Photographer Richard Blanshard first visited Cannes in 1976, becoming an official snapper for two decades

Lights, camera, action! Flashbulbs popped as celebs rubbed beautifully- toned shoulders on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival.

Photographer Richard Blanshard – then a 22-year-old rookie – first visited in 1976, becoming an official snapper for two decades. Unlike the flawlessly-posed red carpet pictures of the internet era, Richard’s portfolio includes candid personal shots, as stars relaxed, worked and partied.

Many appear in his new book, Cannes Uncut: The Golden Years, taken at a time when then the festival was THE showcase for promoting or raising money for a film. Richard says: “I was assigned to photograph Muhammad Ali when he visited Cannes to launch Freedom Road. He never once declined to have a picture taken. He was a wonderful character, but his entourage was a scary bunch.”

Richard described Muhammad Ali as a 'wonderful character'
Richard described Muhammad Ali as a ‘wonderful character’
In 1976, Richard was sent to snap Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly and set up a darkroom in a caravan. He recalls: “As I tried to print the negatives, there was no power – the gardener had cut through a power cable. I wanted the earth to swallow me up.” Essex-born Richard worked round the clock producing festival images for daily trade mags. He says: “They had to be under everyone’s hotel door for 7am. Back then, with no internet, the only way to let the world know you were in Cannes was by being photographed.”

Sharon Stone being interviewed during an event in a villa in 1990
Sharon Stone being interviewed during an event in a villa in 1990 ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

Richard, 69, recalls Johnny Depp being “effortlessly cool”, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone “trying to upstage one another”. Of a 1987 appearance by Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Richard says: “When I look at the images now it seems clear their relationship wasn’t in a great place.”

Other famous ex-couples he captured include Jerry Hall with Mick Jagger, and Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley. Grace Jones appears with incredible cheekbones, and a casual Paul Newman and a young Sharon Stone also feature. Richard says such images would be harder to capture now: “It is all choreographed. Stars arrive in blacked-out limos for their red carpet moment, then leave immediately after.