Jan Roth (10 November 1899 – 4 October 1972) was a Czech

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

. During World War I he served in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Roth started his career as a lighting technician at the

New German theatre The State Opera (Czech: Státní opera) is an opera house in Prague, Czech Republic. It is part of the National Theatre of the Czech Republic, founded by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in 1992. The theatre itself originally opened i ...

in Prague. In 1926 he became a chief lighting technician at

Karel Lamač Karel Lamač (27 January 1897 – 2 August 1952) was a Czech film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He directed more than 100 films in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Life Lama� ...

's Kavalírka film studio. Roth later served as

Otto Heller Otto Heller, B.S.C. (8 March 1896 – 19 February 1970) was a Czech cinematographer long resident in the United Kingdom. He worked on more than 250 films, including ''Richard III'' (1955), '' The Ladykillers'' (1955) and ''Peeping Tom'' (1960). ...

's assistant on Lamač's films. In 1934 he started to work as a cameraman. He soon became of the most prolific cinematographers of the Czechoslovak cinema. Following the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

in 1939 he continued to work for both Czech and German productions at

Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Barrandov has made several major Hollywood productions, including ''Mission: Impossible (film), ...

. Roth often collaborated with directors

Otakar Vávra Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. Biography and career Vávra attended universities in Brno and Prague, where he studied architecture. During 1929–30, while still a stud ...

and

Martin Frič Martin Frič (29 March 1902 – 26 August 1968) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and actor. He had more than 100 directing credits between 1929 and 1968, including feature films, shorts and documentary films. Throughout his life, F ...

. He was noted for his ability to create

Chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

effects.

Selected filmography

* '' Three Men in the Snow'' (1936) * ''

Irca's Romance ''Irca's Romance'' (Czech: ''Irčin románek'') is a 1936 Czech romance film directed by Karel Hašler and starring Jiřina Steimarová, Rolf Wanka and Theodor Pištěk. It was one of several Czech films of the 1930s to involve a trip to an Adr ...

'' (1936) * ''

Escape to the Adriatic ''Escape to the Adriatic'' () is a 1937 Austrian-Czech drama film directed by Eugen Schulz-Breiden and starring Rolf Wanka, Willi Volker and Rózsi Csikós. In Germany it was released in 1939 under the title ''Sprung ins Glück''.Goble p.394 It ...

'' (1937) * ''

Lojzička ''Lojzička'' is a 1936 Czechoslovak comedy film, directed by Miroslav Cikán. It stars Karel Hašler, Markéta Krausová, and Helena Bušová. Cast *Jarmila Beránková as Aloisie Strnadová alias Lojzička *Jára Kohout as Jikra, listonos *Bože ...

'' (1936) * ''

Děvče za výkladem ''Děvče za výkladem'' is a 1937 Czechoslovak film directed by Miroslav Cikán. It stars Hana Vítová, Helena Bušová, and Zdeněk Hora. Cast *Hana Vítová as Inka *Helena Bušová as Bozka *Zdeněk Hora as Ferda *Milka Balek-Brodská as Simu ...

'' (1937) * ''

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

'' (1937) * ''

Virginity Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...

'' (1937) * ''

Blackmailer Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a th ...

'' (1937) * '' The Magic House'' (1939) * ''

Arthur and Leontine ''Arthur and Leontine'' (Czech: ''Artur a Leontýna'') is a 1940 Czech comedy film directed by Miroslav Josef Krnanský and starring Jiří Dohnal, Lída Baarová and František Smolík. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jan Zázv ...

'' (1940) * ''

Ladies in Waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but o ...

'' (1940) * '' Goodbye, Franziska'' (1941) * '' We Make Music'' (1942) * '' Beloved Darling'' (1943) * '' The Second Shot'' (1942) * ''

Love Premiere ''Love Premiere'' () is a 1943 German comedy film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Hans Söhnker, Kirsten Heiberg and Fritz Odemar. The film's sets were designed by Robert Herlth. The film is based on the stage play "Axel an der Hi ...

'' (1943) * ''

Experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

'' (1943) * '' A Kiss from the Stadium'' (1948) * ''

The Proud Princess The Proud Princess () is a 1952 Czech fairytale film directed by Bořivoj Zeman. It is based on the fairy tale "" by Božena Němcová. Cast * Alena Vránová - Princess Krasomila * Vladimír Ráž - King Miroslav * Stanislav Neumann - Old K ...

'' (1952) * '' The Princess with the Golden Star'' (1959) * ''

Nejlepší ženská mého života ''Nejlepší ženská mého života'' is a 1968 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Martin Frič as his final film. Cast * Jiří Sovák as Láda * Milena Dvorská as Kaplanová * Jarmila Smejkalová as Jirina * Iva Janžurová as Blanka * I ...

'' (1968)

References

External links

* 1899 births 1972 deaths Czech cinematographers People from Náchod Czech people of German descent {{CzechRepublic-bio-stub