German-Hollywood Connection > MICHAEL BALLHAUS > FILMOGRAPHY
Filmography
Michael Ballhaus worked in German TV and lensed 17 films for director Rainer Werner Fassbinder alone, before going to Hollywood in 1982. After 24 years in California, he returned to Germany in 2006, following the death of his wife Helga. He is now teaching, directing, and producing. His first film project as director since leaving Hollywood was In Berlin (2009).
Selected Films (West Germany 1968-1983)
As cinematographer or director of photography
Mehrmals täglich (1969)
Director: Ralf Gregan
Liebe ist kälter als der Tod | Love is Colder than Death (1969)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. A gangster story, as only Fassbinder could film it.
DVD: Love is Colder than Death from Amazon.com
Wir - zwei | We Two (1970)
Director: Ullrich Schamoni.
Die Verabredung mit der Wirklichkeit (1971, TV)
Ballhaus also directed this black-and-white TV movie.
 |
Ballhaus was the cameraman for Fassbinder’s Whity (1971), set in the American West, but shot in Spain. > DVD |
Whity (1971)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Ballhaus’ first in a series of 17 films he shot for Fassbinder. The title character is the mulatto butler of a dysfunctional family in the American southwest in 1878. Shot mostly in Spain — with Fassbinder regular Hanna Schygulla as a saloon singer and prostitute.
DVD: Whity (1971) from Amazon.com
DVD: More Fassbinder Films from Amazon.com
Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte | Beware of a Holy Whore (1971)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Inspired by the Hanna Schygulla character in Whity. She returns, and Fassbinder plays a film producer in this film (sort of) about making movies. (“A kind of neurotic backstage comedy.”) Herb Andress (later in Hollywood) plays a film coach.
DVD: Beware of a Holy Whore from Amazon.com
Der Held | The Hero (1972, TV)
Director: Hagen Mueller-Stahl (Brother of actor Armin Mueller-Stahl)
Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant | The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Classic Fassbinder, shot in ten days, all in one room. Stars Margit Carstensen (Petra) and Hanna Schygulla (Karin).
DVD: The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant from Amazon.com
Tatort: “Tote brauchen keine Wohnung” | Crime Scene: “Dead Men Don’t Need an Apartment” (1973)
Director: Wolfgang Staudte. An episode of a popular German crime TV series that began in 1970 and is still running to this day.
Mutter Küsters Fahrt zum Himmel | Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven (1975)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. A tale of German politics, murder-suicide, and intrigue.
DVD: Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven from Amazon.com
Satansbraten | Satan’s Brew (1976)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. “A kind of 'Father Knows Best' on acid.” - Janet Maslin, The New York Times
DVD: Satan’s Brew from Amazon.com
 |
Ballhaus was behind the camera for Fassbinder’s The Stationmaster’s Wife (1977). > DVD |
Bolwieser | The Stationmaster’s Wife (1977)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Stationmaster Xaver Bolweiser (Kurt Raab) is married to Hanni (Elisabeth Trissenaar), the local sex-starved tramp.
DVD: The Stationmaster’s Wife from Amazon.com
Despair (1978)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Based on the Vladimir Nabokov novel, this film, shot in English and set in 1930s Germany, stars Dirk Bogarde.
Die Ehe der Maria Braun | The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Considered one of the best Fassbinder films; part of his “BRD Trilogy.” Maria is a young German woman who married a soldier in the waning days of WWI, just before he returns to the war. The movie is about what happens over time after that event.
DVD: Fassbinder’s BRD Trilogy (The Marriage of Maria Braun, Veronika Voss, Lola) from Amazon.com
Der Zauberberg | The Magic Mountain (1982)
Director: Hans W. Geissendörfer. Based on the novel by Thomas Mann. Features Rod Steiger as Mynheer Peperkorn. Filmed in Berlin.
DVD: The Thomas Mann Collection (Buddenbrooks, Doktor Faustus, The Magic Mountain) from Amazon.com
Heller Wahn | Sheer Madness (1983)
Director: Margarethe von Trotta. A tale of friendship between two seemingly opposite women. Olga (Hanna Schygulla) is a professor of women’s literature, Ruth (Angela Winkler) is a gifted and extremely reticent artist who is fearful of the outside world. Perhaps the most powerful of von Trotta’s works to date.
DVD: Sheer Madness (The Films of Margarethe von Trotta) from Amazon.com
Hollywood Films
As Director of Photography
Baby It’s You (1983)
Director: John Sayles. Ballhaus’ first U.S. film was shot in New Jersey. A high school love story — between a Jewish honor student (Rosanna Arquette) and an Italian-American fellow student known as the “Sheik” (Vincent Spano). DVD > Buy Baby It’s You
Heartbreakers (1984)
Director: Bobby Roth. With Peter Coyote and Nick Mancuso.
