Critic Reviews
71
Metascore
Generally Favorable
positive
9(90%)
mixed
1(10%)
negative
0(0%)
Showing 10 Critic Reviews
May 10, 2011
80
Fantastical is what we get: Cameraman is filled with Cardiff's achingly beautiful work.
May 12, 2011
75
Director Craig McCall approaches Cardiff with something approaching awe, though his subject views his accomplishments with the good-natured humility befitting a proper English gentleman.
May 13, 2011
75
Legendary is an overworked adjective, but surely it applies to Jack Cardiff, the British cinematographer whose awe-inspiring resume includes some of the most beautiful Technicolor films ever shot, among them "The Red Shoes," "Black Narcissus" and "Stairway to Heaven."
Jun 23, 2011
75
The movie clips are luscious, as you'd expect, and Cardiff's own "home movies," shot on various movie sets with a 16mm camera, catch the gods during downtime.
Jul 28, 2011
75
In Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff, we learn about the visionary filmmaker through his body of work and insightful interviews with such luminaries as Martin Scorsese and Kirk Douglas as well as Cardiff himself.
May 9, 2011
70
Informative and insightful for films buffs without sacrificing accessibility to the casual fan, "Cameraman" is essential viewing for anyone interested in film history.
May 10, 2011
70
Director Alan Parker (still living) nicely describes the tightrope teeter of Cardiff's hothouse imagery: "It's great art, and then it will be kitsch, and then it will be art again." Or is he summing up cinema itself?
May 12, 2011
70
Interviews with Martin Scorsese, Lauren Bacall, Kim Hunter and the film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, Powell's widow, among others, are fascinating, though we learn almost nothing about Cardiff's personal life.
Jun 2, 2011
70
Craig McCall's affectionate "Life & Work" doesn't dig deep on the biographical side, and the lack of personal detail can be frustrating. Yet it suits its subject's gentlemanly reserve.
May 9, 2011
60
This is strictly talking heads fare, broken up with movie clips, stills and home movies; fortunately, Jack Cardiff's ephemera are better than yours.
