"Mr Zimmerama" has passed away |
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| Written by: Thomas Hauerslev with additional words by friends of Hans' | Date: 06.05.2026 |
 Mr.
Hans Hänssler "Mr
Zimmerama" in Karlsruhe 2016. Picture.
Thomas Hauerslev I am sorry to report the passing of a true friend of 70mm, Mr. Hans Hänssler (79) of Stuttgart in Germany. Hans had been ill with cancer for a number of years, and he passed away Saturday 2. May 2026 in a hospital in Heidelberg with his adopted son Anthony Mason and his grandchildren present. Yvonne Mason, Hans' partner, passed away in 2004. • Go to PDF Hans Hänssler Nachruf / obituary I came to know Hans in the spring of 1993 through my network of friends of 70mm. Hans was a big fan of 70mm, and we corresponded for some time. I visited him in Stuttgart and stayed on his couch for a day or two. Hans picked me up on the railway station and took me around Stuttgart cinemas to collect DP70 serial numbers. He was well known in the cinemas and we were welcomed everywhere. Hans was self employed as I remember, and through his company URC Video-Service, he made video documentaries at home in his own mixing studio. Hans told me he had a complete 70mm cinema with a deeply curved screen. We spent time looking at odd 70mm reels on his screen for hours and hours. It was amazing to see his screen and two Bauer U2 machines, which he enjoyed to operate a lot. • Go to gallery Visiting Hans Haenssler, 1993 He always referred to his studio / home cinema as "Zimmerama" - where zimmer means "room" in German. He even had his business cards printed like that with Cinerama styled letters and colors. Hans began his cinema life at age 20 as a projectionist in 1966, and this is how he described his debut in an article about his home town favorite cinema Das Atrium. in Stuttgart, Germany: My career as a part time projectionist had started in 1966 in Göppingen, running 35mm films on Ernemann X machines. While I was stationed in Karlsruhe during my army time in 1968, I was running 70mm at the Capitol Theatre with Italian Fedi 70mm projectors for a while. I always had an eye on the Atrium and eventually landed a projectionist job there. On December 18, 1970, I was running the first 70mm print of "Ryan's Daughter" in that theatre. |
More in 70mm reading: Das Atrium. Home of 7OMM in Stuttgart, Germany KRRR! 2016 Festival Report Impressions from 70mm weekend in Karlsruhe 2018 in70mm.com Remembers in70mm.com News Peripheral Vision, Scopes, Dimensions and Panoramas in70mm.com's Library Presented on the big screen in 7OMM 7OMM and Cinema Across the World Now showing in 70mm in a theatre near you! 70mm Retro - Festivals and Screenings |
 Hans loved "Ben Hur" in 70mm, and he
frequently attended the 70mm festival in
Krnov. He drove his own car all the
way, with a pit-stop in Pilzen (Plzeň), where he had his own little
"watering hole", a nice bed and a good pilsner. He was a frequent guest in
Karlsruhe for the 70mm festival, where he enjoyed talking about the old days
and the films while enjoying a glass of beer. He favoured the classic films
in 70mm, and cared less about new 70mm films.Hans introduced me to the vacation concept of "location hunting". The idea that you visit places used in famous films. He sent me some VHS tapes with a 3+ hour running time from his visits to Salzburg ("The Sound of Music"), Werfen ("Where Eagles Dare"), and Dingle on the west coast of Ireland ("Ryan's Daughter" & "Far and Away"). Essentially his holiday videos, intercut with footage from the films photographed in those places. Sort of "then and now" documentaries. It was fascinating to watch and thanks to Hans' enthusiasm and inspiration, my wife and I have frequently visited those places. Hans was a very generous and welcoming person with a great sense of humour, and the fact that he spoke English did not hurt either. Hans interest in films never faded, and he continued to make long video documentaries about the 70mm festivals he attended. Many of which he kindly sent to many of his friends as DVDs and later Blurays. His films were beautifully edited and sometimes with ouverture and intermissions. All elements which reminded him about cinema. Today those film serve as loving memory about Hans from Stuttgart, and his enthusiasm for 70mm film and cinema. The dowser has closed for Mister Zimmerama. He will be missed. |
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Hans remembered by |
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 Mr.
Hans Hänssler "Mr
Zimmerama" in Krnov 2018. Picture.
Thomas Hauerslev A shared love of film music In truth, it was our shared love of film music that first brought us together in the early 1970s. But Hans awakened something else in me almost immediately: a deep, lifelong love for 70mm film. Without him, I probably never would have discovered that world at all. I’m so grateful for everything he knew, and for the way he shared it so openly, so generously, so naturally. Hans, I will miss you more than I can say. • Go to PDF Interview with Hans Haenssler, Audiovision, March 2021 Wolfram Hannemann, Korntal, Germany laserhotline.de Always willing to help I am sorry to receive the news of his passing. I exchanged a few emails with Hans, never met in person, unfortunately. He was always willing to help whenever I had a question about German cinemas or German film exhibition. He will be missed. Mike Coate, California, USA Something that I will always treasure Hans was someone who had a love for the Todd-AO experience, curved screen, sharp picture and true stereophonic sound including directional dialogue across five stage channels. I first started corresponding with Hans in 1993 and finally met him at his home in Stuttgart in 2014, 2017 and 2025. It was certainly impressive to have the “Zimmerama Experience“ there, the memory of which is something that I will always treasure. I shall miss my dear friend. Brian Walters, Australia This is Zimmerama Today we celebrate the Life and Times of Hans “Zimmerama” Hänsler, a Great 70mm and Cinerama Champion and a very dear friend. Mark Lyndon, London I admired his knowledge For years, Hans invited us to his "Zimmerama" cinema about once a month. I saw a lot of wonderful films there in 70mm and 35mm. He became a close friend. I admired his knowledge of the history of widescreen cinema and his efforts to document as much of it as possible. Now I remember the saying: "Projectionists never die. They just change over." I hope as much of it as possible is true. Eberhard Nuffer, Stuttgart, Germany |
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 Thoughts
in memory of Hans Haenssler, of Stuttgart. I don’t recall ever actually being “introduced” to Hans. But we kept running in to each other, at festival after festival after festival: Krnov, Bradford, Karlsruhe. We began to recognize each other, and eventually to speak. After all, we clearly had some similar interests, always showing up when 70mm films were “on the menu”. After becoming acquainted, we corresponded occasionally over the years. One of Hans’ secret avocations was that he had a keen eye for events, documenting them with his ever-present video camera. The results of his efforts were quite polished and, indeed, verging on professional video chronicles of some of the 70mm festivals. He made them as a labour of love, and freely sent them out to those he knew from the festivals – nice views and scenes recalling our fun watching those old 70mm movies. In my youth, I always thought it would be ultra cool to have a home cinema, but never brought that to fruition. I quite admire Hans for making his “Zimmerama” screening room; creating the clever name reflects Hans’ wit (being a pun with the German word “zimmer” for “room”, and of course “Cinerama”). Hans’ presence will be missed by all who knew him, and things won’t be the same without seeing Hans, camera in hand, taking a seat for another screening. He’ll remain part of our hearts and souls forever. Paul Rayton, Los Angeles, California, USA |
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