Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Interesting documentary features interviews with Kirk Douglas, Martin Scorsese, Lauren Bacall, Charlon Heston, Kim Hunter, Thelma Schoonmaker, Alan Parker and many others as they discuss the now legendary work of cameraman Jack Cardiff. If you're unfamiliar with Cardiff's work then you'll notice here that he worked on some classic pictures and worked with a number of legendary directors including Michael Powell, Laurence Olivier, Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston. The best thing that can be said about this documentary is the fact that it works perfectly as an educational piece because not only does it inform new people to who Cardiff was but it also educates the fans by showing in detail certain shots and skills that he brought to his profession. Some of the best moments include Douglas talking about working on THE VIKING and we even get some terrific outtakes showing the actor doing his stunts and messing up on a couple. We also get to hear Scorsese talk about how Cardiff's work made his love British cinema and we hear from Parker about the brilliant use of colors. I think fans of Cardiff will mainly enjoy the man himself being interviewed about the countless productions he worked on. He talks about what it was like in the silent era and how things changed when sound came into play. From here we learn about how he got involved in Technicolor and how THE RED SHOES pretty much changed and ended everything. We also hear about his attempts at directing and how critics really weren't too friendly to him. Fans of Cardiff will certainly love hearing about his life and career and it's certainly special having him go over so many important films.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Interesting documentary features interviews with Kirk Douglas, Martin Scorsese, Lauren Bacall, Charlon Heston, Kim Hunter, Thelma Schoonmaker, Alan Parker and many others as they discuss the now legendary work of cameraman Jack Cardiff. If you're unfamiliar with Cardiff's work then you'll notice here that he worked on some classic pictures and worked with a number of legendary directors including Michael Powell, Laurence Olivier, Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston. The best thing that can be said about this documentary is the fact that it works perfectly as an educational piece because not only does it inform new people to who Cardiff was but it also educates the fans by showing in detail certain shots and skills that he brought to his profession. Some of the best moments include Douglas talking about working on THE VIKING and we even get some terrific outtakes showing the actor doing his stunts and messing up on a couple. We also get to hear Scorsese talk about how Cardiff's work made his love British cinema and we hear from Parker about the brilliant use of colors. I think fans of Cardiff will mainly enjoy the man himself being interviewed about the countless productions he worked on. He talks about what it was like in the silent era and how things changed when sound came into play. From here we learn about how he got involved in Technicolor and how THE RED SHOES pretty much changed and ended everything. We also hear about his attempts at directing and how critics really weren't too friendly to him. Fans of Cardiff will certainly love hearing about his life and career and it's certainly special having him go over so many important films.