Ruth Bader Ginsburg, now popularly known as “Notorious RBG” (T-shirts are available) stands at a mere 5’1” and at 85 years young can instill fear in her opponents. But for many, the name is synonymous with not only women’s rights, but also human rights in America and throughout the world.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her office at the United States Supreme Court, in the Magnolia Pictures documentary release “RBG”
RBG, directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, produced by CNN Films and Storyville Films and distributed by Magnolia Pictures is one of the most popular documentaries in years. Boasting a score of 93 at Rotten Tomatoes, RBG is already the highest-grossing release in Magnolia Films history, and nearing the top two-dozen most popular documentaries of all time, ahead of such Oscar nominees and winners as Amy, Hoop Dreams, The Fog of War, and 20 Feet From Stardom.
RBG is also hands down a MUST see for every woman, child and man. The film offers a 1 hour 37-minute window into the impact this woman has had on society, which is perhaps unparalleled in our time. It will leave the viewer awestruck and inspired.
I recently sat down with cinematographer Claudia Raschke, who lensed the film and played a crucial role in seamlessly blending archival footage along with contemporary footage quite seamlessly to deliver a compelling and beautifully orchestrated look at this behemoth of law.
Claudia, an immigrant from Hamburg Germany who began her artistic career as a student of fine arts and modern dance, is an exemplar of the RBG generation. Her story reads like a magnificent biopic itself, riveting enough to make you wonder if the meeting of Claudia and RBG was serendipity at its finest.
She began her cinematography odyssey while studying and training for the career she hoped for in modern dance. While supporting herself waiting tables at a restaurant in New York City, a chance conversation with part-time bartender Jim Jones, a cinematography teacher at Columbia University, led Professor Jones to suggest the potential of a cinematography career after Claudia shared a few of the photographs she took as a hobby.
Her priceless response to his invitation to study cinematography: “What’s that?”
She describes the day she was first invited to a movie set as “quite magical.” She immediately took to the tangible nature of the camera and film, but also the energy on set, both in front of and behind the lens. She felt it was natural and so much like choreography. “It was like a lightbulb went off in my head. I have been training my whole life to do this! Between painting and sculpting and dancing, this does it all!”
Claudia continued to work with students who needed help with their film projects, while she enrolled in a one-year filmmaking program at NYU. After graduation she worked her way up the ladder as an Assistant Cinematographer, then Camera Operator, and joined Local 600 as a Director of Photography in 1991.
Her career began to flourish working as a 2nd AC under such cinematography legends as Jost Vacano (Das Boot, Robocop, The Never Ending Story) and Stefan Czapsky (Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns).
She continued to shoot student films for Columbia students and it was at a Columbia University awards show as guest of honor film director Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan) was announcing films that Claudia became recognized for her work. Seidelman expressed surprise at seeing a woman listed as the cinematographer, not once but several times, not realizing it was Claudia who had shot several of the award nominated films.
This led to Claudia being courted by some of the biggest agencies for cinematic arts representation, including the legendary Gersh Agency, who Claudia now credits for her start in the feature world.
“Because there were so few women with established track records in cinematography, there were questions. ‘Can a woman really handle the budget? Can a woman really handle the math? Can a woman really run a set?’ This was 1990, and these questions were very heavy,” she says. Gersh coming on board was the backing she needed to help her get the ball rolling on her career.
RBG
After shooting several features and commercials, Claudia found herself being drawn more and more into documentaries. which led both Cohen and West, directors and producers of RBG, to find her and her work.