Jack Cardiff

The history of color photography in motion pictures, in particular the Technicolor company's work.

In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.

A documentary about the life of Errol Flynn, with recollections from friends and family.

The epic story of how the film The African Queen (1951), directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, was shot on real African locations, barely overcoming all kinds of hardships and disasters.

A dramatized retelling of Colin Clark's experience on the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, based on the diary he kept throughout production as third assistant director.

A portrait of the 30 year relationship between Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. With comments by their friends and family.

A silent film version of the Gershwin stage musical

Part 1 of a documentary about when Alexander Korda was asked about who might replace him when he has resigned as a chief of the production of the British Lion.

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Young Cassidy (1965), a film about Irish author Sean O'Casey.

How the cinema industry does not respect the author's work as it was conceived, how manipulates the motion pictures in order to make them easier to watch by an undemanding audience or even how mutilates them to adapt the original formats and runtimes to the restrictive frame of the television screen and the abusive requirements of advertising. (Followed by “Filmmakers in Action.”)

A documentary on "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp."

Documentary about the making of the 1948 British film, including interviews with members of the production team.

An examination of the great advances in cinematography achieved by Jack Cardiff.

Short documentary about cinematographer Jack Cardiff.

Like so many other actors, Ava Gardner hated to watch her films. She said that the woman on the screen wasn't her. But all films tell two stories: the plot and the tale of the bodies filmed. This film narrates what happened between two images: a first shot of 'Pandora' and a first shot of 'Harem', the first and last movie filmed by the actress in Spain. Ava must certainly have thought that neither of these two women had anything in common with herself.

Long treated with indifference by critics and historians, British silent cinema has only recently undergone the reevaluation it has long deserved, revealing it to be far richer than previously acknowledged. This documentary, featuring clips from a remarkable range of films, celebrates the early years of British filmmaking and spans from such pioneers as George Albert Smith and Cecil Hepworth to such later figures as Anthony Asquith, Maurice Elvey and, of course, Alfred Hitchcock.

Documentary about the making of Powell and Pressburger's 1947 film "Black Narcissus."

The Dauphin's widow weds a lord and is executed for plotting against the queen.

Looking at the private lives of famous historical figures.

Running for seven weeks from July 2007, each week focused on a different genre, examining British film by genre. Presented by Jessica Stevenson the series featured over 200 exclusive interviews with leading actors and directors including Sir Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Kate Winslet.