Kunstmann, Ernst

Biography:
Ernst Kunstmann was born on January 25, 1898 in Babelsberg and was a soldier WWI, returning in 1918. As a stagehand and camera operator, he joined the film production studio Decla Bioscop, one of the first studios in Babelsberg, which later merged into the UFA studio. Among the directors, he became known for unusual technical effects and solutions that led to his career in special effects.
In 1923, Kunstmann met the director of photography and technician Eugen Schüfftan. Together they developed the Schüfftan Process. The predecessor of the blue screen, the Schüfftan Process revolutionized special effects for several decades; a shooting technique, it made it possible to visually place actors within models of miniature buildings and other such settings. The Schüfftan Process was first used in the film Varieté, by Ewald André Dupont, and in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. In 1926, Kunstmann and Schüfftan were invited to Hollywood, where they worked on several films before returning to Germany two years later. Later he also introduced the Schüfftan Process in England.
Kunstmann continued working at the UFA studio after the Nazis took power. He was involved in Leni Riefenstahl’s monumental productions Triumph des Willens and Olympia. In the mid-1930s, he set up the special effects department at the Tobis production company, where he created his most famous special effect—the memorable flight of the Baron von Münchhausen on the cannonball. His special effects for the sinking of the ship in the 1942 film Titanic were so perfect that the same footage was used in the American remake in the 1950s.
After WWII, Kunstmann worked for a dubbing company before joining the East German DEFA Studio for Feature Films in 1947. There he became director of the special effects department and remained in this position until 1963. He created unforgettable special effects for almost 100 DEFA films, including for the internationally-known fairy tale films, Das singende, klingende Bäumchen, Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck and Das kalte Herz, as well as for the first East German science fiction film, Der schweigende Stern.
Throughout his lifetime, Ernst Kunstmann worked with many famous directors—including Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Kurt Maetzig, Konrad Wolf and Wolfgang Staudte. He died on May 30, 1995 in Potsdam-Babelsberg.
Filmography:
1962 | Vom König Midas (The Story of King Midas) |
1962 | Die schwarze Galeere (The Black Galley) |
1961 | Das Kleid (The Robe) |
1961 | Der Traum des Hauptmann Loy (Captain Loy's Dream) |
1961 | Die goldene Jurte (The Golden Yurt) |
1960 | Fünf Tage – Fünf Nächte (Five Days – Five Nights) |
1959 | Weißes Blut (White Blood) |
1959 | Das Feuerzeug (The Tinderbox) |
1958 | Geschwader Fledermaus (The Bat Squadron) |
1958 | Sonnensucher (Sun Seekers) |
1958 | Das Lied der Matrosen (The Sailors' Song) |
1958 | Meine Frau macht Musik (My Wife Makes Music) |
1958 | Sie kannten sich alle (They All Knew One Another) |
1958 | Tatort Berlin (Crime Scene: Berlin) |
1957 | Abenteuer in Bamsdorf (Adventure in Bamsdorf) |
1957 | Das singende, klingende Bäumchen (The Singing, Ringing Tree) |
1957 | Berlin – Ecke Schönhauser (Berlin – Schönhauser Corner) |
1957 | Lissy |
1957 | Schlösser und Katen (Castles and Cottages) |
1956 | Du und mancher Kamerad (You and Some Comerade, cinematography) |
1956 | Die Fahrt nach Bamsdorf (The Journey to Bamsdorf) |
1956 | Die Abenteuer des Till Eulenspiegel (The Adventures of Till Eulenspiegel) |
1956 | Mich dürstet (I'm Thirsty) |
1955 | Der Teufel vom Mühlenberg (The Devil From Mill Mountain) |
1955 | Einmal ist keinmal (Once Does Not Count) |
1955 | Ernst Thälmann – Führer seiner Klasse (Ernst Thälmann: Leader of the Working Class) |
1954 | Ernst Thälmann – Sohn seiner Klasse (Ernst Thälmann: Son of the Working Class) |
1954 | Das geheimnisvolle Wrack (The Mysterious Wreck) |
1954 | Pole Poppenspäler (Pole Poppenspaeler) |
1954 | Carola Lamberti – Eine vom Zirkus (Carola Lamberti) |
1954 | Hexen (Witches) |
1953 | Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck (The Story of Little Mook) |
1952 | Roman einer jungen Ehe (The Story of a Young Couple) |
1950 | Das kalte Herz (The Cold Heart) |
1950 | Familie Benthin (The Benthin Family) |
1950 | Der Rat der Götter (Council of the Gods) |
1949 | Die Buntkarierten (Girls in Gingham) |
1948 | Die seltsame Abenteuer des Herrn Fridolin B. (The Strange Adventures of Mr. Fridolin B.) |
1947 | Ehe im Schatten (Marriage in the Shadows) |
1943 | Münchhausen |
1943 | Titanic |
1940 | Traummusik (Dream Music) |
1938 | Olympia |
1935 | Amphitryon |
1935 | Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will) |
1933 | Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (The Last Testament of Dr. Mabuse) |
1928 | Love Me and the World Is Mine |
1926 | Into Her Kingdom |
1926 | The Fourth Commandment |
1926 | The Love Thief |
1926 | Metropolis |
1925 | Varieté (Jealousy) |
1924 | Der letzte Mann (The Last Laugh) |
1924 | Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache (Kriemhild’s Revenge) |
1924 | Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (Siegfried) |
1922 | Dr. Mabuse |
1920 | Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) |