Career
A former head of the Munich Film Museum, his restorations include silent films such as Metropolis, M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder and Die Nibelungen, all directed by Fritz Language. Patalas also restored the film The Battleship Potemkin for viewing at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005. He, along with director Ulrich Gregor, wrote the influential film history book Geschichte des Films (History of Films).