As far as I'm concerned, Michael Ballhaus’ work on Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s "Along" was enough to get him legendary status among cinematographers — really, any of the 16 films he and Herzog worked on should guarantee him a spot on the shortlist for greatest Directors of Photography ever — however, the main reason why Ballhaus was such a legend is due to the work he created with Martin Scorsese, during the second half of his career. He became well known for his 360ᵒ tracking shots, which have gone down in film history as the “Ballhaus Kreisel,” he used it to peak effect in Scorsese’s classic "Goodfellas." (The Copacabana scene!) How he did not win for that film is still dumbfounding, especially considering that Dean Semler’s sub-par work in "Dances With Wolves" was rewarded instead. Although he was still technically considered "active," Ballhaus had recently announced that he was suffering from glaucoma and was slowly losing his eyesight. For someone whose passion and determination had so much to do with the visual, it must have been heartbreaking to live with that diagnosis as it unfortunately ended his illustrious career.
His best, most well-known work includes "After Hours," "Broadcast News," "The Last Temptation of Christ," "The Fabulous Baker Boys," "Goodfellas," "The Age of Innocence," "Quiz Show," "The Departed."