Jack Cardiff

[Hackett]

18th September 2004 Happy Birthday to Jack Cardiff 90 years young and still working. I wonder who might have a few words to say about his past works? (Steve).

[Steve Crook]

HACKETT: 18th September 2004 Happy Birthday to Jack Cardiff 90 years young and still working. I wonder who might have a few words to say about his past works? (Steve).

We sent our best wishes to him on his birthday. He's a lovely bloke. I've met him quite a few times now. He'll be at Canterbury on Sun 10th Oct to introduce Black Narcissus.

To see his skills as a cinematographer, just look at A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), The African Queen (1951) and various others.

As a director I'd suggest Sons and Lovers (1960), Young Cassidy (1965) and Girl on a Motorcycle (1968).

He won the Oscar for his work on Black Narcissus and got a special Oscar at the 2001 awards.

He's worked with just about everyone in Sexy Beast and has a fund of amazing stories.

His autobiography, "Magic Hour: The Life of a Cameraman" and "Conversations with Jack Cardiff" by Justin Bowyer are both very good books.

Steve

[deckard]

Heartily agreed! It still amazes me when I think of all that wonderful scenery in "Black Narcissus" were black & white pictures coloured in with pastels, how did he ever do it!

[Steve Crook]

deckard: Heartily agreed! It still amazes me when I think of all that wonderful scenery in "Black Narcissus" were black & white pictures coloured in with pastels, how did he ever do it!

It's much quoted - but that was only the views seen through the windows of the "Palace of Women". Straight shots of just the mountains or that vertiginous drop below the bell tower were painted in full colour.

The view down from the bell tower was by Peter Ellenshaw who went on to do some great work for Disney.

Jack Cardiff worked very closely with designer Alfred Junge. As Jack was an artist in his own right and had studied all the old masters they could both work well together and ignore what Natalie Kalmus of Technicolor demanded they do. Whenever there was an argument with Technicolor, and there were many, Powell always backed up his team.

Steve

[JamesM]

And not just any old Disney films, he worked on the Black Hole, perhaps the darkest Disney live action film ever.

[Wetherby Pond]

Originally posted by Steve Crook@Sep 20 2004, 04:00 PM He's worked with just about everyone in Sexy Beast and has a fund of amazing stories.

This is wonderful - much better than the cor rection in the Alan Clarke thread (go here if you want to know what on earth I'm talking about) because it actually makes grammatical sense - even if it's untrue!

[Steve Crook]

Originally posted by Wetherby Pond@Aug 20 2005, 02:46 PM This is wonderful - much better than the correction in the Alan Clarke thread (go here if you want to know what on earth I'm talking about) because it actually makes grammatical sense - even if it's untrue!

And in this case it's Jack himself who is still a Sexy Beast.
He was at the NFT today where Thelma Schoonmaker came over to talk about Michael Powell.

Interesting bug (or auto-edit). Something is converting every occurence of T.h.e...B.u.s.i.n.e.s.s (without the dots) into Sexy Beast

Steve

[Wetherby Pond]

Originally posted by Steve Crook@Aug 21 2005, 05:23 AM Interesting bug (or auto-edit). Something is converting every occurence of T.h.e...B.u.s.i.n.e.s.s

It's definitely deliberate - almost certainly a side-effect of all the recent spamming we've been having about a certain Nick Love film that's due to open quite soon.

Very sensibly, someone has decided to wreck future attempts by ensuring that the title is always reproduced as Sexy Beast (the film which the Sight & Sound review used as a stick to beat Love's film with), though it's had some amusing side-effects.

[harryfielder]

Hi folks,
I got to work with Jack on a film called Mutations 1973 with the not yet Dr Who Tom Baker....I remember he has two sons, one was Rodney who did some extra work in films and tv.

Jack directed this film out of Bray studios....

Aitch,

[smudge]

Originally posted by harryfielder@Aug 23 2005, 04:09 PM Hi folks, I got to work with Jack on a film called Mutations 1973 with the not yet Dr Who Tom Baker....I remember he has two sons, one was Rodney who did some extra work in films and tv. Jack directed this film out of Bray studios.... Aitch,

His other son, Luke (?), went into film & TV photography Aitch...

Any particular memories of Bray at that time ?

It was a fair while after the Hammer organisation had decamped to Elstree. The Hammer years are well-documented, but not so much really afterwards, between then and Rocky Horror/Gerry Anderson's arrival.

You wuld have been there a year or so before Rocky, on MUTATIONS ?

SMUDGE

[Steve Crook]

Originally posted by smudge@Aug 23 2005, 05:53 PM His other son, Luke (?), went into film & TV photography Aitch...

Although Luke Cardiff filmed The Prince, the Showgirl and Me (2004) which was all about the making of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) (which Jack filmed), I don't know that Luke is related to Jack.

I thought Jack's sons were John, Rodney, Peter and Mason

Steve

[smudge]

Originally posted by Steve Crook@Aug 23 2005, 10:03 PM Although Luke Cardiff filmed The Prince, the Showgirl and Me (2004) which was all about the making of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) (which Jack filmed), I don't know that Luke is related to Jack. I thought Jack's sons were John, Rodney, Peter and Mason Steve

Thanks Steve -

I had obviously been misinformed, wherever I picked that 'fact' up from...

SMUDGE

[JamesM]

Within a month of Harry talking about his work on The Mutations, a DVD came out of the film, complete with a full commentary by Jack Cardiff himself.

Amazon.com: The Freakmaker: Donald Pleasence,Tom Baker,Brad Harris,Julie Ege,Michael Dunn,Scott Antony,Jill Haworth,Olga Anthony,Lisa Collings,Joan Scott (II),Toby Lennon,John Wireford,Eithne Dunne,Tony Mayne,Molly Tweedlie,Kathy Kitchen (II),Fran Fu

I never knew about this until now. It is released by a company called Subversive Cinema.

[rskershaw]

I always had a soft spot for 'Young Cassidy'.