11 Cinematographers Who Became Great Directors

7) Jack Cardiff

Jack Cardiff is another Briton who would make the transition from cinematographer to director, although his story turned out slightly differently. He amassed a host of tremendous works beginning in the late 1940s: Powell and Pressburger’s Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes, Hitchcock’s Under Capricorn, and onward to John Huston’s The African Queen and the infamous The Prince and the Showgirl directed by and starring Laurence Olivier and co-starring Marilyn Monroe.

His foray into directing was overshadowed (so to speak) by his outstanding cinematography, although he did have one standout feature as a director, 1960’s Sons and Lovers (on which the cinematographer was Freddie Francis). He would later return to shooting pictures, the last of which was the second Rambo movie. He was the recipient of an honorary Academy Award in 2001 for his many years of service to the world of cinema.

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