack talking about his photographs of great actresses, as well as a photo gallery of the same. Finally, the segment on the working of Technicolor is the logical final touch, so inextricably linked was he to its evolution in British cinema.

Documentary made up of interviews on a `behind-the-scenes' guy might seem like a hard sell, but for even the most casual movie buff, there is much here to enjoy and to learn. I can only hope when I have been working for 8 decades in my chosen field, I am at least half as sprightly and engaging.