Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

Audrey Hepburn and Jack Cardiff in Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)

A documentary on the life and career of cinematographer Jack Cardiff.

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Biography Documentary

In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in... Read allIn 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powel... Read allIn 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor... Read all

Director
- Craig McCall
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Craig McCall
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Quotes
[First Lines]
[Introducing Jack Cardiff prior to presenting him with his honorary Oscar in 2001]
Dustin Hoffman: For those of us who are 70 years old or younger, Jack Cardiff was shooting film before we were born.

Crazy credits
The first 22 names in the cast (through Michael Powell) are listed in the end credits in the order shown. The remaining credited cast members are identified by the narrator or Jack Cardiff.

Connections
Features Things to Come (1936)

User reviews16

Review

Featured review

9/10

A must for cinema freaks...like myself.

This is a wonderful tribute to Jack Cardiff and really gives the viewer insight into what it was to be a cinematographer during film's glory days of the 40s, 50s and beyond. This is wonderful, as MOST biographies about movie folks were about the actors and directors--and NEVER about technicians. So, in this case, you get to see and appreciate the use of color, framing, the use of matte paintings and other aspects of camera-work.

The film consists of lots of clips of films Cardiff made. In addition, they were fortunate enough to have lots of footage of Cardiff reminiscing about his work and the people he's known over the years. And, considering how incredibly old Cardiff was, he sure seemed a lot younger and alert than you'd expect from a man nearly 100! In addition, there are lots of interviews with those who worked with him or who appreciated and learned from him (such as Martin Scorsese). All in all, a wonderful tribute but also a great lesson to die-hard film buffs. Well worth seeing.