Michael Ballhaus
German cinematographer (1935–2017)
title: "Michael Ballhaus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1935-births", "2017-deaths", "film-people-from-berlin", "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", "lucky-strike-designer-award-recipients", "european-film-academy-achievement-in-world-cinema-award-recipients"] description: "German cinematographer (1935–2017)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ballhaus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary German cinematographer (1935–2017) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Michael Ballhaus |
| image | Michael Ballhaus.4676.jpg |
| caption | Ballhaus in 2007 |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Berlin, Nazi Germany |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Berlin, Germany |
| organization | American Society of Cinematographers |
| years_active | 1959–2013 |
| parents |
| | spouse | {{plainlist| | | * {{marriage|Helga Betten|1958|2006|reason | died}} | | children | 2, including Florian Ballhaus | | relatives | Carl Balhaus (uncle) | ::
| name = Michael Ballhaus | image = Michael Ballhaus.4676.jpg | caption = Ballhaus in 2007 | birthname = | birth_date = | birth_place = Berlin, Nazi Germany | death_date = | death_place = Berlin, Germany | organization = American Society of Cinematographers | years_active = 1959–2013 | parents =
| spouse = {{plainlist|
| children = 2, including Florian Ballhaus | relatives = Carl Balhaus (uncle)
Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C. (5 August 1935 – 12 April 2017) was a German cinematographer, known for his work with directors like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Martin Scorsese, and Mike Nichols.
He was a member of both the Academy of Arts, Berlin and the American Society of Cinematographers.
Early life
Ballhaus was born on 5 August 1935 in Berlin to actors and . His uncle was actor and director Carl Ballhaus.
He was influenced by family friend Max Ophüls, and appeared as an extra in Ophüls' last film Lola Montès (1955).
Career
Ballhaus came to prominence with his work with Rainer Werner Fassbinder beginning with Whity (1971), in addition to The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Chinese Roulette (1976) and The Marriage of Maria Braun (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 Goodfellas (1990), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Wild Wild West (1999) and Gangs of New York (2002).
Ballhaus also made an appearance in Rosa von Praunheim's film Fassbinder's Women (2000).
He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, but never won. He did win awards at the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Boston Society of Film Critics, and twice at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
His documentary In Berlin, made with Ciro Cappellari, was released in May 2009.
Ballhaus's final film was Sherry Hormann's 3096 Days in 2013.
Personal life and death
Ballhaus was married to actress and art director Helga Maria Betten from 1958 until her death in 2006.
They had two sons, Florian, who is also a cinematographer, and Jan Sebastian, an assistant director.
In 2011, Ballhaus married German-American director Sherry Hormann.
He died at his home in Berlin at the age of 81, after a short illness.
Filmography
Cinematographer
Film
::data[format=table]
Short film ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | I (Beat (It)) | Valie Export | Segment "Teile I" |
| 1979 | Bourbon Street Blues | Hans Schönherr | |
| Tilman Taube | |||
| 2001 | Gone Underground | Su Turhan | |
| 2002 | Mutti | ||
| 2007 | Die sanfte Schminke des Lichts | Alexander Kluge | |
| *Nachts träumen die Lampen des | |||
| Ateliers von ihrem wahren Leben* | |||
| 2009 | Purple Sunrise | Nina Vukovic | With Armin Dierolf |
| 2013 | First Fassbinder | Matthew Cheney | |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–1970 | Sie schreiben mit | ||
| 1973 | World on a Wire | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Miniseries |
| Tatort | Wolfgang Staudte | Episode "Tote brauchen keine Wohnung" | |
| 1974 | Ein Haus für uns | Wim Wenders | Episodes "Aus der Familie der Panzerechsen" and "Die Insel" |
| 1974–1976 | Unter einem Dach | ||
| 1979 | Alpensaga | Dieter Berner | Episode "Der deutsche Frühling" |
| :: |
TV movies ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Die Nachbarskinder | Peter Lilienthal | |
| 1961 | Die Kassette | Rudolf Noelte | |
| 1963 | Der Klassenaufsatz | Harald Benesch | |
| 1964 | Die Wohnung | ||
| Das Martyrium des Peter O'Hey | Peter Lilienthal | ||
| 1966 | Große Liebe | Johannes Schaaf | |
| Abschied | Peter Lilienthal | ||
| 1968 | Ganze Tage in den Bäumen | Tom Toelle | |
| Gold für Montevasall | Thomas Engel | ||
| 1969 | Der Kidnapper | Tom Toelle | |
| 1971 | Sand | Peter Palitzsch | |
| 1972 | Der Marquis von Keith | Hans Lietzau | |
| Der Held | Hagen Müller-Stahl | ||
| Adele Spitzeder | Peer Raben | ||
| 1974 | Martha | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| Rosenmontag | Peter Beauvais | ||
| 1976 | Die Wahl | Rainer Boldt | |
| I Only Want You to Love Me | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | With Ernst Schmid | |
