Jack Cardiff

One of his early roles was as a crowd member in Things to Come.

The effects team, I looked up, includes Jack Cardiff, the astonishing cinematographer who do everything, just absolutely brilliant cinematographer.

And Peter Ellenshaw, who's the map painting genius who worked for Disney.

He did those astonishing landscapes of London in Mary Poppins.

So, I mean, it's just not it's not really working for him at the end of his career.

And it's interesting because even if you still watch something like Million Dollar Mystery, which is just a mess narratively, there's still he's working with Jack Cardiff.

Right.

I mean, there are still shots in individual shots in that film that look stunning.

like you said he did die young 50 years old

all right so the next one is buried into the camera department of dark journey there was a young camera operator named jack cardiff

okay

he went on to become one of the greatest technicolor cinematographers in movie history he shot black narcissus the red shoes a matter of life and death he won an oscar for cinematography for black narcissus And in 2001, he received an honorary award for Master of Light and Color by the Academy.

And yet, by giving this incredible veneer, right, you know, we've got, you know, we've got Public Enemy, Fight the Power as the soundtrack for the entirety of the film.

You've got this aesthetic that he drew from, you know, Jack Cardiff shooting on Technicolour on the red shoes, this kind of incredible saturation and colours moving towards oranges and reds and golds.

So, and, you know, the backdrop is, you know, kind of American urban culture of the late 80s.

So it's kind of, you know, it's hip hop, it's graffiti, it's, you know, a certain kind of look.

Wow.

But director Jack Cardiff's 1960 film version.

which starred Dean Stockwell as Paul, Wendy Hiller as Gertrude, and Trevor Howard as Morell, the father, was nominated for seven Academy Awards.

Oh, goodness.

You know, watching this film, reading your book, doing all the research, I had a brief moment where I thought, shit, do I like the ballet? Do I like the ballet

now? You know who had that experience? Jack Cardiff.

He thought the ballet was for, a word I probably shouldn't say, you know, effeminate people.

And then he made The Red Shoes and he was like, no, I'm a hardcore ballet fan now.

So the cinematographer and you, same journey.

I mean...

Jack Cardiff and I we have so much in common.

I highly recommend, if you do like the Red Shoes, go and try and see a live ballet as soon as you can.

Moria Shiri is a rising star ballerina turned between an idealistic composer and a ruthless impresario intent on perfection.

Featuring outstanding performances, blazing beautiful cinematography by the great Jack Cardiff, Oscar-winning sets and music, and an unforgettable, hallucinatory, sensual dream dance sequence, This beloved classic, now dazzlingly restored, stands as an enthralling tribute to the life of the artist.

And I am going to play right now just a clip of the 75th anniversary trailer.

Miss Page, what do you want from life? To live?

Oh, Trevor Howard is an actor, not the maker.

The maker is, the director is Jack Cardiff, which is really cool because he was a cinematographer on The Red Shoes in 1948.

I don't know.

Cinematographer to director is a really cool switch.

I also completely

off track, but I...

You know what Jack Cardiff also directed?

What?

Yeah.

Which becomes even stranger when you realize the cinematographer was Jack Cardiff.

the Oscar-winning cinematographer for The Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes.

Wow.