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Magic Hour: A Life in Movies
Jack Cardiff tells the story of his life in films, first as a cameraman and then as a director. He was one of the first to use the Technicolor film camera, and the book provides a record of how colour cinematography developed in Britain. He also provides a humorous account of his days on the music-hall circuit during the 1920s and '30s, and anecdotes about his experiences photographing actresses such as Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe.
272 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 21, 2017
Jack Cardiff was one of the great cinematographers, a beacon within the British film industry. His memoirs, I figured, would illuminate some of his techniques (it does) while also spilling the beans on the directors and stars with whom he worked (it does). Therefore, this was a book I eagerly waited as it marched up my collection funnel.
I became a chain reader...a golden chain of enthralling links that hooked me securely on subject after subject.
Cardiff started his career as a young boy and simply worked his way up from there. Instead of university, he would read and read and read, which provided him with a curiosity that others in his profession may have lacked. When Technicolor visited London to find and train one lucky cameraman, Cardiff won the job, not through memorized technical statistics but as the only applicant who used old master and impressionist paintings as his film guidelines. He would eventually become a director himself, the pinnacle for his profession.
It is one thing to read a book about King Agamemnon and Mycenae, but to actually be there, before the still-extant walls of the great palace; to stand on the hilltop and see columns of Agamemnon's soldiers coming toward us (I swear I saw them!) or at the famous Lion's Gate through which Agamemnon's chariot would have swept, was awesome.
I loved Cardiff's excitement at new locations, new hotels, new actors. It carried over to the printed page and allowed me to understand how he could come up with solutions to unexpected problems. Towards the end of the book, he devotes entire chapters to Errol Flynn, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, and Katharine Hepburn. All of it kept me enthralled, mostly because Jack Cardiff worked in the golden era, long before digital paralysis made movies boring.
Good stuff, highly recommended for anyone who wants to pursue a career in cinema or the lazier ones, like me, who would prefer to read about it all.
Book Season = Year Round (highest branch)
I became a chain reader...a golden chain of enthralling links that hooked me securely on subject after subject.
Cardiff started his career as a young boy and simply worked his way up from there. Instead of university, he would read and read and read, which provided him with a curiosity that others in his profession may have lacked. When Technicolor visited London to find and train one lucky cameraman, Cardiff won the job, not through memorized technical statistics but as the only applicant who used old master and impressionist paintings as his film guidelines. He would eventually become a director himself, the pinnacle for his profession.
It is one thing to read a book about King Agamemnon and Mycenae, but to actually be there, before the still-extant walls of the great palace; to stand on the hilltop and see columns of Agamemnon's soldiers coming toward us (I swear I saw them!) or at the famous Lion's Gate through which Agamemnon's chariot would have swept, was awesome.
I loved Cardiff's excitement at new locations, new hotels, new actors. It carried over to the printed page and allowed me to understand how he could come up with solutions to unexpected problems. Towards the end of the book, he devotes entire chapters to Errol Flynn, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, and Katharine Hepburn. All of it kept me enthralled, mostly because Jack Cardiff worked in the golden era, long before digital paralysis made movies boring.
Good stuff, highly recommended for anyone who wants to pursue a career in cinema or the lazier ones, like me, who would prefer to read about it all.
Book Season = Year Round (highest branch)
June 4, 2015
I think in life it's fitting to find at least one book that will function as your working "bible" in relation to the profession that you are aiming to embark upon. Mentors can be found within pages of these 'bibles'- autobiographical books that tell the stories of great craftsmen who yearn to educate and share the joys of their lives and their experiences. These books have the ability to cling to the mind, like a great love, and remain a constant source of inspiration.
Magic Hour is my literary bible, and I would recommend it to anyone. I can guarantee that even if your interest in cinematography is limited, you will walk away after reading with a new appreciation for the subject.
There is an artistry in Jack Cardiff's writing that breathes life and colour perhaps as much as his films. Magic Hour is breathtaking, with a foreword from Martin Scorsese, who describes the colouring in Cardiff's films as that which "is so vivid and richly imagined that you can virtually taste it". Cardiff gives an insight to his evolution as a cinematographer, from his humble beginnings all the way up to his cinematic Hollywood conquests. Jack Cardiff has always been a source of inspiration for me; a working kindred spirit, and reading Magic Hour has only reaffirmed this.
Magic Hour is my literary bible, and I would recommend it to anyone. I can guarantee that even if your interest in cinematography is limited, you will walk away after reading with a new appreciation for the subject.
There is an artistry in Jack Cardiff's writing that breathes life and colour perhaps as much as his films. Magic Hour is breathtaking, with a foreword from Martin Scorsese, who describes the colouring in Cardiff's films as that which "is so vivid and richly imagined that you can virtually taste it". Cardiff gives an insight to his evolution as a cinematographer, from his humble beginnings all the way up to his cinematic Hollywood conquests. Jack Cardiff has always been a source of inspiration for me; a working kindred spirit, and reading Magic Hour has only reaffirmed this.
March 29, 2020
After seeing Robert Lindsay in the play Prism at Chichester Festival Theatre last year, I was gifted this book at Christmas and managed to read it with his voice in mind. What a beautiful collection of stories, with some great insight into the history of British cinema. Some outdated language here and there, but to change it would be to lie about the language used in the past.
December 27, 2022
If you like Hollywood stories and autobiographies of the golden age especially, then you will love this book. It's a great read and covers the life of an underrated talent. Written with humour and modesty.
October 15, 2022
Swoon. A hero.
December 27, 2010
An awesome autobiography from one of the greatest cinematographers in the history of film. Despite coming across as almost congenitally humble, Jack Cardiff carved for himself an extraordinary career and peppered it with touching and memorable interludes with some of the biggest names in film, including Marilyn Monroe, Errol Flynn, Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren and many more. More than just a director of photography, I feel that Cardiff was actually the last great Impressionist of the 20th century--his medium just happened to be celluloid instead of oil-on-canvas. (And, for what it's worth, he was also an accomplished oil-on-canvas painter too.)
March 12, 2013
Interesting memoir from Jack Cardiff on his life in movies from the early days as a clapperboard operator to senior cameraman and director.
Detailed insights particularly on the difficulty of shooting The African Queen and his personal friendships with Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren.
There is a slight tendency for some of the stories to be a little like:
"....and then I met Frank Sinatra......and then I met Jean Cocteau....and then I met David O Selznick....."
Detailed insights particularly on the difficulty of shooting The African Queen and his personal friendships with Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren.
There is a slight tendency for some of the stories to be a little like:
"....and then I met Frank Sinatra......and then I met Jean Cocteau....and then I met David O Selznick....."
November 7, 2023
Got a signed copy from the man himself when he gave a talk at a Brighton Film School Cinematography lecture back in 2001. Regaled us with fascinating tales of his encounters with Hollywood greats. Marred only by my asking if he’d ever met Cagney. He hadn’t. DOH!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews