Jack Cardiff was a cinematographer who used art as his inspiration, with magnificent results, which can be found in films such as Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes. His sense of color, lighting, and knowledge of painting all fed his work, creating some of film's most stunning moments."Cameraman: The Life of Work of Jack Cardiff" was assembled in 2010, though obviously some of the interviews were much older. The documentary traces Cardiff's life back to its beginnings with show business parents, some work as a child actor, as a gopher on film sets, and finally, interested in travel, joining a film studio's camera department so he could see the world.With his knowledge of the master painters and the way they used light and color, Cardiff rose through the ranks, as a camera operator, and director of photography for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, The Archers.There were interviews with Martin Scorsese, Lauren Bacall, Moira Shearer, Kathleen Byron and Charlton Heston speaking about Cardiff's work -- and he worked with everyone, Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, Sylvester Stallone, etc. - but what speaks to the viewer most are the glorious images on the screen, and Cardiff talking about how he created them.As much as the program focused on the beauty of Black Narcissus, I wanted more! The incredible Himalayan scenery, created in the studio with glass shots and hanging miniatures is some of the most magnificent work ever.Highly recommended, a great portrait of an energetic artist who worked into his nineties and said he might slow down in ten years - just fantastic.

Made shortly before his death Cameraman: the life and work of Jack Cardiff is an excellent bio on Cardiff and due to his long career the history of color film as well. Working into his nineties the highly lucid and spry octogenarian covers a lot of ground with emphasis on his collaboration with the the team of Powell and Pressburger at Archer studios which produced two of the finest color works in film history Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes. There of course were decades of others that also shined from Archer and beyond with The African Queen, Pandora and the Flyiong Dutchman, War and Peace and The Vikings and Cameraman shows healthy snippets from each.Amiable and self effacing Cardiff himself makes for a wonderful guide mixing anecdotes and methods free of ego and judgment. This doc is a must for film historians as well as anyone that has ever been under the spell of celluloid magic.

British cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who made a name for himself with his splashy camera-work on the classic Powell & Pressburger films "A Matter of Life and Death", "Black Narcissus", and "The Red Shoes", recounts the cinematic milestones of his long career. Transitioning from British cinema to Hollywood filmmaking in the 1950s, Cardiff went on to work with such diverse directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Henry Hathaway, King Vidor, and John Huston. The film clips are well used, and the celebrity fans (such as Martin Scorsese) and co-workers who comment are interesting, though the second half of this documentary (after Cardiff moved from director of photography to the director's chair) is left a bit sketchy. Receiving an Academy Award nomination as Best Director for 1960's "Sons and Lovers", Cardiff admits this was the peak of his professional career...and yet we are left uncertain why such a talented and respected man didn't receive better assignments in later years. Still, finishing off with Cardiff's recent honorary Oscar celebration for the bulk of his work was a nice touch, proving that wisdom and talent go hand in hand--and age doesn't necessarily diminish either.

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.