Eye of Cardiff

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Cinematographer Jack Cardiff is no longer with us. Is there sadness in having lived 94 robust years, and in having shot 73 movies over a 72 year career? None I can sense. My favorite Cardiff-shot film is John Huston's The African Queen ('51), which I think was the first major-studio film to capture African locations in Technicolor. My second and third faves are The Vikings ('58), which Cardiff shot for director Richard Fleischer, and John Irvin's The Dogs of War ('80) -- Cardiff's last truly decent film.

Other noteworthy films shot by Cardiff (running backwards) include Girl on a Motorcycle, Fanny, Legend of the Lost, War and Peace,The Barefoot Contessa, The Black Rose, Alfred Hitchcock's Under Capricorn, The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus and Michael Powell's A Matter of Life and Death (a.k.a., Stairway to Heaven). Cardiff's first job was uncredited photography on the 1935 version of The Last Days of Pompeii (when he was 21); he also shot a 1984 TV miniseries version with the same title.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 22, 2009 at 9:59 AM

comment #1

btwnproductions says ...

Also his direction of SONS AND LOVERS and DARK OF THE SUN, two more films sadly MIA on R1 DVD. Seemed a really nice guy, too.

Posted by btwnproductions at April 22, 2009 10:49 AM

comment #2

Markj74 says ...

The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death. Three masterpieces. Rest in peace sir.

Posted by Markj74 at April 22, 2009 11:09 AM

comment #3

Marty Melville says ...

The Vikings was broadcast in HD a couple of months ago... it looked positively 3-D. A legendary career.

Posted by Marty Melville at April 22, 2009 11:14 AM

comment #4

scooterzz says ...

saw 'scent of a mystery' at a theater on wilshire blvd. when i was a kid and can honestly say i'll never ever forget it.....

his book 'magic hour' is a fun read...well worth searching out......

Posted by scooterzz at April 22, 2009 11:47 AM

comment #5

Chase Kahn says ...

Jeff, was "King Solomon's Mines" not shot before "The African Queen"? I know it was released a year earlier...

Posted by Chase Kahn at April 22, 2009 12:11 PM

comment #6

The Winchester says ...

Conan The Barbarian. Fine work.

I had the pleasure of meeting Cardiff at a film festival in Belgium 7 years ago. We smoked cigars, drank fine belgian beer, and discussed how difficult it is to get movies made these days. REal class act. He will be missed.

Posted by The Winchester at April 22, 2009 12:49 PM

comment #7

Matthew Lucas says ...

I've always thought "Black Narcissus" was the most exquisitely lit film ever made. That mountaintop finale is just stunning.

Cardiff was a great talent.

Posted by Matthew Lucas at April 22, 2009 4:33 PM

comment #8

Wrecktem says ...

Jack Cardiff loved film grain and detested leftover cake. It's true. I read about it in a book.

Posted by Wrecktem at April 22, 2009 4:47 PM

comment #9

moviemaniac2002 says ...

Check out his "Dark Of The Sun"...to this day, it still resonates with me...a wild-card mixture of
"Dirty Dozen" and "Heart Of Darkiness"...(I believe Scorcese is also one of its fervant admirers)
With that movie (designed basically as an MGM
summer popcorn diversion) Cardiff accomplished
swiftly and on a faiirly medium budget, a steady
voyage into horrorific violence that took the
pompous Coppola untold years and millions with
"Apocalyspe Now".....Rod Taylor's ultimate descent to utter savagery remains more fixed in my memory than all of Brando's mutterings....and
that weird, thumping little music score by Jacques
Louissier and the Simba 'orgy of violence' sequence have stayed with me forever.
.....and ridiculously long, long overdue for a DVD.

Posted by moviemaniac2002 at April 22, 2009 5:11 PM

comment #10

Floyd Thursby says ...

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is one of the most beautifully photographed films ever, as well as one of the strangest. Among the films he directed, The Liquidator is a reasonably effective Bond imitation.

Posted by Floyd Thursby at April 23, 2009 5:36 AM

comment #11