| Dorothea Merz | Peter Beauvais | ||
| Sonntag | Niels-Peter Rudolph | ||
| 1977 | Auf dem Chimborazo | Peter Beauvais | |
| Frauen in New York | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ||
| The Stationmaster's Wife | |||
| Also es war so... | Karin Thome | With Lothar E. Stickelbrucks | |
| 1978 | Der Gehilfe | Ludwig Cremer | |
| 1979 | Trilogie des Wiedersehens | Botho Strauß | |
| 1980 | Weihnacht '80 - Drei geschichten | Wilhelm Pevny | |
| Dieter Berner | Segments "Das Menschenkindl" and "Maria und Josef" | ||
| 1982 | Der Auslöser | Maria Neocleous | |
| 1985 | Death of a Salesman | Volker Schlöndorff | |
| 1986 | Landscape with Waitress | Jeffrey Townsend | |
| 1988 | Baja Oklahoma | Bobby Roth | |
| :: |
TV short ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Der große Wildenberg - Ein Feuilleton | Herbert Vesely |
| 1966 | Ein Haus aus lauter Liebe | |
| :: |
Documentary works
Film ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Traumland der Sehnsucht | Wolfgang Müller-Sehn | Shared credit with Wolfgang Müller-Sehn |
| 1977 | Nur zum Spaß, nur zum Spiel | Volker Schlöndorff | |
| 1978 | Germany in Autumn | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| Venedig - Die Insel der Glückseligen am Rande des Untergangs | Christian Rischert | ||
| 1981 | Oye Raimundo, adónde vas? | Jaime Carrasco | |
| Francisco Chavez | |||
| Luis Lupone | |||
| Jesús Sánchez | |||
| :: |
Short film ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Berlin - Anhalter Bahnhof - XXV Jahre danach | Leonid Wawiloff |
| :: |
TV movies ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Die Verabredung mit der Wirklichkeit | Himself | |
| Fassbinder produziert: Film Nr. 8 | Himself | ||
| Dietmar Buchmann | |||
| 1973 | Ich bin ein Bürger der DDR | Erika Runge | |
| 1977 | Curd Jürgens | Bernhard Wicki | With Xaver Schwarzenberger |
| :: |
Director
Documentary film ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Die Verabredung mit der Wirklichkeit | TV movie |
| Fassbinder produziert: Film Nr. 8 | ||
| 2011 | Unser Franken | Co-directed with Ulla Ballhaus |
| :: |
Feature film ::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Under the Cherry Moon | Uncredited |
| 2009 | In Berlin | Also writer and editor |
| :: |
Producer
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Fassbinder produziert: Film Nr. 8 | |
| 1999 | The Thirteenth Floor | Executive producer |
| 2004 | Last Night | Consulting producer (Short film) |
| 2011 | Remembrance | Associate producer |
| :: |
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards ::data[format=table]
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Best Cinematography | Broadcast News | |
| 1989 | The Fabulous Baker Boys | ||
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | ||
| :: |
BAFTA Awards ::data[format=table]
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Best Cinematography | Goodfellas | |
| 1993 | The Age of Innocence | ||
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | ||
| :: |
Chicago Film Critics Association ::data[format=table]
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Best Cinematography | Bram Stoker's Dracula | |
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | ||
| 2006 | The Departed | ||
| :: |
Los Angeles Film Critics Association ::data[format=table]
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Best Cinematography | The Fabulous Baker Boys | |
| 1990 | Goodfellas | ||
| :: |
Satellite Awards ::data[format=table]
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Best Cinematography | The Legend of Bagger Vance | |
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | ||
| :: |
Other awards ::data[format=table]
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Cinematography | After Hours | |
| 1989 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Cinematography | The Fabulous Baker Boys | |
| National Society of Film Critics | Best Cinematography | |||
| 2007 | Bavarian Film Awards | Honorary Award | ||
| :: |
References
References
- [http://www.filmreference.com/film/13/Michael-Ballhaus.html Filmreference.com]
- Thomas Vorwerk, {{lang. de. [http://www.satt.org/literatur/02_12_tykwer_1.html Das fliegende Auge: Michael Ballhaus im Gespräch mit Tom Tykwer]
- (*). "A Conversation With Michael Ballhaus, ASC (November 20, 2006)".
- Michael Ballhaus discusses his connection with the Austrian director in the documentary film ''Working with Max Ophuls: Lola Montès Revisited'' (2008).
- "Berlinale: 1990 Juries". berlinale.de.
- Fox, Margalit. (2017-04-15). "Michael Ballhaus, an Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer, Dies at 81". The New York Times.
- "In Memoriam: Michael Ballhaus, ASC, BVK (1935-2017) – The American Society of Cinematographers (en-US)".
- {{lang. de. [http://www.bild.de/regional/berlin/berlin/filmreife-hochzeit-in-zehlendorf-20695058.bild.html Filmreife Hochzeit in Zehlendorf!]. bild.de, 28 October 2011. Retrieved on 13 March 2012.
- McNary, Dave. (12 April 2017). "Michael Ballhaus, 'The Departed' and 'Goodfellas' Cinematographer, Dies at 81".
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