A Matter of Life and Death
Director of Photography on A Matter of Life and Death (GB 1946/Dir. Powell & Pressburger)
Michael Powell and Jack Cardiff on location.
From right to left: Alfred Junge, David Niven, Michael Powell, Jack Cardiff.
JC: "The beginning of the picture when David Niven thinks that he's in heaven was taken on the English coast. Of course he's supposed to look and see this long shot of a beach, thinking he's in heaven. In the script is says 'Fade in' and Michael said, 'This sounds corny. I wish I could do something different.' So I said, 'Michael, look through the camera'. He did, and I went to the front and breathed on the lens so that it went foggy. After a few seconds it cleared. Michael was delighted".
"This was my first full feature film. I was lucky to work with a director like Michael Powell who encouraged me to be as creative as I wanted to be".
