Jack Cardiff (18 September 1914 – 22 April 2009) was a British

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

, film and television director, and photographer. His career spanned the development of cinema, from

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

, through early experiments in

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

, to filmmaking more than half a century later. He is best known for his influential colour cinematography for directors such as

Powell and Pressburger The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. T ...

('' A Matter of Life and Death'', '' Black Narcissus'', and '' The Red Shoes''),

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

('' The African Queen'') and

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

('' Under Capricorn''). He is also known for his work as a director – in particular, his critically acclaimed film '' Sons and Lovers'' (1960) for which he was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibit ...

. In 2000, he was appointed as an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

and, in 2001, he was awarded an Academy Honorary Award for his contribution to the cinema. Jack Cardiff's work is reviewed in the documentary film '' Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff'' (2010) and Terry Johnson's stage play '' Prism'' (2017).

Early life

Cardiff was born in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

, Norfolk, the son of Florence and John Joseph Cardiff,

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

entertainers. He worked as an actor from an early age, both in the music hall and in a number of silent films, including ''My Son, My Son'' (1918), ''Billy's Rose'' (1922), '' The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots'' (1923) and '' Tip Toes'' (1927). At 15, he began working as a camera assistant, clapper boy and production runner for British International Pictures, including

's '' The Skin Game'' (1931).

Cinematography

In 1935, Cardiff graduated as a camera operator and occasional

, working mostly for

London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included '' The Private Li ...

. He was a camera operator on the first film in Britain shot in

, '' Wings of the Morning'' (1937). When the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began, he worked as a cinematographer on public information films. He did a number of films on India where the British wanted to showcase the new capital city of Delhi. The turning point in his career was as a second unit Technicolor camera operator on

's ''

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' is a 1943 British romantic-war film written, produced and directed by the British film-making team of Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and ...

'' (1943); they were sufficiently impressed to hire Cardiff as cinematographer on their post-war Technicolor '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946). Their collaboration continued with '' Black Narcissus'' (1947), which won Cardiff an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

and a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

, and '' The Red Shoes'' (1948). These films put Cardiff's talents in high demand, and a string of big-budget films followed. In 1995, the British Society of Cinematographers conferred a lifetime achievement award on Cardiff.

Directorial work

In the late 1950s Cardiff began to direct, with two modest successes in ''Intent to Kill'' (1958) and '' Web of Evidence'' (1959). His version of D. H. Lawrence's novel '' Sons and Lovers'' (1960), starring Trevor Howard, Wendy Hiller and Dean Stockwell, was a hit, critically and at the box-office. It received seven

nominations (including a Best Director nomination for Cardiff) and Freddie Francis won for Best Black-and-White Cinematography. Cardiff received a Golden Globe Award for Best Director.

Later life

After concentrating on direction in the 1960s, he returned to cinematography in the 1970s and 1980s, working on mainstream commercial films in the United States. One of the last films Cardiff photographed was at Pinewood Studios in 2004 when he lit veteran actor Sir John Mills in a short entitled ''Lights 2'' (dir. Marcus Dillistone). The combined age of leading actor and cinematographer was a record 186 years.

Death

Cardiff died on 22 April 2009, aged 94, the same day as Ken Annakin, with whom he had worked on '' The Fifth Musketeer'' (1979). He was survived by his wife and his four sons.

Filmography

Jack Cardiff was the camera operator and then cinematographer for 73 films, documentaries and TV series between 1935 and 2007. These are some of the main films:

Cinematographer

Director

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards Other awards

Legacy

A feature-length documentary was made about Cardiff's life and career, '' Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff'' (2010) by Craig McCall. It took 17 years to make, and was not completed until after Cardiff had died. As well as many interviews with Cardiff, it included tributes from Sir John Mills,

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

, Thelma Schoonmaker, Kathleen Byron, Kim Hunter, Moira Shearer,

Lauren Bacall Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014), professionally known as Lauren Bacall ( ), was an American actress. She was named the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the America ...

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

and

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. It was selected for the official selection of ''Cannes Classics'' at the Festival de Cannes in 2010, as well as four other important film festivals that year. ''Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff'' was shown as part of the Great Yarmouth Arts Festival 2014 along with some of his photographs, often taken as preliminaries to lighting the films. Further celebrations to mark his birth date took place that September, particularly at the Time and Tide Museum in Great Yarmouth. Cardiff's life was also explored in the 2017 stage play '' Prism'' by Terry Johnson.

Bibliography

* ''Magic Hour'' (1996).

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

limited. . Foreword by

. * ''Conversations with Jack Cardiff: Art, Light and Direction in Cinema'' by Justin Bowyer ()

References

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Radio 4's ''The Film Programme'
special edition on Jack Cardiff
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardiff, Jack 1914 births 2009 deaths Academy Honorary Award recipients Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners Best Director Golden Globe winners English cinematographers English film directors Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Great Yarmouth