Robert Richardson: The White Devil review – tempestuous DoP’s relationship with A-list directors laid bare

Karlovy Vary film festival
Intimate documentary interviews Scorsese, Tarantino and Stone as well as Richardson’s family – with staggering home movie footage, too

Perhaps he looks more like Gandalf now, in his 70s, with a kind of beatific grandfatherly calm. But legendary cinematographer Robert Richardson – three time Oscar winner for JFK, The Aviator and Hugo – got his “white devil” nickname when his long white hair was a little less unruly than it is now, and more of a sensual accessory for a fiercely passionate, handsome and commanding man who conducted tempestuous working relationships like love affairs with A-list male directors including Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.

This documentary takes us through his intensely creative, semi-crazed process on films such as Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July and JFK for Stone; Hugo and The Aviator for Scorsese; and Kill Bill and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for Tarantino. And all the time his wives and children, left at home for months at a time while he was out on location, might have wondered what their dad was doing.
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