ROBBY MŰLLER

(4 April 1940 - 3 July 2018)

The Dutch cinematographer, who has died aged 78 from vascular dementia, had a preference for black-and-white photography as he believed that “the absence of colour can be a stronger factor than the presence of colour.” Known as the Master of Light, he worked often with such directors as Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch and Lars von Trier. Starting his film career in 1965 he shot some shorts and TV movies until Jonathan (1970), Hans W. Geissendörfer’s adaptation of a Bram Stoker novel. For Wenders he shot Summer in the City, The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty, The Scarlet Letter, Alice in the Cities, The Wrong Move, Kings of the Road, The American Friend and Paris, Texas. Műller also worked with other directors including Peter Bogdanovich on Saint Jack and They All Laughed, Alex Cox on Repo Man, with Jim Jarmusch on Down By Law, Mystery Train, Ghost Dog, Coffee and Cigarettes and Dead Man, and with Lars von Trier on Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark, among many others. In his fifty-year career, Robby Műller won many awards for his cinematography: in all nearly thirty nominations and fifteen wins.

MICHAEL DARVELL