ROBBY MÜLLER

#1: From interview [2009]

#2: [Right] with dir Lars von Trier

#3: [Right] with dir Wim Wenders [1976]

ROBBY MÜLLER

Born: 4 April 1940, Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, as Robert Müller. His father was an engineer working for Shell. Raised in Indonesia [until 1954].

Died: 3 July 2018, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Education: Nederlandse Film Academie [NFA] [1962-64, camera/editing dept.], Amsterdam.

Career: After his study he stayed for a short period in Holland, then went to Germany with doph Gerard Vandenberg.

Ph commercials dir by Hans Jonkers, Maarten Treurniet, Jonathan David [for Coca Cola], Zoran Bihac, Carl Erik Rinsch, a.o.

Directed [+ ph; for Outcast Pictures] his first commercial, 'Radio 1', in 2002.

Was co-adv on the short film 'Night Shift' [2007, Gaëlle Denis; ph: Jefrim Rothuizen; 10m] prod during the Rutger Hauer Film Factory Masterclass.

Was a member of the BVK and [later honorary member] the NSC.

In 2020 the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the NSC and Andrea Müller-Schirmer, his widow, introduced a new cinematography award, the 'Robby Müller Award'.

Appeared in the doc's 'Kamera klaar... Aktie - Geluiden van achter de kamera' [1987, Ruud van Gessel; ph: Jan de Bont], 'Motion & Emotion' [1990, Paul Joyce; ph: Ken Morse; 90m], 'De domeinen Ditvoorst/Ditvoorst - Solitary Genius' [1993, Thom Hoffman; ph: Peter de Bont; 112m], 'Foot on the Moon' [1999; dir/ph: Marie-Claire Pijman], 'Robby Müller on Down by Law' [2009; ph: Claire Pijman; 23m] & 'Robby Müller - Living The Light' [2018, Claire Pijman (+ cph); 87m].

Book: 'Die lyrische Leinwand' [2006, Schüren Presseverlag].

Awards: Bundesfilmpreis [1975] for 'Falsche Bewegung'; Bundesfilmpreis [1983] for 'Klassenfeind'; DKP Spielfilm [1984] & Bayerischer Filmpreis [1985] for 'Paris, Texas'; Independent Spirit Award nom [1987, 1988, 1990 & 1997]; Bundesfilmpreis [1991] for 'Korczak'; NYFCC Award [1996; + for 'Dead Man'], Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [1996] & 'Robert' Award [1997] for 'Breaking the Waves'; Camerimage 'Special Award for Best Independent Duo' [1998; shared with Jim Jarmusch]; Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [1999] for 'Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'; Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [2000] & 'Robert' Award nom [2001] for 'Dancer in the Dark'; Brothers Manaki IFF 'Special Golden Camera 300' [2002] for exceptional contribution to the world film art; Marburger Kamerapreis [2003]; DKP Ehrenkameramann [2005]; Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award [2006]; Nederlands FF 'Gouden Kalf Cultuurprijs' [2007]; Bert Haanstra Oeuvreprijs [2008]; ASC International Achievement Award [2012].

Robby Müller: 'There are many films made today where the color is not really necessary, but you don't have a choice because the distributor wants color so he can sell it. But I always have a kind of 'thinking exercise' with the director, 'Why not in b&w?' or 'Why not in color?' So if we explain it to ourselves we know where we have to pay attention because, if you make the kind of films I generally make, color could give you too much information. 'Alice in the Cities' [1973], for instance, would have been very bad in color. The same with 'Down by Law' [1985]. You would have had so much information around you that it would distract you from what you are telling. 'Alice' was originally planned for color. We even had a sponsor, Polaroid, who was bringing out that same year the SX-70 [a compact, reflex-viewing camera for Polaroid film] on a trial market in Florida and they agreed to sponsor us. But when Wim and I discussed it I said this will be no good in color; this little girl will be totally lost in this loud, exotic New York. Polaroid later agreed but they didn't withdraw their sponsorship.' [From interview with Lindsay Amos in Sydney, Australia, June 1993.]

