Willi Schatz (film architect)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wilhelm "Willi" Schatz , also Willy Schatz , (born July 9, 1903 in St. Petersburg , † March 14, 1976 in Salzburg ) was a German - Baltic film architect .

Life

Born in St. Petersburg, he grew up in his hometown and in Riga and then began studying architecture in Gdansk . After graduating as a graduate engineer in 1927, Schatz went to Erfurt the following year to work as an architect. From 1932 to 1934 Willi Schatz worked for an architecture firm in Riga, and from 1935 he worked as a freelance architect. In this capacity he designed, among other things, apartment buildings, villas, industrial buildings and a cellulose factory in Riga. With the advance of the Red Army, Schatz fled to Vienna in 1944 .

In Austria that was resurrected , he created numerous new cinemas in Linz , Salzburg and Hallein , but also private and country houses for Austrian film and stage celebrities (director Géza von Cziffra , Burgtheater director Ernst Haeussermann , actress Heidelinde Weis ), as well as a health and Beauty farm, a film studio, a hotel indoor swimming pool, various villas and the 'Weißes Rössl' bar near Paris .

Schatz's film career began shortly after 1945 when, in addition to his architectural profession, he also worked as a translator (for Russian, English and French) for Wien-Film , which was in the process of dissolution . He learned his craft as a production designer from his colleague Robert Herlth , his first work as an assistant or second architect in the years 1946 to 1950 ( Belief in me , Maresi, The Angel with the Trumpet , Abduction into Happiness, etc.) brought him a. a. together with the film architects Werner Schlichting , Otto Niedermoser and Gustav Abel , who work in Vienna . At Herlth's side, Schatz made his film debut in 1950 as chief architect.

Schatz preferred drafts with shortened perspectives in particular in order to achieve an optimal depth of space. His most impressive works were the ambitious Max Ophüls biography Lola Montez as well as Fritz Lang and Wilhelm Dieterle's exotic two-part adventure play The Tiger of Eschnapur / The Indian Tomb and Mistress of the World , for which Schatz was allowed to revel in exotic, Far Eastern motifs. In addition, he was brought in as the second architect for international large-scale productions made in Central Europe, such as Kurier nach Trieste , Des Teufels Erbe and the last Sissi film (1957), for which he designed the buildings at the external locations in Salzburg, southern Germany and Venice .

From the beginning of the 1960s, Schatz often designed the decorations for international European co-productions, including films made several times in Parisian studios. Since the late 60s, in view of the poor order situation in the film studios, Schatz has been working more often as a freelance architect, occasionally he also creates decorations for historicizing or operetta-like TV productions ( stories about women of history, Come Zigan ).

Filmography

literature

  • Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 7: R - T. Robert Ryan - Lily Tomlin. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 85.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Honey, Willi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schatz, Wilhelm; Honey, Willy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Baltic film architect
DATE OF BIRTH July 9, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Petersburg
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1976
Place of death Salzburg