R.I.P. Robby Müller, cinematographer of Paris, Texas and Dead Man
Robby Müller, the Dutch cinematographer who shot such modern classics as Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas (1984), Lars Von Trier’s Dancer In The Dark (1996), and a number of films by indie stalwart Jim Jarmusch, has died. As The Guardian reports, Müller died at home in Amsterdam after a long illness. He was 78.
Born on the Caribbean island of Curaçao—then a Dutch colony—in 1940, Müller studied at the Netherlands Film Academy before being apprenticed to cinematographer Gerard Vandenberg. Soon after, he began working independently on short films, which is where he first met a student at the Munich Film School named Wim Wenders. The two would go on to make 10 films together, including The American Friend (1977) and the Palme d’Or-winning Paris, Texas (1984).
Those films led to offers for Müller to work with a variety of international film directors, like Alex Cox (Repo Man, 1984), William Friedkin (To Live And Die In L.A., 1985), Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, 1987), and Peter Bogdanovich (Saint Jack, 1979; They All Laughed, 1981). Aside from Wenders, his most lasting collaboration was with Jim Jarmusch, for whom Müller shot Mystery Train (1989), Dead Man (1995), Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai (1999), and a segment of Coffee And Cigarettes (2003). Over the course of his career, Müller became known for his preference for static wide and medium shots over close-ups and rapid-fire editing. He also preferred an immediate, hand-held shooting style, which led to collaborations with Dogme 95 co-creator Lars von Trier on Breaking The Waves (1996) and Dancer In The Dark (2000), the latter of which also won a Palme d’Or.
Müller’s final feature film as a cinematographer was Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 Factory Records biopic 24 Hour Party People, although he shot a few short films after that—including an installation piece by Steve McQueen, who would go on to direct 12 Years A Slave and the upcoming Widows. In 2016, he was the subject of an exhibition at the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam called “Master Of Light,” a rare honor for a cinematographer. Müller is survived by his wife Andrea, a photo editor, and his son Jim.