FILMS
1963	Megalopolis 1 [Pim de la Parra] b&w; short/?m
1963	Vogel [Miroslav Sebestik] b&w; short/?m; prod NFA
1964	De lengte van een ster [Fred van Doorn] b&w; short/?m; prod NFA
1966	Norwegian Wood [Barbara Meter] 16mm/b&w-c; short/10m
1966	Eiland/Island [Erik Terpstra] b&w; short/19m; cph: Gerard Vandenberg
1967	Now I Found That the World Was Round [Anton Kothuys] 16mm/c; doc/?m
1967	Don't Miss, Miss Pizz Italian Flavored Pizza [Anton Kothuys] c; short/10m
1967	Objectief gezien [Fred van Doorn] 16mm/b&w; short/18m
1967	Bacher [Tom Tholen] c; doc/20m; cph: Anton van Munster; addph: Jan de Bont, Jan Oonk, a.o.; uwph: Bob Smith
1967	Toets/Touch [Tom Tholen] scope/c; doc/17m; cph: Eduard van der Enden & Anton van Munster
1968	She Is Like a Rainbow [Anton Kothuys] c; short/18m; cph: Gerard Vandenberg & Karsten Krüger
1968	Alabama: 2000 Light Years [Wim Wenders] b&w; short/22m; cph: Wim Wenders; prod HFFM
1969	Jonathan [Hans W. Geissendörfer] c
1969	Frankenstein cum cannabis [Nico Paape] ?; short/18m; cph: ?
1969	Summer in the City [Wim Wenders] 16mm/b&w; 125m; prod HFFM
1970	Het bezoek [Frans van der Staak] 16mm/b&w; short/21m
1971	Overload/Geen statiegeld [Mel Clay] 16mm/b&w; cph: Mel Clay, a.o.
1971	Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter/The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty [Wim Wenders] c
1972	Can Free Concert [Peter Przygodda] 16mm/c; concert film/51m; cph: Martin Schäfer & Egon Mann
1972	Der scharlachrote Buchstabe/The Scarlet Letter [Wim Wenders] c
1973	Die Reise nach Wien [Edgar Reitz] c
1973	Alice in den Städten/Alice in the Cities [Wim Wenders] 16mm-35bu/b&w
1974	Ein bißchen Liebe [Veith von Fürstenberg] 16mm/b&w
1974	Falsche Bewegung/Wrong Movement/Wrong Move [Wim Wenders] c
1975	Es herrscht Ruhe im Land [Peter Lilienthal] 16mm-35bu/c; cph: Abel Alboim
1975	Im Lauf der Zeit/Kings of the Road [Wim Wenders] b&w
1975	Nathalie [Gila von Weitershausen] ?; short/?m
1976	Atavar, the Return of the Wolf [Meino Zeillemaker] c; short/53m
1976	Die Wildente/The Wild Duck [Hans W. Geissendörfer] c
1976	Der amerikanische Freund/The American Friend [Wim Wenders] c; spec ph efx: Theo Nischwitz

With dir Peter Handke [right] - "Die linkshändige Frau"

Zuylen & Marja Kok] 16mm/c Again [Jerry Schatzberg] p/c as doph, but replaced by Joseph Biroc because of union restrictions the film, but left after an argument by Walter Lassally, who was replaced by

1977	Die linkshändige Frau/The Left-Handed Woman [Peter Handke] c
1977	De gevoelens van een rode patrijs door hemzelf verteld [Frans van der Staak] 16mm/b&w; short/16m; cph: Karel Dibbets & F. van der Staak
1977	Die gläserne Zelle/The Glass Cell [Hans
1978	Mysteries [Paul de Lussanet] c
1979	Saint Jack [Peter Bogdanovich] c
1979	Opname/In for Treatment [Erik van
1979	Honeysuckle Rose/On the Road
*1980*	Hammett [Wim Wenders] scheduled
1980	They All Laughed... [Peter Bogdanovich] c
*1981*	Der Zauberberg [Hans W. Geissendörfer] started with the producer; was replaced Michael Ballhaus W. Geissendörfer] c
1981	Les îles/The Islands/Die Inseln [Iradj Azimi] c; cph: Willy Kurant
1981	Een zwoele zomeravond/A Hot Summer Night [Frans Weisz & Shireen Strooker] 16mm-35bu/c
1982	Klassen-Feind/Class Enemy [Peter Stein] c
1982	Un dimanche de flic/Zwei Profis steigen aus/A Cop's Sunday [Michel Vianey] c
1983	Tricheurs/Cheaters/Die Spieler [Barbet Schroeder] c; + small part

