 Eugen Schüfftan (born in Breslau, Silesia, on 21 July 1893) was one of the greatest cinematographers, and an influential innovator in the area of special effects and depth of field. For Fritz Lang's Metropolis (Germany, 1927) Schüfftan employed miniature models and mirrors to create the optical illusion of real sets, a patented device which was used world-wide as the 'Schüfftan process' (Hitchcock first used it in Blackmail, 1929) until it was replaced by 'matte' shots. Schüfftan achieved his most accomplished work in France in the '30s (e.g., Quai des Brumes, d. Marcel Carné, 1938). His British assignments during the same period included the visually striking expressionist fairy-tale The Robber Symphony (d. Friedrich Feher, 1936). From 1940, Schüfftan only slowly re-established himself in Hollywood, and worked mainly in France after the war. He won an Oscar for The Hustler (d. Robert Rossen, 1961). Tim Bergfelder, Encyclopedia of British Film
|
FILM & TV CREDITS