After Hours (1985)
Director: Martin Scorsese. Ballhaus’ first film for Scorsese. With Cheech and Chong, John Heard, Rosanna Arquette, and Teri Garr, many think this is an underated classic comedy. DVD set: After Hours
Death of a Salesman (1985, TV)
Director: Völker Schlöndorff. This TV movie stars Dustin Hoffmann as Arthur Miller’s salesman Willy Loman. DVD: Death of a Salesman from Amazon.com
The Color of Money (1986)
Director: Martin Scorsese. Paul Newman (The Hustler) teaches a cocky pool shark (Tom Cruise) some lessons. DVD: The Color of Money from Amazon.com
The Glass Menagerie (1987)
Director: Paul Newman. Tennessee William’s play with Joanne Woodward, John Malkovich, and Karen Allen.
Broadcast News (1987)
Director: James L. Brooks. The TV news jungle, starring William Hurt, Albert Brooks, and Holly Hunter.DVD: Broadcast News from Amazon.com
The House on Carroll Street (1988)
Director: Peter Yates. Emily Crane (Kelly McGillis) is fired by Life Magazine after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee.
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Director: Martin Scorsese. This controversial, Oscar-nominated look at Jesus as a human being was banned in several countries. William Dafoe is Jesus; Harvey Keitel is Judas. DVD: The Last Temptation of Christ from Amazon.com
 |
Ballhaus was the Director of Photography for Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990). > Blu-ray |
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Director: Frank Oz. Freddy (Steve Martin) and Lawrence (Michael Caine) are hilarious con-men.
DVD: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels from Amazon.com
Working Girl (1988)
Director: Mike Nichols. Oscar-winning tale of working girl Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith), with Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Alec Baldwin.
DVD: Working Girl from Amazon.com
The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
Director: Steve Kloves. Stars Jeff Bridges and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Postcards from the Edge (1990)
Director: Mike Nichols. Based on Carrie Fisher’s novel. Features Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Gene Hackman, and Dennis Quaid.
DVD: Postcards from the Edge from Amazon.com
Goodfellas (1990)
Director: Martin Scorsese. Pals (Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci) work their way up in the mob. Scorsese's masterpiece immortalizes the hilarious, horrifying life of actual gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his teen years in New York to his exile under witness protection.
Blu-ray: Goodfellas from Amazon.com
DVD: Goodfellas from Amazon.com
What About Bob? (1991)
Director: Frank Oz. In this comedy, Bob (Bill Murray) is a psychiatrist who is losing his mind because of a patient (Richard Dreyfuss) who is stalking him. DVD: What About Bob? from Amazon.com
The Mambo Kings (1992)
Director: Arne Glimcher. Two Cuban brothers go to America in the 1950s to pursue their musical dream.
Dracula (1992)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola. Oscar-winning version of the vampire tale starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves.
 |
Ballhaus was the cameraman for Fassbinder’s classic The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972). |
The Age of Innocence (1993)
Director: Martin Scorsese. Nineteenth century New York society. Ten Oscars.
I'll Do Anything (1994)
Director: James L. Brooks
Quiz Show (1994)
Director: Robert Redford
Outbreak (1995)
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Sleepers (1996)
Director: Barry Levinson
Air Force One (1997)
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Primary Colors (1998)
Director: Mike Nichols. Fictional presidential campaign story based on the Joe Klein book about the Bill Clinton presidential campaign.
Wild Wild West (1999)
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
Director: Robert Redford
Gangs of New York (2002)
Director: Martin Scorsese. Leonardo DiCaprio heads an all-star cast in this saga of New York in the 1860s.
Uptown Girls (2003)
Director: Boaz Yakin
Something's Gotta Give (2003)
Director: Nancy Meyers. Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, and Keanu Reeves star in this romantic comedy.
The Departed (2006)
Director: Martin Scorsese. Cat and mouse with undercover cops in gangland. Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg. Four Oscars.
Ballhaus Films - as Director
Die Verabredung mit der Wirklichkeit (1971, TV)
German documentary for SFB TV (Berlin).
Fassbinder produziert: Film Nr. 8 (1971, TV)
Documentary for Westdeutscher Rundfunk TV.
In Berlin (2009)
A documentary film about the German capital that Ballhaus co-directed with Ciro Cappellari (who also did the cinematography).
BACK > Ballhaus Bio
MORE > The German-Hollywood Connection
Ballhaus Film Links
- Michael Ballhaus (IMDb)
- In Berlin (2009) - Co-directed by Ballhaus (official site, in German)
Related Pages
- The German-Hollywood Connection
- Famous German Movies - Films from Germany have made their mark on world cinema—and influenced Hollywood
- Germans (and Others) in Hollywood - About the three main waves of Germanic immigration to Hollywood
- Berlin City Guide - Sights, history
- German Cinema - From the German Way book
- Famous Germans, Austrians and Swiss
- Famous Graves - The graves and cemeteries of the famous
MORE > Famous People Index
|
|||
| Find a famous person poster! | |||
|