1983	Paris, Texas [Wim Wenders] c; add 2uc: Martin Schär
1984	Repo Man [Alex Cox] c; addph: Robert Richardson, Tom Richmond & Mike Little; 2uc: Stephen Posey
1984	Body Rock [Marcelo Epstein] c; addph: Ed Lachman & Burleigh Wartes
1984	To Live and Die in L.A. [William Friedkin] c; 2uc: Robert Yeoman (+ ph 1st unit to replace R. Müller who could not finish the prod)
*1985*	Fool for Love [Robert Altman] started the prod, but was replaced by doph Pierre Mignot
1985	The Longshot [Paul Bartel] c; 2uc (+ c.op): Paul Edwards
1985	Down by Law [Jim Jarmusch] b&w
1986	The Believers [John Schlesinger] c; 2uc: Peter R. Norman
1987	Barfly [Barbet Schroeder] c
1987	Il piccolo diavolo/The Little Devil [Roberto Benigni] c

"Mystery Train"

1988	Mystery Train [Jim Jarmusch] c
1989	Coffee and Cigarettes II/Coffee and Cigarettes: Memphis Version [Jim Jarmusch] b&w; short/8m; ed into 'Coffee and Cigarettes' as 'Twins' (see Films, 2003)
1989	Aufzeichnungen zu Kleidern und Städten/Notebook on Cities and Clothes [Wim Wenders] v+16mm+35mm-to-35mm/c; doc/81m; cph: Muriel Edelstein, Wim Wenders, Masatoshi Nakajima, a.o.
1989	Korczak [Andrzej Wajda] b&w
1990	Bis ans Ende der Welt/Until the End of the World [Wim Wenders] c; 2uc: Benedict Neuenfels; 2uc France: Theo Bierkens; addph: Joel Peterson
1990	Red Hot + Blue [seg #17 (5m16s) 'Night and Day' dir by Wim Wenders; a: U2] b&w-c/V; mus comp/111m; other ph: Tom Sigel, Ed Lachman, Declan Quinn, a.o.; this film (18 music videos + art breaks) accompanied the comp album (20 tracks) from the Red Hot Organization (an AIDS Benefit project); also an ABC-tv special
1991	Mad Dog and Glory [John McNaughton] c; addph: Jeffrey Jur
1992	When Pigs Fly [Sara Driver] c
*1993*	Three Years After My Death [Alejandro Agresti] ?
1994	Hoogste tijd/Last Call [Frans Weisz] c
1994	Jenseits der Wolken/Par-delà les nuages/Al di là delle nuvole/Beyond the Clouds [prologue/interludes/epilogue dir by Wim Wenders] c; scenes dir by Michelangelo Antonioni were ph by Alfio Contini
1994	Dead Man [Jim Jarmusch] b&w; 2uc: Chris Lombardi
1995	Breaking the Waves [Lars von Trier] s35/c; 2uc: Eric Kress; sfx ph: Jan Weincke

With dir Sally Potter [seated] - "The Tango Lesson"

