Renowned Cinematographer Robby Muller Dead at 78

Robby Mller, the cinematographer known for his collaborations with Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch as well as his work on Repo Man, Honeysuckle Rose and To Live and Die in L.A., has died at the age of 78.

Dutch newspaper Het Parool (via The Guardian) reported that Mller, known as the master of light, died at his home in Amsterdam, the Netherlands following a lengthy battle with vascular dementia, a degenerative disease that left him unable to talk or move for several years prior to his death.

We have lost the remarkable, brilliant & irreplaceable Robby Mller, Jim Jarmusch tweeted. I love him so very much. He taught me so many things, & without him, I dont think I would know anything about filmmaking. R.I.P. my dear friend Robby. Mller served as Jarmuschs cinematographer on five films, including Down By Law, Mystery Train and Dead Man.

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The British Film Institute tweeted, Were very sad to hear about the passing of cinematographer Robby Mller, master of light, who collaborated with Jim Jarmusch, Wim Wenders, Sally Potter and William Friedkin to create some of the most striking images in all of cinema.

The Curacao-born cinematographer began his career as director of photography on Wim Wenders 1970 debut feature Summer in the City; Wenders and Mllers partnership would span 10 films, from the directors German-language movies to 1984s acclaimed Paris, Texas, featuring Mllers breathtaking images of the American Southwest.

Following Peter Bogdanovichs 1979 film Saint Jack Mllers first American film as cinematographer Mller would help compose the unforgettable images and era-defining lighting in Eighties classics like Repo Man, Honeysuckle Rose, To Live and Die in L.A. and Barfly.

The cinematographer also worked on Michelangelo Antonionis final film Beyond the Clouds, Michael Winterbottoms 24 Hour Party People and Lars Von Triers Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark. Mllers final feature film credit was for Jarmuschs 2003 anthology Cigarettes & Coffee.

In 2016, Amsterdams Eye film museum held a Master of Light Robby Mller retrospective. He taught me later a lot about color, as well, and how it relates to your emotions, or how the sky at magic hour changes every ten seconds and becomes a different shade, Jarmusch told the New York Times of Mller in 2016.

Robby would teach me things like, it says in the script that its a sunny day, but then on the day of the shoot it would be cloudy and about to rain. Most people would just say, O.K., lets not shoot today. Robby would always say, lets think, maybe the clouds and the rain is better, lets not be closed off, lets be open to what we might do.