Report by:
"SammyRice"
I thought someone might have already written a report on this event,
but as they haven't, here goes.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to hear the two old masters in
conversation. On arriving at the entrance to pick up my ticket, I was
surprised to see them both parked in easy chairs in the Pictureville
foyer, posing for photographs and signing copies of proffered books
(incidentally the NMPFT has published a booklet on Jack Cardiff - see
http://www.nmpft.org.uk or
http://www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk for
details). The turnout was impressive for a drizzly Saturday afternoon.
The format for the event was more or less a chronological Q&A
accompanied by clips on film, video and dvd. There was, as expected
much P&P content. However the first clip shown was from 'Sons and
Lovers' (the fight by the railway) for obvious reasons. The first
question put to both men was how difficult is the transition between
being Director of Photography and Director of the Film. Both were
adamant that professional demarcation is the right approach, if you
are DP you do that job, if you are Director you put your faith in the
DP you have hired. Jack noted that directors have enough to do without
interfering with the cinematographer.
JC recalled Micky Powell giving him his big break after watching him
shoot the 2nd unit footage of the animal heads for Blimp. Like much of
the discussion it was a familiar tale (very interesting, how would you
like to shoot my next picture?and that was it") but a pleasure to hear
the discussion and see the interplay between the studious Mr Cardiff
and the self confessed amnesiac Mr Francis. Freddie recalled that
Micky never walked off the set, he always ran. Both agreed that the
joy and sometimes the pain of working for Powell was his impetuous
nature, but that in Jack's words he was "by far the best director I
ever worked with". He recalled with some enjoyment the first day of
shooting on AMOLAD, showing MP the novelty fade in achieved by simply
breathing on the lens. Freddie Francis recalled some lively arguments
with Powell as Camera Operator, including one where MP stormed off the
set, however he noted "people say he was a bully, but he did it to
test people, he used to respect people who stood up to him? and I
stood up to him".
If I have a criticism of the event it would be the unevenness of the
clips chosen to illustrate their work. A familiar question on the
difficulties of making the transition between black and white and
Technicolour in AMOLAD was followed by the opening scene between Peter
and June, which was cut before the transition to black and white. This
seemed a waste of an opportunity. Actually one other complaint, voiced
by the interviewees themselves was that every time a clip was shown
they had to vacate the stage and stand at the side of the screen,
which seems at little disrespectful to such distinguished
Octogenarians. As Freddie noted "when we come next time, can we have
wheelchairs?"
A question about the demarcation of roles between Powell and
Pressburger led to another oft told but amusing anecdote (tinged with
pathos). Jack recalled one of Emeric's last public appearances at a
screening ("when he had even more trouble getting on to the stage than
I do now") and a tumultuous ovation met by the remark " Thank you for
that wonderful applause?a trifle late" Both recalled EP as the perfect
foil to MP's 'explosive' enthusiasm. JC noted that EP would stand by
and say "very good Michael, but don't forget that in the next scene
you have to do such and such. and of course MP had forgotten, but
Emeric knew. He was a wonderful writer and a wise man." JC was very
engaging on his early rootless life, the benefits of his theatrical
upbringing and an almost incidental move into the industry he graced
with such distinction. He is proud of his appreciation of acting and
direction alongside his technical skills, noting a scene in Black
Narcissus where Deborah Kerr's performance so impressed him that he
didn't notice a lamp going out in the background. ("Michael turned to
me and said 'I suppose you'll want to do it again, Jack' but I shook
my head and said "they'll be watching her"). Towards the end of the
discussion the 'composed sequence' from Black Narcissus was shown (on
DVD) - Kathleen Byron's make up still prompts audible intakes of
breath from the audience. JC then retold his famous anecdote about the
sequence cut from the final copy thanks to "my bright idea" about
pouring droplets of water onto the rhubarb leaves to signal the coming
of the Monsoon. The other clips shown to illustrate the genius of Jack
Cardiff were the riot scene in Young Cassidy, Jack noting how he shot
all but 4 minutes of the film but the reviews concluded that all the
best sequences had been shot by John Ford, and the end sequence of The
African Queen.
The extracts used to pay tribute to Freddie Francis focused entirely
on his career as a DP (so no crucifix climax from Dracula Has Risen
>From the Grave). Extracts from The Elephant Man, Glory, Cape Fear and
The Haunting were shown. Unfortunately the Bradford shot "Room At The
Top" extract was plagued by technical problems and had to be
abandoned. Freddie was mischievously amusing and winningly forgetful,
being prompted from the front row. He recalled how his first meeting
with Scorsese for Cape Fear spent five minutes discussing the film and
two hours being quizzed about working with Michael Powell.
The open Q&A session at the end produced some insights and some
amusing banter. Their shared laments about the state of the industry
included the consistent lack of good producers in the UK (unlike Korda
who knew that the skill of a good producer was in using other people's
money) and the baleful influence of Film Schools. Both were thankful
that they had not suffered directorial interference in their role as
DP's. JC noted that in the good old days the DP was asked to achieve
an effect, mood or look, now such requests are more likely to be
phrased as "I want you to use such an such a lens, shoot on new stock
as its much faster and we need it for this scene". A question on the
future of cinema led to JC repeating his view that celluloid will go
due to the advance of digital. FF countered "I've been retired from
the business for 3 years so I haven't got a clue about digital". Both
also felt that "all leading ladies look the same these days"
(discuss).
What shone out like a key light from both men was their belief in
professionalism, being able to do the job well and achieve the look
the Director asked for. Perhaps those in attendance who wanted tips
and technical anecdotes would have been slightly disappointed by the
discussion but Jack in particular made some beautiful unprompted
observations. However it was a wonderful opportunity to here two men
who embody the greatness of British cinema, its combination of
professionalism and artistry. I'll leave it to Freddie to sum up their
approach in answer to a question about the challenge of cinemascope -
"I view life through a viewfinder anyway, you just have to change the
dimensions."
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