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German-Hollywood Connection > MICHAEL BALLHAUS > FILMOGRAPHY

Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C.

You’ve seen his work many times, but probably didn’t know it. Michael Ballhaus was the director of photography for many Hollywood films, including Working Girl (1988), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Air Force One (1997), The Color of Money (1986), and The Departed (2006, his last Hollywood film).

Ballhaus
Michael Ballhaus in Berlin in 2009.
PHOTO: Farbfilm-Verleih
Born in Berlin on August 5, 1935, Michael Ballhaus was seven when his family moved to Bavaria during World War II. He grew up in the northern Bavarian towns of Coburg and Wetzhausen. His parents were both stage actors, and it was through theater that Ballhaus came to cinema. The film director Max Ophüls was a friend of the family. In 1955 he let Ballhaus observe the filming of Lola Montez and the work of French cameraman Christian Matras. The experience inspired him to also become a cameraman.

Although he never had a formal course in cinematography, he did study photography. His first camera work was for television in Baden-Baden for the German TV channel Südwestfunk (SWF), where he began as an assistant cameraman. He later worked his way up to head cameraman at SWF, and in 1968 he filmed his first feature film. After that he began working with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, with whom he shot 17 movies. (Two of the best-known: The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant and The Marriage of Maria Braun.) Fassbinder’s international reputation helped bring Ballhaus to the attention of Hollywood.

In 1982 Ballhaus went to Hollywood to work on a German production. As chance would have it, John Sayles happened to see the footage he shot, and asked him to film Baby It’s You. In the US he eventually collaborated with many respected film directors, including Mike Nichols, James L. Brooks, Robert Redford, fellow German Wolfgang Petersen, and Martin Scorsese. The last Hollywood picture he filmed was The Departed (2006) for Scorsese (whom Ballhaus considers a genius).

In Berlin film poster
Michael Ballhaus co-directed this documentary film about his hometown of Berlin.
PHOTO: Farbfilm-Verleih
In 1960 Ballhaus married the actress and set designer Helga Maria Betten, whom he had met during the Fassbinder years. She also became his close professional advisor and partner. They had two sons, Sebastian and Florian (both now also in the film business). Helga’s death in September 2006 was a life-shattering event that led to the filmmaker’s decision to return to Germany, after 24 years of living in southern California. His wife was laid to rest in a Berlin cemetery.

In Germany, Ballhaus has embarked on a second career as a producer/director and teacher. His documentary film about his hometown of Berlin was released in May 2009. Co-directed with the Argentinian-German Ciro Cappellari, In Berlin is a tribute to the city in which he was was born (at Charité Hospital). In 2007, he announced the Ballhaus Project, an initiative for energy conservation and climate protection. In 2010, Ballhaus was honored with a star on the “Boulevard der Stars” in Berlin. He now divides his time between living in Berlin, New York, and Franconia (Bavaria).

Michael’s son, Florian Ballhaus (1965- ), has also become a successful cinematographer in Hollywood and in Europe. He was in charge of the camerawork for Flightplan (2005), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009), The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009) and RED - Retired, Extremely Dangerous (2010), the latter two films being directed by fellow German Robert Schwentke.

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