Michael Ballhaus

Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C. (born 5 August 1935, Berlin, Germany) is a German cinematographer. Ballhaus was influenced by family friend Max Ophüls, and appears as an extra in Ophüls last film Lola Montès (1955). He came to prominence with his work on sixteen films for Rainer Werner Fassbinder beginning with Whity (1970) and, including The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Satan's Brew and Chinese Roulette (both 1976). Since settling in the Unit... more

Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C. (born 5 August 1935, Berlin, Germany) is a German cinematographer. Ballhaus was influenced by family friend Max Ophüls, and appears as an extra in Ophüls last film Lola Montès (1955). He came to prominence with his work on sixteen films for Rainer Werner Fassbinder beginning with Whity (1970) and, including The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Satan's Brew and Chinese Roulette (both 1976). Since settling in the United States, he has also worked on many American films, including Baby It's You (1983) for John Sayles; 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; and Dracula (1992) for Francis Ford Coppola. Ballhaus has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, but has never won. His wife from 1958, Helga Ballhaus, née Betten, appeared in a handful of films, including... less