Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C. (5 August 1935 – 12 April 2017) was a German cinematographer who collaborated with directors such as

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

and

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...

. He was a member of both the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

, and the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

Life and career

Ballhaus was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

as the son of German actors and . His uncle was actor and director Carl Ballhaus.Filmreference.com
/ref> Ballhaus was influenced by family friend

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer (; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls (; ), was a German-French film director who worked in Germany (1931–1933), France (1933–1940 and 1950–1957), and the United States (1947–1950). He made near ...

, and appeared as an

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

in Ophüls' last film ''

Lola Montès ''Lola Montès'' is a 1955 historical romance film and the last completed film of German-born director Max Ophüls. Based on the novel ''La vie extraordinaire de Lola Montès'' by Cécil Saint-Laurent, the film depicts the life of Irish dancer an ...

'' (1955). He came to prominence with his work with

beginning with '' Whity'' (1971), in addition to ''

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant ''The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'' (german: Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant) is a 1972 West German romantic drama film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, based on his own play. Featuring an all-female cast, the plot tak ...

'' (1972), '' Chinese Roulette'' (1976) and ''

The Marriage of Maria Braun ''The Marriage of Maria Braun'' (german: Die Ehe der Maria Braun) is a 1978 West German drama film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The film stars Hanna Schygulla as Maria, whose marriage to the soldier Hermann remains unfulfilled due to Wor ...

'' (1978). In 1990, he was the Head of the Jury at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival. After settling in the United States he worked on many American films, such as ''

Baby It's You "Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams), and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles, and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby I ...

'' (1983) for

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' ...

; ''

Old Enough ''Old Enough'' is a 1984 American comedy-drama coming-of-age film written and directed by Marisa Silver, and produced by Dina Silver. The film follows the friendship that develops over one summer between two girls from different social backgro ...

'' (1984) for Marisa Silver; ''

Under the Cherry Moon ''Under the Cherry Moon'' is a 1986 romantic musical comedy-drama film starring Prince and marking his directorial debut. The film also stars former The Time member Jerome Benton, Steven Berkoff, Kristin Scott Thomas (in her feature film debut) ...

'' (1986) for

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

; '' After Hours'' (1985), ''

The Color of Money ''The Color of Money'' is a 1986 American sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film was created from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. Th ...

'' (1986), '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988), ''

Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...

'' (1990), ''

The Age of Innocence ''The Age of Innocence'' is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine ''Pictorial Review''. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. Apple ...

'' (1993), ''

Gangs of New York ''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book '' The Gangs of New York''. The film stars Le ...

'' (2002) and ''

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter ...

'' (2006) for

; '' Broadcast News'' (1987) and ''

I'll Do Anything ''I'll Do Anything'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James L. Brooks. While a large part of the film is a satire of the film industry, it also skewers relationships from various angles. Its primary plot concerns a d ...

'' (1994) for

; ''

The Fabulous Baker Boys ''The Fabulous Baker Boys'' is a 1989 American romantic comedy-drama musical film written and directed by Steve Kloves. Primarily set in Seattle, Washington, the film follows a piano duo consisting of brothers, who hire an attractive singer t ...

'' (1989) for Steve Kloves; '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (1992) for Francis Ford Coppola; ''

Sleepers ''Sleepers'' is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 book of the same name. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin H ...

'' (1996) for

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ...

; and ''

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...

'' (1999) for

Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as ''The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel ''Addams Family Va ...

. Ballhaus appeared in

Rosa von Praunheim Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, is a German film director, author, painter and one of the most famous gay rights activists in the German-speaking world. In ov ...

's film ''

Fassbinder's Women '' Fassbinder's Women'' (German language, German: ''Für mich gab's nur noch Fassbinder'') is a 2000 German documentary film directed by Rosa von Praunheim. For example, the film was shown at the Locarno Festival in 2000 and at the Outfest in Los ...

'' (2000). Ballhaus was nominated three times for the

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) w ...

for his work on ''Broadcast News'', ''The Fabulous Baker Boys'' and ''Gangs of New York'', but never won. Despite this, he did win the

Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography is one of several categories presented by the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, b ...

for his work on ''Bram Stoker's Dracula''; both the

Boston Society of Film Critics The Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) is an organization of film reviewers from Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. History The BSFC was formed in 1981 to make “Boston’s unique critical perspective heard on a national and internati ...

and

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography is one of the annual film awards given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Winners 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also *Academy Award for Best Cin ...

for his work on ''The Fabulous Baker Boys''; and the

for his work on ''Goodfellas''. His documentary ''In Berlin'', made with

Ciro Cappellari Ciro Cappellari is film director, cinematographer, and screenwriter based in Berlin, Germany. Early life and career Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1959, he grew up in a small town in Patagonia, Ingeniero Jacobacci. Later when he was 10 his f ...

, was released in May 2009. Ballhaus's final film was

Sherry Hormann Sherry Hormann (born 20 April 1960) is a German-American film director. Hormann is best known for her movies ''Guys and Balls'' (2004), '' Desert Flower'' (2009) and '' 3096 Days'' (2013). Hormann was born in the United States, but moved to Germa ...

's ''

3096 Days ''3096 Days'' (german: 3096 Tage) is a 2013 German drama film directed by Sherry Hormann. The film is based on the true story of Natascha Kampusch, a 10-year-old girl and her eight-year ordeal being kidnapped by Wolfgang Přiklopil. Northern Ir ...

'' in 2013.

Personal life and death

Helga Maria Betten Ballhaus, Ballhaus' first wife from 1958, appeared in a handful of films, such as those directed by Fassbinder; she died in 2006. Their son Florian is also a cinematographer who worked on ''

Flightplan ''Flightplan'' is a 2005 mystery psychological thriller film directed by Robert Schwentke from a screenplay written by Peter A. Dowling and Billy Ray. It stars Jodie Foster as Kyle Pratt, a recently-widowed American aircraft engineer living ...

'' and '' The Devil Wears Prada''. In 2011, he married German-American film director

, who is known for ''

Desert Flower ''Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad'' is an autobiographical book written by Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller, published in 1998 about the life of Somali model, Waris Dirie. Summary Despite suffering female genital mutil ...

''. Ballhaus was also a nephew of German stage and film actor

Carl Balhaus Carl Balhaus (born Carl Ballhaus; 4 November 1905 – 28 July 1968) was a German stage and film actor. After the Second World War he worked as screenwriter and director for the East German state-owned studio DEFA. He was an uncle of the Academ ...

, who starred in ''

The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' (german: Der blaue Engel) is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Rober ...

'' and '' M''. Ballhaus died at his home in Berlin on 12 April 2017, at the age of 81, after a short illness.

Filmography

Awards

* 2007

Bavarian Film Awards The Bavarian Film Awards (german: Bayerischer Filmpreis) have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bavaria in Germany for “exceptional achievement in German filmmaking.” Along with the German Film Awards, these are th ...

Honorary Award

References

External links

*
Cinemascope interview

Michael Ballhaus in Genealogy Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballhaus, Michael 1935 births 2017 deaths Film people from Berlin European Film Awards winners (people) Honorary Golden Bear recipients Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin German cinematographers German expatriates in the United States Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany