Jan Roth (10 November 1899 – 4 October 1972) was a Czech cinematographer. During World War I he served in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Roth started his career as a lighting technician at the New German theatre in Prague. In 1926 he became a chief lighting technician at

Karel Lamač Karel Lamač (27 January 1897 – 2 August 1952) was a Czech film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He directed more than 100 films in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Life Lam ...

's Kavalírka film studio. Roth later served as

Otto Heller Otto Heller, B.S.C. (8 March 1896 – 19 February 1970) was a Czech cinematographer long resident in the United Kingdom. He worked on more than 250 films, including '' Richard III'' (1955), '' The Ladykillers'' (1955) and ''Peeping Tom'' (1960 ...

's assistant on Lamač's films. In 1934 he started to work as a cameraman. He soon became of the most prolific cinematographers of the Czechoslovak cinema. Following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 he continued to work for both Czech and German productions at

Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Several major Hollywood productions have been made here, including '' Mission Impossible'', ' ...

. Roth often collaborated with directors

Otakar Vávra Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czechs, Czech film director, screenwriter and Pedagogy, pedagogue. He was born in Hradec Králové, Austria-Hungary, now part of the Czech Republic. Biography and career Vávra atten ...

and

Martin Frič Martin Frič (29 March 1902 – 26 August 1968) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and actor. He had more than 100 directing credits between 1929 and 1968, including feature films, shorts and documentary films. Throughout his life, F ...

. He was noted for his ability to create

Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

effects.

Selected filmography

* '' Three Men in the Snow'' (1936) * ''

Irca's Romance ''Irca's Romance'' (Czech: ''Irčin románek'') is a 1936 Czech romance film directed by Karel Hašler and starring Jiřina Steimarová, Rolf Wanka and Theodor Pištěk. It was one of several Czech films of the 1930s to involve a trip to an Adr ...

'' (1936) * '' Escape to the Adriatic'' (1937) * '' Lojzička'' (1936) * '' Děvče za výkladem'' (1937) * ''

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

'' (1937) * ''

Virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

'' (1937) * '' Blackmailer'' (1937) * '' The Magic House'' (1939) * ''

Arthur and Leontine ''Arthur and Leontine'' (Czech: ''Artur a Leontýna'') is a 1940 Czech comedy film directed by Miroslav Josef Krnanský and starring Jiří Dohnal, Lída Baarová and František Smolík. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jan Zázv ...

'' (1940) * ''

Ladies in Waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

'' (1940) * '' Goodbye, Franziska'' (1941) * ''

We Make Music ''We Make Music'' (german: Wir machen Musik) is a 1942 German musical comedy film directed by Helmut Käutner, starring Ilse Werner, Viktor de Kowa and Edith Oß. Plot It is a revue film, loosely based on the stage work ''Karl III. und Anna vo ...

'' (1942) * '' Beloved Darling'' (1943) * '' The Second Shot'' (1942) * '' Love Premiere'' (1943) * ''

Experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into Causality, cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome oc ...

'' (1943) * ''

A Kiss from the Stadium ''A Kiss from the Stadium'' ( cs, Polibek ze stadionu) is a 1948 Czech comedy film directed by Martin Frič. Cast * Zdeněk Dítě as Jan Vaněček * Jana Dítětová as Věra Fabiánová * Svatopluk Beneš as Oldřich Janota * Eman Fiala a ...

'' (1948) * '' The Proud Princess'' (1952) * '' The Princess with the Golden Star'' (1959) * ''

Nejlepší ženská mého života ''Nejlepší ženská mého života'' is a 1968 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Martin Frič as his final film. Cast * Jiří Sovák as Láda * Milena Dvorská as Kaplanová * Jarmila Smejkalová as Jirina * Iva Janžurová as Blanka * ...

'' (1968)

References

External links

* 1899 births 1972 deaths Czech cinematographers People from Náchod Czech people of German descent {{CzechRepublic-bio-stub