Later this week, the University of Chicago’s Doc Films screens the documentary Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff, a look at the legendary UK cinematographer. The film chronicles Cardiff’s long and varied career in the movies, including his directorial efforts and stint as a child actor, so it’s a decent introduction if you’re unfamiliar with his influence, but why bother with a biographical doc when you can dive right into the work itself? Cardiff’s innovative use of Technicolor is evident throughout his career, starting with Wings of the Morning—Britain’s first Technicolor film—and coming to fruition with the films he shot for directing team Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (aka the Archers): A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, and The Red Shoes. Cardiff was a versatile photographer, equally comfortable on location or on a soundstage; in some cases, it’s impossible to tell whether he was shooting outside or on some sort of man-made set. For instance, a particularly harrowing scene in King Vidor’s War and Peace (1956) looked to me as if it had been shot on a frozen tundra, but Cardiff later revealed it was shot onstage. In retrospect, the fact that you can’t see the actors’ breaths should have been a dead giveaway, but I was so entranced by the images that I wasn’t focused on petty details. But that’s what made Cardiff great. He transformed mere movie scenes into vivid, metaphysical spaces. You can find my five favorite films shot by Jack Cardiff after the jump.
- The Red Shoes
- The Barefoot Contessa (dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1954) The first film one should watch if interested in American 50s Technicolor. If the story can be described as contrived and often painfully obvious, Cardiff’s nuanced and elegant cinematography balances everything out. The film was largely shot in Italy, and the location photography is some of Cardiff’s most striking, though the best scene takes places at a Hollywood party where Warren Stevens gets his just comeuppance.