1996	The Tango Lesson [Sally Potter] b&w-c
1997	Shattered Image [Raúl Ruiz] c
1998	Buena Vista Social Club [Wim Wenders] DigiBeta-to-35mm/c; doc/101m; cph Amsterdam: Jörg Widmer; ph New York: Lisa Rinzler; ph Cuba: Jörg Widmer
1998	Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai [Jim Jarmusch] c; 2uc: Chaim Kantor
1999	Dancer in the Dark [Lars von Trier] dv (Sony DSR-1P, PD100P, PD150 & D30WSP)-to-35mm scope/c; 2uc: Eric Kress; dance seq ph: Anthony Dod Mantle, Jan Weincke, a.o.
2000	My Brother Tom [Dom Rotheroe] dv (Sony DSR-PD150)-to-35mm/c; 2u c.op: Dirk Nel
2001	24 Hour Party People [Michael Winterbottom] dv (Sony DSR-PD150)-to-35mm/c
2001	Caribs' Leap [ Steve McQueen] (1) s8-to-video/c; 29m (continuous play) + (2) 35mm-to-video/c; 12m (continuous play); This film journeys into the historical interior of the Caribbean island of Grenada. In 1651, rather than surrendering to French soldiers, a large number of Caribbeans threw themselves over the cliffs onto the rocks below. This ultimate act of resistance is one focus of the film which was largely shot on location in Sauteurs in Grenada, where this act of collective sacrifice took place. Intended to be shown together with 'Western Deep' (ph: Sean Bobbitt) in a two screen presentation; prod for Documenta XI, Kassel, Germany (2002).
2002	Poem - Ich setzte den Fuß in die Luft, und sie trug/Poem - I Set My Foot Upon the Air and It Carried Me [Ralf Schmerberg] b&w-c; 19 seg; ph seg #6 (3m/b&w) 'Gesang der Geister über den Wassern', #9 (6m/c) 'Nach grauen Tagen' & #15 (6m/b&w) 'Der Schiffbrüchige'; other ph: Darius Khondji, Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein, Nicola Pecorini, a.o.; filmed April 2000-April 2002
2003	Coffee and Cigarettes [Jim Jarmusch] b&w; 96m; cph: Tom DiCillo (1986), Fred Elmes (1993) & Ellen Kuras; ed from 3 'Coffee and Cigarettes'-films (1986, 1989 & 1993) and other shorts
*2004*	A Londoni férfi/The Man from London [Béla Tarr] announced as ph, but prod was shut down in February 2005 after the producer committed suicide; ph in 2006-07 by Fred Kelemen
2014	Ashes [Steve McQueen] s8-to-HD/c; film installation/10m; 'Ashes' is installed as an immersive projection with sound. It was shot on Super8 film with a haunting verbal soundtrack, recorded in Grenada. Much of the footage dates from 2001. The deceptively simple film was commissioned by Espace Louis Vuitton, Tokyo; filmed in 2001

TELEVISION
1967	Der Fall Lena Christ [Hans W. Geissendörfer] tvm/b&w/16mm
1969	Die Anpassung [Christian Rischert] tvm/b&w/16mm
1970	Eine Rose für Jane [Hans W. Geissendörfer] tvm
1970	Pakbo [Volker Koch] tvm
1971	Carlos [Hans W. Geissendörfer] tvm
1972	Marie [Hans W. Geissendörfer] tvm
1973	Die Eltern [Hans W. Geissendörfer] tvm
1973	Perahim - die zweite Chance [Hans W. Geissendörfer] tvm
1974	Wandas Paradies [Christa Maar] tvm
1975	[Das] Double [Christa Maar] tvm
1977	Das Ende einer Karriere [Christa Maar] tvm/16mm
1979	Striptease [Frans Weisz] tvm/22m/16mm
1984	Finnegan Begin Again [Joan Micklin Silver] tvm
2004	Visions of Europe [seg (6m/b&w) 'Prologue' dir by Béla Tarr & (co-dir) Ágnes Hranitzky] tvm/b&w-c/140m (25 seg)

FILMS AS CAMERA ASSISTANT [with doph Gerard Vandenberg]
1964	Aah... Tamara [Pim de la Parra Jr.; short/28m] co-c.asst (+ co-stills ph)
1964	Een zondag op het eiland van de Grande-Jatte [Frans Weisz; short]
1965	Een ochtend van zes weken/Un printemps en Hollande/A Morning of Six Weeks [Nikolai van der Heyde]
1966	Het gangstermeisje/Illusion Is a Gangstergirl [Frans Weisz]
1966	Der Beginn [Peter Lilienthal; tvm]
1966	Bächlein räuschen [Peter Lilienthal]
1966	To Grab the Ring [Nikolai van der Heyde] co-c.asst
1967	Liebe und so weiter [George Moorse; tvm]
1968	Ich bin ein Elefant, Madame [Peter Zadek] co-c.asst
1969	11.50 from Zürich [Nikolai van der Heyde; short]