Robby Müller, the famed Dutch cinematographer responsible for shooting some of the greatest films of modern times — earning him the nickname “Master of Light” for his dazzling compositions of color and natural light — has passed away in Amsterdam just three months after celebrating his 78th birthday.

Müller’s family confirmed his death to the Dutch publication De Volksrant, stating that he had been seriously ill for a long time. As a cinematographer, Müller frequently worked with acclaimed directors like Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, and Lars von Trier, applying his unique visual style to some of their best films.

Melancholia
Directed by Lars von Trier
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgard, John Hurt, Stellan Skarsgard and Charlotte Rampling
Release Date: November 11, 2011

To watch Terrance Malick’s distinct, creative rendering of the beginning of the universe in The Tree of Life and then experiencing Lars von Trier‘s incendiary vision of the universe plummeting to eventual debris is to witness two artists displaying unseen audacity as they tackle subjects (beginning and end of times) that once seemed un-filmable. The caustic, operatic, haunting and celestial opening shots to von Trier’s Melancholia, which are set to the Tristan and Isolde Prelude in slow motion, depict a world, from an intimate perspective, gradually proceeding to its imminent demise. These horror-laden images, which are intimations of what will transpire later in the film, are surpassingly beautiful and an overwhelming indicator of the astonishing horror and gloom that will pervade the entire film. It is as if we are plunging into a much disagreeable state, one that anticipates the most tremulous and hectic occurrences to transpire. Melancholia is a headfirst dive into an abyss that assuredly glorifies the confusion and paranoia that is impetuously at work within the human mind. And by the film’s end, we realize that Melancholia is a remarkable and grim testimony of human frailty.

UPDATE: This is why I loathe rumors. Lars von Trier’s business partner Peter Aalbaek Jensen tells ScreenDaily “I have seen it [the story] in the Danish film magazine and what is written there is not true,” and that it’s all “rubbish.” Lesson learned. If the Danish say something, don’t listen to it.

Apparently Lars von Trier, director of the recent controversial film, Antichrist, is now the Jigsaw Killer of all film makers, setting challenges at the feet of his peers.

Many reports out of the Berlin Film Festival state that von Trier is challenging none other than Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro to remake their 1976 classic, Taxi Driver. The news is so insanely preposterous that it wasn’t even worth a glance at first; but with more and more reports indicating that an announcement will come soon, we all can’t help but wonder: is this really true?