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.”
Cardiff also photographed the mega-hit “First Blood Part II: Rambo” and directed a handful of films, most notably “Sons and Lovers,” so there’s a lot of territory for Craig McCall’s documentary — in the works for a decade before Cardiff’s death, at 94, in 2009 — to cover.
Besides being a painter, Cardiff was a formidable raconteur who assays his long career with great humor. Chiming in for this breezy tribute filled with tantalizing clips is a who’s who of admirers, including Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, John Mills and Kim Hunter.