Robby Müller, NSC, BVK, (4 April 1940 – 3 July 2018) was a Dutch

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

. Known for his use of natural light and minimalist imagery, Müller first gained recognition for his contributions to West German cinema through his acclaimed collaborations with

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docu ...

. Through the course of his career, he worked closely with directors

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including ''Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' (19 ...

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on ...

Barbet Schroeder Barbet Schroeder (born 26 August 1941) is an Iranian-born Swiss film director and producer who started his career in French cinema in the 1960s, working with directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette. Since the late 1980s, he has dire ...

, and

Lars Von Trier Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominat ...

, the latter with whom he pioneered the use of

digital cinematography : Digital cinematography is the process of capturing (recording) a motion picture using digital image sensors rather than through film stock. As digital technology has improved in recent years, this practice has become dominant. Since the mid- ...

. His work earned him numerous accolades and admiration from his peers. He died on 3 July 2018, aged 78, having suffered from

vascular dementia Vascular dementia (VaD) is dementia caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain, typically a series of minor strokes, leading to worsening cognitive abilities, the decline occurring piecemeal. The term refers to a syndrome consisting ...

for several years.

Life and work

Müller was born in Curaçao (at the time in the Netherlands Antilles) in 1940, and moved to Amsterdam in 1953. He studied at the

Netherlands Film Academy The Netherlands Film Academy ( nl, Nederlandse Filmacademie) (NFA) was founded in 1958. The academy is the only recognised institute in the Netherlands that offers training to prepare for the work in the various crew disciplines. Specialisation ...

from 1962 to 1964. He worked as cinematographer on a number of shorts before collaborating with Wim Wenders on his first feature, '' Summer in the City'' (1970). They made many more films together, such as ''

Alice in the Cities ''Alice in the Cities'' (german: Alice in den Städten) is a 1974 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It is the first part of Wenders' " Road Movie trilogy", which also includes '' The Wrong Move'' (1975) and '' Kings of the Road'' (1976). ...

'' (1974), ''

Kings of the Road ''Kings of the Road'' (german: Im Lauf der Zeit, "in the course of time") is a 1976 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It was the third part of Wenders' " Road Movie trilogy" which included '' Alice in the Cities'' (1974) and '' The Wrong M ...

'' (1976), ''

The American Friend ''The American Friend'' (german: Der amerikanische Freund) is a 1977 neo-noir film by Wim Wenders, adapted from the 1974 novel '' Ripley's Game'' by Patricia Highsmith. The film features Dennis Hopper as career criminal Tom Ripley and Bruno Ganz a ...

'' (1977) and ''

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...

'' (1984). Apart from the movies with Wenders, Müller contributed to both mainstream U.S. productions and independent films. His other work included

Joan Micklin Silver Joan Micklin Silver (May 24, 1935 – December 31, 2020) was an American director of films and plays. Born in Omaha, Silver moved to New York City in 1967 where she began writing and directing films. She is best known for Hester Street (film), ' ...

's ''

Finnegan Begin Again ''Finnegan Begin Again'' is a 1985 American made-for-HBO romantic comedy film directed by Joan Micklin Silver, shot by Robby Müller, and starring Mary Tyler Moore and Robert Preston. The movie was filmed in the Fan District of Richmond, Virg ...

'' (1984), the hazy, yellow-tinted cinematography of

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's '' To Live and Die in LA'' (1985), Sally Potter's ''

The Tango Lesson ''The Tango Lesson'' ( es, La lección de tango) is a 1997 Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Sally Potter. It is a semi-autobiographical film starring Potter and Pablo Verón, about Argentine Tango, Argentinian Tango ...

'' (1997), Dom Rotheroe's ''My Brother Tom'' (2001),

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominat ...

's starkly shot films ''

Breaking the Waves ''Breaking the Waves'' is a 1996 psychological drama film directed and co-written by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier and starring English stage actress Emily Watson as her feature film acting debut. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early ...

'' (1996) and ''

Dancer in the Dark ''Dancer in the Dark'' is a 2000 musical drama film written and directed by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier. It stars Icelandic musician Björk as a factory worker who suffers from a degenerative eye condition and is saving for an operation to p ...

'' (2000), and

's gritty-looking films '' Down by Law'' (1986), ''

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'' (1989), ''

Dead Man ''Dead Man'' is a 1995 American acid western film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, Gabriel Byrne, Mili Avital, ...

'' (1995) and '' Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'' (1999). He died on 3 July 2018 at the age of 78. On 4 September 2018, the movie ''Living the Light - Robby Müller'' premiered at the Venice Film Festival. This documentary by Claire Pijman is a visual essay about the life and work of Robby Müller. On 4 October 2019, the documentary was awarded a Golden Calf for Best Long Documentary at the

Netherlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival ( nl, Nederlands Film Festival) is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Be ...

Filmography

References

Interview with Robby Muller (Dutch and English)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Robby 1940 births 2018 deaths Golden Calf winners Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Dutch cinematographers People from Willemstad Deaths from vascular dementia Deaths from dementia in the Netherlands