Jack Cardiff
Jack Cardiff OBE | |
---|---|
Born | Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England | 18 September 1914
Died | 22 April 2009 Ely, Cambridgeshire, England | (aged 94)
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1918–2007 |
Known for | A Matter of Life and Death
(1946) Sons and Lovers (1960) |
Jack Cardiff,
He is best known for his influential colour cinematography for directors such as
In 2000, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire 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, Norfolk, the son of Florence and John Joseph Cardiff, music hall entertainers.[1]
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 Alfred Hitchcock's The Skin Game (1931).[citation needed]
Cinematography
In 1935, Cardiff graduated as a camera operator and occasional
The turning point in his career was as a second unit Technicolor camera operator on
In 1995, the British Society of Cinematographers conferred a lifetime achievement award on Cardiff.[2]
Directorial work
In the late 1950s Cardiff began to direct, with two modest successes in Intent to Kill (1958) and
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,[3] 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.[4]
Filmography
Jack Cardiff was the camera operator and then cinematographer for 73 films, documentaries and TV series between 1935 and 2007.[5] These are some of the main films:
Cinematographer
Director
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1953 | The Story of William Tell | unfinished |
1958 | Intent to Kill | |
1959 | Beyond This Place | US title: Web of Evidence |
1960 | Scent of Mystery | |
Sons and Lovers |
||
1962 | My Geisha | |
The Lion | ||
1963 | The Long Ships |
|
1965 | Young Cassidy | |
The Liquidator | ||
1968 | Dark of the Sun | Also known as The Mercenaries |
The Girl on a Motorcycle | US title: Naked Under Leather | |
1973 | Penny Gold | |
1974 | The Mutations |
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1947 | Best Cinematography | Black Narcissus | Won |
1956 | War and Peace | Nominated | |
1960 | Best Director | Sons and Lovers | Nominated |
1961 | Best Cinematography | Fanny | Nominated |
2001 | Honorary Oscar |
— | Won |
Other awards
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1947 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Cinematography | Black Narcissus | Nominated |
1956 | British Society of Cinematographers | Best Cinematography | War and Peace | Won |
1960 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Sons and Lovers |
Nominated |
1960 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Director | Won | |
1960 | Directors Guild of America | Best Director | Nominated | |
1960 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Director | Won | |
1960 | National Board of Review | Best Director | Won | |
1985 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Film Cameraman | The Far Pavilions | Nominated |
1994 | American Society of Cinematographers | International Award | — | Won |
1994 | British Society of Cinematographers | Lifetime Achievement Award | — | Won |
1996 | London Film Critics' Circle | Lifetime Achievement Award | — | Won |
2002 | British Film Institute | BFI Fellowship | — | Won |
Legacy
A feature-length documentary was made about Cardiff's life and career,
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.[citation needed]
Cardiff's life was also explored in the 2017 stage play Prism by Terry Johnson.
Bibliography
- Magic Hour (1996). ISBN 0-571-19274-2. Foreword by Martin Scorsese.
- Conversations with Jack Cardiff: Art, Light and Direction in Cinema by Justin Bowyer (ISBN 0-7134-8855-7)
References
- ^ "Jack Cardiff biography". Film Reference. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
- ^ "Jack Cardiff". The Daily Telegraph. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
- ^ Martin, Douglas (24 April 2009). "Jack Cardiff, Film Director, Dies at 94". The New York Times. p. 19. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- MSN Movies. Microsoft. 23 April 2009. Archived from the originalon 25 April 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
- IMDb. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
- screendaily.com. Media Business Insight Limited. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
- Festival de Cannes. 16 May 2010. Archived from the originalon 6 April 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
External links
- Jack Cardiff at IMDb
- BFI: Jack Cardiff
- Jack Cardiff biography and credits at the BFI's Screenonline
- Jack Cardiff at the Powell & Pressburger pages
- BBC Forum Interview (2001)
- BBC Radio 4's The Film Programme special edition on Jack Cardiff
- Jack Cardiff Prints