“The White Devil” got the red carpet treatment at the 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) on Sunday. Legendary cinematographer and three-time Oscar winner Robert Richardson received the Czech festival’s highest honor, the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contributions to world cinema, in its 80th year. And handing him the award was none other than Hollywood legend Harvey Keitel.
Nicknamed “The White Devil” for his long white hair and relentless pursuit of cinematic perfection, Richardson arrived on the stage of the Grand Hall of Karlovy Vary’s Hotel Thermal to a big ovation.
“I’m not an actor,” the cinematographer started off saying. He then lauded the love for the art of film he has experienced in town. “I look out into the streets here, and I see so many people and so many here within this hall, and there are so many young people. What I think this particular award represents is a singular future, the future that we all need and want. I love that this festival opens the opportunity for seeing films that we rarely see, and holding films as [an] art [form].”
He shared this vision of the future where more smaller films can travel around the world, including from such places as the Czech Republic: “What I’m hoping for one day in the future is that more countries can be reached through streaming or whatever at no cost for everyone to be able to see what we cannot see and to see all the work that many of you are going to do.”
Richardson also praised the KVIFF award and Keitel: “This is a very special gift … coming from an extraordinarily special man, Harvey Keitel, who is, in my opinion, truly one of the greatest in cinema history.”
The cinematographer then shared an anecdote: “When I first saw Mean Streets, everyone spoke about a must-see performance of Bob De Niro, and the movie was over, and I was like ‘great!’ … Time passes, I’m talking about the movie, and the person I thought was Bob De Niro was Harvey Keitel. His performance was so commanding.”
As some in the audience broke out into laughter, Richardson emphasized: “It’s not to say anything about Bob’s performance – it’s brilliant, and he’s also a good friend.” Quipped Keitel: “Are you trying to get me killed?!”
The actor had introduced Richardson following a highlight reel of his work. “I’m holding a piece of paper with something to say upon it,” Keitel said after the reel ended. “But seeing Bob’s work speaks for itself. We have before us one of the world’s greatest cinematographers. So, that’s all I have to say.” He then ripped up the paper and threw away its pieces.
Richardson received the KVIFF award at the world premiere of Czech filmmaker Jana Hojdová‘s Robert Richardson: The White Devil, a feature documentary dedicated to the life and career of the cinema icon. The whole crew joined the honoree on stage, with director Hojdová giving him a bracelet. Explained Richardson: “I have a tradition – every time I start a movie, I have one bracelet, and I wear it for the entire movie. … When they come off, that means the film’s gonna die.”
Later on Sunday, the cinematographer will sit down in Karlovy Vary with THR’s Scott Feinberg to record an episode of the Awards Chatter podcast.
When KVIFF unveiled that Richardson would receive the honor, it emphasized that he is “one of the most respected cinematographers of the past four decades and one of the few people alive to have received a best cinematography Oscar three times,” namely for JFK, The Aviator and Hugo, KVIFF highlighted. “Richardson’s work has helped lend a distinctive atmosphere to films starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx, and Margot Robbie.”
Richardson is part of a star-studded lineup of honorees and guests at KVIFF’s double anniversary edition. Other big names who have already been honored this weekend are Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jesse Eisenberg.
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