Eugene Schuftan , also Eugen Schuftan ( German: Eugen Schüfftan , July 21, 1893 , Breslau , then the German Empire - September 6, 1977 , New York ) - French and American cameraman, a native of Germany.
| Eugene Schuftan | |
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| Eugen schüfftan | |
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| Date of Birth | |
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| Citizenship | |
| Profession | cameraman |
| Career | 1929 - 1966 |
| Awards | Oscar ( 1962 ) |
| IMDb | |
Content
Biography
From a Jewish family, was born in Silesia . He graduated from the Wroclaw Academy of Art. He began in Berlin as an impressionist painter, and later as an expressionist. In the cinema, from the 1920s, he experimented with special effects, worked with Fritz Lang , Abel Hans and others. In 1924, he invented and patented the method of combined shooting using mirrors, called the Schuftan method [4] . The effect was widely used in the first half of the 20th century. It is believed that the process was first applied specifically for the filming of Metropolis , although there is evidence that other filmmakers have used similar methods before. Fritz Lang wanted to embed the actual cast of the actors in a miniature layout of the stadium. Schuftan used a specially made curved mirror with partially transparent glass to create this illusion. He set the glass at a 45-degree angle between the camera and the miniature buildings, and placed the actors a few meters from it. So miniature buildings were shown on the reflective part of the mirror, and the actors were shot through its transparent part. For the first time he acted as the main operator in the films of Robert Szodmak People on Sundays and Farewell (both 1930 ), which immediately brought him fame. In 1933 he moved through Austria to France, in 1941 he moved to the USA. In 1947 received American citizenship. He was friends and corresponded with Siegfried Krakauer (their correspondence was published in 2003 ).
He shot over 70 films.
Selected Filmography
- 1930 : Four Vagrants ( Lupu Peak )
- 1932 : Atlantis ( Pabst based on the novel by Pierre Benoit )
- 1933 : Voice without a face (Leo Mittler)
- 1933 : Top Down (Pabst)
- 1934 : Scandal ( Marcel L'Erbier )
- 1934 : The crisis is over (Robert Syodmak)
- 1936 : The Tender Enemy ( Max Ophuls )
- 1937 : Yoshiwara (Max Ofyuls)
- 1938 : Embankment of the Mists ( Marseille Carne )
- 1943 : It happened tomorrow ( Rene Claire )
- 1944 : Summer Storm ( Douglas Circus )
- 1959 : Head against the wall ( Georges Franjou )
- 1960 : Eyes Without a Face (Georges Franjou)
- 1961 : Something Wild (Jack Garfein)
- 1961 : Fraudster ( Robert Rossen , Academy Award for Best Cinematography)
- 1964 : Lilith (Robert Rossen)
- 1965 : Three rooms in Manhattan (Marcel Carne)
Recognition
Honorary German Cinema Award ( 1964 ). Several documentaries were shot about the cameraman.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 German National Library , Berlin State Library , Bavarian State Library , etc. Record # 12495748X // General regulatory control (GND) - 2012—2016.
- ↑ BNF ID : 2011 Open Data Platform .
- ↑ 1 2 filmportal.de - 2005.
- ↑ MediaVision, 2010 , p. 26.
Literature
- Buster Lloyd. Thumbnail in big cinema (Russian) // “MediaVision”: magazine. - 2010. - No. 8 . - S. 26-30 .