The Eye of Hollywood

The camera pan of 360° became his trademark: cameraman and director of photography Michael Ballhaus. For a long time many considered him Germany’s most successful export to Hollywood, having been nominated three times for an Oscar. During the filming of Max Ophüs’ “Lola Montez”, which Ballhaus was able to experience on-site in 1955, it became immediately clear to the son of two actors that he wanted to become a cameraman. At the end of the 1960s he met Rainer Werner Fassbinder with whom he made 17 films, bringing him fame in- and outside of Germany – and which ultimately opened the door to Hollywood for him, marking the start of a spectacular career: comedies like Mike Nichols’ “Working Girl”, “Postcards from the Edge”, a horror film with Francis Coppola, “Bram Stoker's Dracula”, a socio-critical film with Robert Redford “Quiz Show”, a technically-spectacular thriller with Wolfgang Petersen, “Outbreak”, and yet another spectacular film “Air Force One”.

Ballhaus’ most seen work though is probably Madonna’s video “Papa Don’t Preach” – even though most people don’t know that it is his work. But that doesn’t bother him. For him, the main thing is that he had fun doing it – as he also did during four months of shooting on the Côte d’Azur when he made a film with Prince (“Under the Cherry Moon”). Even the most commercial studio productions were able to benefit from his technical perfection. He also filmed seven projects with Martin Scorcese, including “The Departed”, “Good Fellas” and “The Age of Innocence”. During their first joint film, “After Hours” from 1985, Scorcese coined the much-quoted description of Ballhaus: “He smiles on the set and moves quickly.” More than almost any other, Martin Scorcese appreciated Ballhaus’ painstakingly-prepared camera maneuvers and carefully thought-out lighting accents; he even let the cameraman decide the dimensions of the close-ups. “In America, the job of a cameraman is still a bit different; there, one is a ‘director of photography’,” says Ballhaus.

However, after a while, the time was ripe for his return to his native country. “I’ve worked on around 100 films, 38 in America alone, and have been nominated for an Oscar three times. You can’t do better than that. At some point, one must also be able to say: So, that’s enough.” At the time, he was 72 and he and his wife looked forward to “the Berliners’ notorious irreverence and sitting in our garden in Zehlendorf.” After all, Berlin is the only place where one can “walk down the Kudamm in pajamas, and no one would pay any attention to you.” Today, Michael Ballhaus lives in Berlin, teaches and makes films – and has even created a filmic homage to his city called, of course: “In Berlin”. Moreover, he makes use of his art for environmental protection. Inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio, with whom he is friends, he established the environmental foundation “The future is now” and filmed four short spots for the environment. “There’s a lot of exchange and communication between me and Leo.” Michael Ballhaus’ private life is also a model of environmental awareness. He heats his house with a biogas plant, and he generates his own electricity on his roof. “You’ve got to do something. One day my grandchildren will ask what we’ve actually done to protect our environment.”