Director of photography Michael Ballhaus, ASC adds a glowing patina to the genre-blending spoof Wild Wild West.
While photographing such subversive pictures as Beware of a Holy Whore and Chinese Roulette in the 1970s for iconoclastic German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, did cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, ASC ever imagine himself shooting a comedic Hollywood adventure as immense and complex as Wild Wild West? With characteristic good humor and a gentle laugh, the cameraman replies, "No, I certainly never did."
Ballhaus’s impressive career certainly demonstrates his affinity for diverse material, however. His extensive credits include Air Force One, Sleepers (see AC Oct. ’96), Outbreak, Quiz Show, The Age of Innocence (AC Oct. ’93), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (AC Nov. ’92), GoodFellas, The Fabulous Baker Boys (AC May ’90), The Last Temptation of Christ, The Glass Menagerie (AC Nov. ’87), The Color of Money (AC Nov. ’86), After Hours, Reckless, Landscape With Waitress (AC Oct. ’85), Lili Marleen, The Marriage of Maria Braun, Satan’s Brew and Fox and His Friends.
A visual effects-laden fantasy, the cinematographer’s latest feature is based on the sly, two-fisted CBS series The Wild, Wild West (1965-69), which featured Robert Conrad as the charming-yet-macho James T. West, and Ross Martin as his gadget-loving sidekick, Artemus Gordon. Both characters were special Federal agents charged by President Ulysses S. Grant to protect U.S. interests from an array of villains attempting to plunder the 1870s-era Frontier. The show’s heroes and villains were equipped with an arsenal of Victorian-Gothic weaponry that recalled the visions of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, including steam-powered robots, customized rail cars and clockwork atom bombs. West and Gordon’s heroics enthralled audiences, and the characters were revived for several telefilms before director Barry Sonnenfeld selected Wild Wild West to be his followup to Men in Black (see coverage in AC June and Dec. ’97).
In this new film, the diabolical Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh) threatens the Old West with an oversized mechanical arachnid dubbed the Tarantula. President Grant (played by original-series star Conrad) turns to West (Will Smith) and Gordon (Kevin Kline) in the hope of thwarting the evildoer. As the TV show did, the film features both outlandishly whimsical production design—courtesy of Bo Welch (Men in Black, Edward Scissorhands, Wolf)—and a bevy of temptresses who assist the villain.
Ballhaus was one of the first people approached to join the Wild Wild West project, which he proudly notes is the 25th feature that he has photographed since moving to the U.S. from Germany in 1983. "In February of 1998, when Barry [Sonnenfeld] asked me to shoot the film, I was already committed to shooting a Dean Martin biography — Dino — for Martin Scorsese," Ballhaus recounts. "When Dino got canceled, Barry immediately called me again. This was still 10 weeks before principal shooting was to begin, so I decided to do it."
Ballhaus notes that he and Sonnenfeld had previously collaborated on GoodFellas in 1989. "We didn’t actually work together," the cameraman elaborates, "but because we had gone so far over schedule on that film, I had to leave to start shooting Postcards From the Edge for Mike Nichols. Barry took over for me on the last few days of principal photography. That was the first time we’d met, and I really liked his work; he was a great cinematographer. After Barry left cinematography to begin directing, he always said, ’One day we will shoot together.’"
The humor and camaraderie in the Wild Wild West script by Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman appealed to Ballhaus, but "because of the special effects and CGI work, I knew it would also be a big challenge to do a movie of this size. I had experience in doing bluescreen/greenscreen and motion-control work on Air Force One and Outbreak, but not to this extent, so the technical aspect of the production was fascinating to me."
Ballhaus found that his prep period for West’s 128-day shoot was largely a lesson in logistics. He submits, "Eighty percent of my work on this picture was ’normal procedure’ in terms of camera and lighting. But it was on a much bigger scale, so there were a lot of meetings about the lighting, especially in regard to our practical sources. They had to be planned well in advance in order for the production design and props to be in place so we could do our work.
"Fortunately, I had a great crew. This was my thirteenth film with my gaffer, Jim Tynes. My key grip was Patrick Daily, and the rigging gaffer was Mike McGuire. We’re like family. We don’t have to talk a lot; we can just look at a set and get to work." Rounding out the crew were camera operator Daniel C. Gold and first assistant Johnny Walker.
Framing the Range
Early on, Ballhaus and Sonnenfeld made a series of decisions about the picture’s photographic style. Their ideas were suggested by both the film’s blending of genres and the filmmakers’ individual preferences. "When you think ’Western,’ you immediately think ’widescreen,’" Ballhaus offers, "but this film really isn’t a Western. We don’t have those panoramic landscape shots that would be best served by widescreen. Instead, it’s more of a period comedy that’s funny partially because of the science-fiction aspects of the story these amazing devices. It’s almost a futuristic period film, which is an interesting combination.
"Barry and I discussed the aspect ratio and film format for quite a while," Ballhaus continues. "At first, I wanted to shoot in widescreen Super 35. After some tests, though, I felt Barry would be more comfortable working in spherical 1.85:1, for two reasons. First, I believe he feels that comedy works better in 1.85, which I think is right. Second, Barry never shot a film himself in 2.35:1. As a cinematographer, he had a very specific and precise style of shooting, and now, as a director, he also has a particular style.
"For example, his sense of framing is very different from what I would normally do. He likes to have the action or subject in the center most of the time, which doesn’t work well in 2.35. In widescreen, you have to fill the whole frame. It doesn’t make sense to have a close-up in the center of the frame and have nothing to the right or left.
"Also, Barry loves wide-angle lenses, and I had never before used wide lenses to the extent that I did on this picture. Doing a close-up with an 18mm lens was something new for me, but it worked and was more dynamic. I liked that, but it was an adjustment I had to make.
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