People
Robby Müller
Camera · follow into films and chains
Biography
Robby Müller (4 April 1940 - 4 July 2018) was a Dutch cinematographer. Known both for his use of natural light and minimalist imagery, as well as expressionistic use of colors, Müller first gained recognition for his contributions to West German Cinema through his acclaimed collaborations with Wim Wenders. Müller's first work as a cinematographer was also Wim Wenders' first as director, Alabama: 2000 Light Years. They went on making many more films together such as Summer in the City, The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, The Scarlet Letter, Alice in the Cities, Wrong Move, Kings of the Road, The American Friend, Wings of Desire, Until the End of the World and Paris, Texas. Throughout the course of his career, he also worked closely with directors Jim Jarmusch (Down by Law, Mystery Train, Dead Man, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai), Lars Von Trier (Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark), Peter Bogdanovich (Saint Jack, They All Laughed), Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, Tricheurs) and Hans W. Geissendörfer (Jonathan, The Glass Cell, Carlos, The Wild Duck, Der Fall Lena Christ, Die Eltern). Müller's other work has been on both mainstream productions and independent films, including the hazy, yellow-tinted cinematography of William Friedkin's To Live and Die in LA, Alex Cox's Repo Man, Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People, Andrzej Wajda's Korczak, Jerry Schatzberg's Honeysuckle Rose, Peter Handke's The Left Handed Woman, Sally Potter's The Tango Lesson, Dom Rotheroe's My Brother Tom and Steve McQueen's Carib’s Leap. Paul Thomas Anderson referred to Müller as "The master of night exteriors. Like a chef with a secret sauce. I can't quite figure it out." Barry Sonnenfeld recalls the first thing he and the Coen Brothers bonded over was Müller's The American Friend cinematography, which convinced the brothers that Sonnenfeld had good enough taste to shoot their first film (Blood Simple). Müller died on 3 July 2018, aged 78, having suffered from vascular dementia for several years.
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
To Live and Die in L.A.
Appears in a KinoChain journey
The American Friend
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Mystery Train
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Down by Law
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Alice in the Cities
Appears in a KinoChain journey
24 Hour Party People
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Paris, Texas
Director of Photography
Mysteries
Director of Photography
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
Love in the Ruins
From the Sex Pistols' collapse to the quiet ache of post-punk, a chain of films where rebellion and romance burn together, and the fallout is everything.
8 films
Neon Fog and the Long Way Home
From Thief's rain-slicked streets to Drive's neon avenues, a journey through neo-noir night drives where every turn tests the driver's moral compass.
8 films
Off the Map
From desert highways to dead-end towns, these eight films reroute the road movie into strange, funny, and surreal territory.
7 films
The Art of the Unresolved
From the sun-bleached streets of Los Angeles to the fog-bound docks of Hamburg, these eight films turn the detective story inside out, leaving questions hanging...
8 films
No Map. No Plan. Just Go
From American Honey to Nomadland, a journey through films where the open road promises freedom, and sometimes delivers it.
8 films
The Many Faces We Wear
From classic Hollywood to French farce and beyond, a journey through cinema's most audacious transformations and borrowed identities.
7 films
Topics
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Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Cinematography
24 Hour Party People
2002
Dancer in the Dark
2000
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
1999
Buena Vista Social Club
1999
Dead Man
1995
Beyond the Clouds
1995
Mad Dog and Glory
1993
Mystery Train
1989
Down by Law
1986
To Live and Die in L.A.
1985
Finnegan Begin Again
1985
Paris, Texas
1984
Mysteries
1978
The American Friend
1977
Alice in the Cities
1974