Review of Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010) by Stephen B — 20 Jun 2012

At first, this documentary seems most interested in pointing out that master cinematographer Jack Cardiff was still working at the age of 91 after a very long career. He started out as a child actor before becoming almost entirely self-taught, as he learned more from a pornographic novel than school. But then it gets down to the nitty gritty of his work that spans from "Black Narcissus" to "Rambo: First Blood Part II" with a special interest in his innovations in the use of color film in 1940's England, with a glancing mention of the 13 films he directed.(Note to self: get around to seeing "Sons and Lovers" one of these years.) The documentary's anecdotal structure becomes problematic in other ways, too, especially in how often the movie goes off topic, favoring star power over technical expertise, although the home movies Cardiff shot on set almost make up for some of that.

And even then, the documentary can be maddeningly inaccurate. For example, it is nice to know Michael Powell was so fearless in the movies he made with Emeric Pressburger. However, "The Red Shoes" was not Powell's undoing. In reality, it turned out to be "Peeping Tom," made without Pressburger to hold him back.(Don't let that stop you from seeing it, though.) Plus, this documentary is framed by making a big deal about Cardiff's being belatedly given an honorary Oscar in 2001 but I looked it up and he won one for cinematography for "Black Narcissus" in 1947.