# Michael Ballhaus

Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C. (5 August 1935 – 12 April 2017) was a German cinematographer. He is known for his work with directors including Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols, James L. Brooks, and Wolfgang Petersen. 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 Lena Hutter [de] and Oskar Ballhaus [de]. His uncle was actor and director Carl Ballhaus. Ballhaus was influenced by family friend Max Ophüls, and appeared as an extra in Ophüls' last film Lola Montès (1955).

## Career

Ballhaus came to prominence for his work with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder on films including Whity (1971), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Chinese Roulette (1976) and The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978).
After settling in the United States, he worked on American films such as Baby It's You (1983) for John Sayles; Old Enough (1984) for Marisa Silver; Under the Cherry Moon (1986) for Prince; After Hours (1985), The Color of Money (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Gangs of New York (2002) and The Departed (2006) for Martin Scorsese; Broadcast News (1987) and I'll Do Anything (1994) for James L. Brooks; The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) for Steve Kloves; Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) for Francis Ford Coppola; Sleepers (1996) for Barry Levinson; and Wild Wild West (1999) for Barry Sonnenfeld. Ballhaus appeared in Rosa von Praunheim's film Fassbinder's Women (2000).
In 1990, Ballhaus was the head of the jury at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.
Ballhaus was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, for his work on Broadcast News, The Fabulous Baker Boys and Gangs of New York, but never won. He won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography for Bram Stoker's Dracula, the Boston Society of Film Critics and Los Angeles Film Critics Association cinematography awards for The Fabulous Baker Boys, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography for Goodfellas.
His documentary In Berlin, made with Ciro Cappellari, was released in May 2009.
Ballhaus' 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: cinematographer Florian and assistant director Jan Sebastian.
In 2011, Ballhaus married German-American director Sherry Hormann. He died at his home in Berlin on 12 April 2017, at the age of 81, after a short illness.

## Filmography
### Cinematographer
#### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1969 | Mehrmals täglich | Ralf Gregan | |
| 1969 | Deine Zärtlichkeiten | Peter Schamoni Herbert Vesely | |
| 1970 | Wir - zwei | Ulrich Schamoni | |
| 1971 | Whity | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1971 | Beware of a Holy Whore | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1972 | The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1972 | Tödlicher Poker | Ulli Lommel | |
| 1973 | Tschetan, der Indianerjunge | Hark Bohm | |
| 1973 | Das sündige Bett | Ralf Gregan | Credited as "Michael Alexander" |
| 1974 | Made in Germany und USA | Rudolf Thome | With Martin Schäfer |
| 1975 | Fox and His Friends | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1975 | Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1975 | Das Amulett des Todes | Ralf Gregan Günter Vaessen | |
| 1976 | Summerfolk [de] | Peter Stein | |
| 1976 | Satan's Brew | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | With Jürgen Jürges |
| 1976 | Chinese Roulette | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1977 | Adolf und Marlene | Ulli Lommel | |
| 1978 | Despair | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1979 | The Marriage of Maria Braun | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1979 | The First Polka | Klaus Emmerich | |
| 1980 | La insurrección | Peter Lilienthal | |
| 1980 | Big and Little | Peter Stein | |
| 1981 | Lili Marleen | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Uncredited |
| 1981 | Malou | Jeanine Meerapfel | |
| 1981 | Looping | Walter Bockmayer Rolf Bührmann | With Horst Knechtel |
| 1981 | Heute spielen wir den Boß | Peer Raben | |
| 1982 | The Magic Mountain | Hans W. Geißendörfer | |
| 1982 | Dear Mr. Wonderful | Peter Lilienthal | |
| 1983 | Sheer Madness | Margarethe von Trotta | |
| 1983 | Baby It's You | John Sayles | |
| 1983 | Edith's Diary | Hans W. Geißendörfer | |
| 1984 | Old Enough | Marisa Silver | |
| 1984 | Reckless | James Foley | |
| 1984 | Das Autogramm | Peter Lilienthal | |
| 1984 | Heartbreakers | Bobby Roth | |
| 1985 | After Hours | Martin Scorsese | |
| 1986 | Under the Cherry Moon | Prince Himself (Uncredited) | |
| 1986 | The Color of Money | Martin Scorsese | |
| 1987 | The Glass Menagerie | Paul Newman | |
| 1987 | Broadcast News | James L. Brooks | |
| 1988 | The House on Carroll Street | Peter Yates | |
| 1988 | The Last Temptation of Christ | Martin Scorsese | |
| 1988 | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Frank Oz | |
| 1988 | Working Girl | Mike Nichols | |
| 1989 | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Steve Kloves | |
| 1990 | Goodfellas | Martin Scorsese | |
| 1990 | Postcards from the Edge | Mike Nichols | |
| 1991 | Guilty by Suspicion | Irwin Winkler | |
| 1991 | What About Bob? | Frank Oz | |
| 1992 | The Mambo Kings | Arne Glimcher | |
| 1992 | Bram Stoker's Dracula | Francis Ford Coppola | |
| 1993 | The Age of Innocence | Martin Scorsese | |
| 1994 | I'll Do Anything | James L. Brooks | |
| 1994 | Quiz Show | Robert Redford | |
| 1995 | Outbreak | Wolfgang Petersen | |
| 1996 | Sleepers | Barry Levinson | |
| 1996 | Kreuz & quer | Anteij Farak Ariane Homayounfar Lenard Fritz Krawinkel Yasemin Şamdereli | |
| 1997 | Air Force One | Wolfgang Petersen | |
| 1998 | Primary Colors | Mike Nichols | |
| 1999 | Wild Wild West | Barry Sonnenfeld | |
| 2000 | What Planet Are You From? | Mike Nichols | |
| 2000 | The Legend of Bagger Vance | Robert Redford | |
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | Martin Scorsese | |
| 2003 | Uptown Girls | Boaz Yakin | |
| 2003 | Something's Gotta Give | Nancy Meyers | |
| 2005 | Sonntagsluft | Frank A. Buecheler | |
| 2006 | The Departed | Martin Scorsese | |
| 2013 | 3096 Days | Sherry Hormann | |
Short film
| 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 | Su Turhan | |
| 2007 | Die sanfte Schminke des Lichts | Alexander Kluge | |
| 2007 | Nachts träumen die Lampen des Ateliers von ihrem wahren Leben | Alexander Kluge | |
| 2009 | Purple Sunrise | Nina Vukovic | With Armin Dierolf |
| 2013 | First Fassbinder | Matthew Cheney | |

#### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1958-1970 | Sie schreiben mit | | |
| 1973 | World on a Wire | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Miniseries |
| 1973 | 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
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1960 | Die Nachbarskinder | Peter Lilienthal | |
| 1961 | Die Kassette | Rudolf Noelte | |
| 1963 | Der Klassenaufsatz | Harald Benesch | |
| 1964 | Die Wohnung | Harald Benesch | |
| 1964 | Das Martyrium des Peter O'Hey | Peter Lilienthal | |
| 1966 | Große Liebe | Johannes Schaaf | |
| 1966 | Abschied | Peter Lilienthal | |
| 1968 | Ganze Tage in den Bäumen | Tom Toelle | |
| 1968 | Gold für Montevasall | Thomas Engel | |
| 1969 | Der Kidnapper | Tom Toelle | |
| 1971 | Sand | Peter Palitzsch | |
| 1972 | Der Marquis von Keith | Hans Lietzau | |
| 1972 | Der Held | Hagen Müller-Stahl | |
| 1972 | Adele Spitzeder | Peer Raben | |
| 1974 | Martha | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1974 | Rosenmontag | Peter Beauvais | |
| 1976 | Die Wahl | Rainer Boldt | |
| 1976 | I Only Want You to Love Me | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | With Ernst Schmid |
| 1976 | Dorothea Merz | Peter Beauvais | |
| 1976 | Sonntag | Niels-Peter Rudolph | |
| 1977 | Auf dem Chimborazo | Peter Beauvais | |
| 1977 | Frauen in New York | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1977 | The Stationmaster's Wife | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| 1977 | 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
| Year | Title | Director |
| 1965 | Der große Wildenberg - Ein Feuilleton | Herbert Vesely |
| 1966 | Ein Haus aus lauter Liebe | Herbert Vesely |

#### Documentary works

Film
| 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 | |
| 1978 | 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
| Year | Title | Director |
| 1971 | Berlin - Anhalter Bahnhof - XXV Jahre danach | Leonid Wawiloff |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1971 | Die Verabredung mit der Wirklichkeit | Himself | |
| 1971 | 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
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1971 | Die Verabredung mit der Wirklichkeit | TV movie |
| 1971 | Fassbinder produziert: Film Nr. 8 | TV movie |
| 2011 | Unser Franken | Co-directed with Ulla Ballhaus |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1986 | Under the Cherry Moon | Uncredited |
| 2009 | In Berlin | Also writer and editor |

### Producer

| 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
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1987 | Best Cinematography | Broadcast News | Nominated |
| 1989 | Best Cinematography | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Nominated |
| 2002 | Best Cinematography | Gangs of New York | Nominated |
BAFTA Awards
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1990 | Best Cinematography | Goodfellas | Nominated |
| 1993 | Best Cinematography | The Age of Innocence | Nominated |
| 2002 | Best Cinematography | Gangs of New York | Nominated |
Chicago Film Critics Association
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1992 | Best Cinematography | Bram Stoker's Dracula | Won |
| 2002 | Best Cinematography | Gangs of New York | Nominated |
| 2006 | Best Cinematography | The Departed | Nominated |
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1989 | Best Cinematography | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Won |
| 1990 | Best Cinematography | Goodfellas | Won |
Satellite Awards
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 2000 | Best Cinematography | The Legend of Bagger Vance | Nominated |
| 2002 | Best Cinematography | Gangs of New York | Nominated |
Other awards
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
| 1985 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Cinematography | After Hours | Nominated |
| 1989 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Cinematography | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Won |
| 1989 | National Society of Film Critics | Best Cinematography | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Won |
| 2007 | Bavarian Film Awards | Honorary Award | Honorary Award | Won |