---
name: "Ernst Kunstmann"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ernst-kunstmann"
fi1m_id: "ernst-kunstmann"
imdb_id: "nm0475271"
tmdb_id: 1572237
wikidata_id: "Q24557472"
roles: ["Special effects"]
born: "25 January 1898"
died: "30 May 1995"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-25T05:59:01.604440+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ernst Kunstmann

## Identity

Ernst Kunstmann

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ernst-kunstmann
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ernst-kunstmann
- **IMDb ID:** nm0475271
- **TMDB ID:** 1572237
- **Wikidata ID:** Q24557472
- **Same entity:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24557472, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0475271/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1572237

Special effects. Born 25 January 1898 in Babelsberg. Died 30 May 1995.

## Details

- **Work:** Special effects
- **Born:** 25 January 1898, Babelsberg
- **Died:** 30 May 1995
- **Active:** 1924–1938
- **Frequently works with:** [Jack Beresford](https://film.one/person/jack-beresford.md), [Leni Riefenstahl](https://film.one/person/leni-riefenstahl.md)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1920s 86 (2), 1930s 70 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 78 to 70 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Documentary 2, Drama 2, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24557472, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0475271/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1572237

## Biography

Ernst Kunstmann (1898–1995) was a German cinematographer and special effects technician. Born in Potsdam-Babelsberg, he began working in film after the First World War and collaborated with Eugen Schüfftan on the development of the Schüfftan process, a mirror-based compositing technique first prominently used in *Varieté* (1925) and *Metropolis* (1927). He contributed special effects to numerous silent-era productions, including *The Last Laugh* (1924) and *Destiny* (1921).

In the 1930s Kunstmann worked on optical effects for films such as *The Testament of Dr. Mabuse* (1933), *Gold* (1934) and *Triumph of the Will* (1935). He served as one of the uncredited cinematographers on Leni Riefenstahl’s *Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations* (1938) and *Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty* (1938). After the war he headed the special effects department at DEFA in East Germany until 1963, contributing to nearly one hundred productions including *The Singing Ringing Tree* (1957).

*Sources: imdb.com, de.wikipedia.org, filmportal.de, umass.edu.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations* (1938), Fi1m 75, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/olympia-part-one-festival-of-the-nations.md)
- *Triumph of the Will* (1935), Fi1m 64, Special Effects — [page](https://film.one/film/triumph-of-the-will.md)
- *Metropolis* (1927), Fi1m 87, Special Effects — [page](https://film.one/film/metropolis.md)
- *The Last Laugh* (1924), Fi1m 84, Special Effects — [page](https://film.one/film/the-last-laugh.md)

## Complete filmography (9)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Jahrgang 21* (1958), Special Effects
- *The Singing Ringing Tree* (1957), Special Effects
- *Heart of Stone* (1950), Cinematography, Special Effects
- *Titanic* (1943), Visual Effects
- *Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations* (1938), Director of Photography — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/olympia-part-one-festival-of-the-nations.md)
- *Triumph of the Will* (1935), Special Effects — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/triumph-of-the-will.md)
- *Metropolis* (1927), Special Effects — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/metropolis.md)
- *The Last Laugh* (1924), Special Effects — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-last-laugh.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ernst-kunstmann