Günther Rittau was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 camera operator

Camera operator

A camera operator or cameraman is a professional operator of a film or video camera. In filmmaking, the leading cameraman is usually called a cinematographer, while a cameraman in a video production may be known as a television camera operator, video camera operator, or videographer, depending on...

 and film director.

After study of science in Berlin, Rittau started his career in 1919 at the documentary-film department of Decla, later at Universum Film AG

Universum Film AG

Universum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...

. He learned the job of camera operator "on the side". From 1924, he was active as a feature cameraman. His experiences with the documentary film production and the production of trick photographs let to the development of his style. Metropolis

Metropolis (film)

Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist film in the science-fiction genre directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and...

(1927, as camera operator) and a propaganda movie U-Boote westwärts!

U-Boote westwärts

U-Boat Westwards was a 1941 German war film promoting the Kriegsmarine. It concerns a U-boat mission in the Second Battle of the Atlantic.- Plot :...

 (en:U-boats westwards!) (1941, as director) are considered to be among his best artistic achievements. After WWII, he returned to filmmaking only in 1954. He was active into the 1960s. In 1967, he was awarded Filmband in Gold. Günther Rittau is buried at the Waldfriedhof cemetery in Munich.

Filmography

Camera operator

• 1921: Der Eisenbahnkönig (2 parts)
• 1923: Der steinerne Reiter
• 1924: Die Nibelungen
  Die Nibelungen
  Die Nibelungen is a series of two silent fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924: Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge....
  
   (2 parts)
• 1925: Die gefundene Braut
• 1925: Der Turm des Schweigens
• 1927: Metropolis
  Metropolis (film)
  Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist film in the science-fiction genre directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and...
  
  
• 1927: Der Kampf des Donald Westhof
• 1928: Heimkehr
• 1928: Fürst oder Clown
• 1929: Was ist los mit Nanette?
• 1929: Melodie des Herzens
• 1929: Asphalt
  Asphalt (1929 film)
  Asphalt is a German silent film. The film was one of the last silent films released in Germany as the world was entering the era of sound film.-Crew:...
  
  
• 1930: Der blaue Engel
  Der blaue Engel
  The Blue Angel is a film directed by Josef von Sternberg in 1930, based on Heinrich Mann's novel Professor Unrat. The film is considered to be the first major German sound film and it brought world fame to actress Marlene Dietrich...
  
  
• 1930: Einbrecher
• 1930: Liebling der Götter
• 1930: Der Kampf mit dem Drachen
• 1931: Bomben auf Monte Carlo
  Monte Carlo Madnes
  Monte Carlo Madnes is a 1931 German musical comedy film directed by Hanns Schwarz and starring Hans Albers, Anna Sten and Heinz Rühmann. It is based on the 1930 novel Bomben auf Monte Carlo by Fritz Reck-Malleczewen. A separate English language version Monte Carlo Madness and a French version Le...
  
  
• 1931: Ihre Hoheit befiehlt
• 1932: Stürme der Leidenschaft
• 1932: Ein blonder Traum
• 1932: Quick
• 1932: Der Sieger
• 1932: F.P.1 antwortet nicht
• 1933: Die verlorene Melodie

1933: Wie werde ich energisch? 1933: Abel mit der Mundharmonika 1933: Kind, ich freu' mich auf Dein Kommen 1934: Fürst Woronzeff 1935: Liebeslied 1935: Der grüne Domino 1935: Der Zigeunerbaron 1936: Waldwinter 1937: Ritt in die Freiheit 1937: Starke Herzen 1938: Verklungene Melodie 1938: Nordlicht 1939: Der Vorhang fällt 1939: S.O.S. Sahara 1954: Das Kreuz am Jägersteig 1955: Der Fischer vom Heiligensee 1955: Kinder, Mütter und ein General 1955: Das Forsthaus in Tirol 1956: Die fröhliche Wallfahrt 1956: Das Erbe vom Pruggerhof 1956: Wenn wir alle Engel wären 1957: Die fidelen Detektive 1957: Frauen sind für die Liebe da

Director

• 1939: Brand im Ozean
• 1941: U-Boote westwärts
  U-Boote westwärts
  U-Boat Westwards was a 1941 German war film promoting the Kriegsmarine. It concerns a U-boat mission in the Second Battle of the Atlantic.- Plot :...
  
  
• 1942: Der Strom
• 1943: Der ewige Klang (also screenplay)
• 1944: Meine vier Jungens
• 1945: Der Scheiterhaufen
• 1945: Die Jahre vergehen
• 1948: Eine alltägliche Geschichte
• 1948: Vor uns liegt das Leben (also screenplay)

External links

• Günther Rittau at filmportal.de