Quotes by Director | Beyond Motive 2/67

top of page

Quotes by Director

"I did some film reviews for small papers in Finland and things like that to be able to keep living here."

"I did some film reviews for small papers in Finland and things like that to be able to keep living here."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

38

"Cinemas gained new young audiences who wanted films made for them."

"Cinemas gained new young audiences who wanted films made for them."

Andrzej Wajda, Polish Director

Media, Audiences

38

"This was in '79. I got pretty restless there, sitting around with a lot of people sitting around smoking cigarettes and talking about films, but nobody really doing anything."

"This was in '79. I got pretty restless there, sitting around with a lot of people sitting around smoking cigarettes and talking about films, but nobody really doing anything."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

People, Pretty, Smoking, Talking

38

"I said I would do all the films about the commercials, and the films about ball-bearings and Ford tractors and so on, if once a year they gave me money for a free film."

"I said I would do all the films about the commercials, and the films about ball-bearings and Ford tractors and so on, if once a year they gave me money for a free film."

Karel Reisz, Czechoslovakian Director

38

"I was in jail four and a half years. When I came out, I continued the same struggle against injustice, but instead of using weapons, I began to use art and cinema."

"I was in jail four and a half years. When I came out, I continued the same struggle against injustice, but instead of using weapons, I began to use art and cinema."

Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Director

Art, Cinema, Injustice, Struggle

38

"Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it's often only found in moments of truth."

"Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it's often only found in moments of truth."

Alan Rudolph, American Director

Truth, Identity, Moments

38

"I'm thinking, this is Robert Redford. You know, he's won an Academy Award, he's talking to me about directing a movie he's in. So you just think that it's Hollywood stuff or whatever."

"I'm thinking, this is Robert Redford. You know, he's won an Academy Award, he's talking to me about directing a movie he's in. So you just think that it's Hollywood stuff or whatever."

Barry Levinson, American Director

Hollywood, Talking, Thinking

38

"Well I think effects are tools."

"Well I think effects are tools."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

37

"It's just, for me, the natural standard: a woman should be able to decide over her own body."

"It's just, for me, the natural standard: a woman should be able to decide over her own body."

Lasse Hallstrom, Swedish Director

37

"I was interested in both Western and Indian classical music."

"I was interested in both Western and Indian classical music."

Satyajit Ray, Indian Director

36

"I think there are movies that are so gigantic that you need a second unit."

"I think there are movies that are so gigantic that you need a second unit."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

36

"The more opinions you have, the less you see."

"The more opinions you have, the less you see."

Wim Wenders, German Director

Perspective, Opinions

36

"I come from Brazil, which is a Portuguese speaking part of the continent."

"I come from Brazil, which is a Portuguese speaking part of the continent."

Walter Salles, Brazilian Director

Location, Brazil

36

"From my films, you can at least learn about Iran, you can get a sense of the history and the society. But no such films have been made about Afghanistan, so you really can't know much about it."

"From my films, you can at least learn about Iran, you can get a sense of the history and the society. But no such films have been made about Afghanistan, so you really can't know much about it."

Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Director

History, Society, Afghanistan, Sense

36

"I met a hustler at a dinner party. He had been invited because I was looking for an adviser to help me with the street scenes. So we put him on the film."

"I met a hustler at a dinner party. He had been invited because I was looking for an adviser to help me with the street scenes. So we put him on the film."

John Schlesinger, British Director

Film, Help, Party

36

"You can pretend to be serious; but you can't pretend to be witty."

"You can pretend to be serious; but you can't pretend to be witty."

Sacha Guitry, French Director

35

"Usually people like to categorise artists. With my films, I categorise people: if I know which one of my movies you like, I can tell which kind of a person you are."

"Usually people like to categorise artists. With my films, I categorise people: if I know which one of my movies you like, I can tell which kind of a person you are."

Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Director

Movies, People, Artists

35

"The style depends on the subject."

"The style depends on the subject."

Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Director

35

"To me the director's job is to leave it in better shape than you found it, literally."

"To me the director's job is to leave it in better shape than you found it, literally."

Steven Soderbergh, American Director

35

"I think that The Eye is a particularly Americanized take on horror."

"I think that The Eye is a particularly Americanized take on horror."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

Film, Eye, Horror

34

"I became a real Shell Motor Oil expert, and I did this 25-minute film. It turned out really well and, as a result, they offered me more work and lots of commercials to direct."

"I became a real Shell Motor Oil expert, and I did this 25-minute film. It turned out really well and, as a result, they offered me more work and lots of commercials to direct."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

Work, Film, Oil, Result

34

"God and Country are an unbeatable team; they break all records for oppression and bloodshed."

"God and Country are an unbeatable team; they break all records for oppression and bloodshed."

Luis Bunuel, Mexican Director

God, Country, Oppression

33

"You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art of scholars but of illiterates."

"You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art of scholars but of illiterates."

Werner Herzog, German Director

33

"Wuxia is a fantasy world exists in everyone's mind."

"Wuxia is a fantasy world exists in everyone's mind."

Zhang Yimou, Chinese Director

Media, Fantasy, Mind, World

33

"When I was younger, I was fascinated by David Bowie, for example. he had created an entire myth around himself. It was as important as his music."

"When I was younger, I was fascinated by David Bowie, for example. he had created an entire myth around himself. It was as important as his music."

Lars von Trier, Danish Director

Music, Example, Myth

32

"For all the boredom the straight life brings, it's not too bad."

"For all the boredom the straight life brings, it's not too bad."

Gus Van Sant, American Director

32

"Minority views expressed in films simply don't sell tickets."

"Minority views expressed in films simply don't sell tickets."

Karel Reisz, Czechoslovakian Director

31

"Cinema Paradiso, because it reminds me of why I make movies, the magic of movies, the romance of movies."

"Cinema Paradiso, because it reminds me of why I make movies, the magic of movies, the romance of movies."

Antoine Fuqua, American Director

Movies, Romance, Cinema, Magic

31

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel pressed and tense almost every day of my life about something or other. And I think it's the one thing, as I look into people's eyes, that I think I share with almost everybody."

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel pressed and tense almost every day of my life about something or other. And I think it's the one thing, as I look into people's eyes, that I think I share with almost everybody."

William Friedkin, American Director

Life, People, Day, Eyes

31

"People must not think that all bad in man which is unleashed, the moment you impose censorship disappears from man."

"People must not think that all bad in man which is unleashed, the moment you impose censorship disappears from man."

Milos Forman, Czechoslovakian Director

People, Censorship, Man

31

"What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out."

"What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out."

Alfred Hitchcock, English Director

31

"The French have got to understand that a film is so expensive that it can no longer afford to be regional or even national in scope."

"The French have got to understand that a film is so expensive that it can no longer afford to be regional or even national in scope."

Jean-Jacques Annaud, French Director

30

"The only solutions that are ever worth anything are the solutions that people find themselves."

"The only solutions that are ever worth anything are the solutions that people find themselves."

Satyajit Ray, Indian Director

30

"You just never give up, no matter how hard the challenges are, and observe this world with a healthy dose of criticism and don't just follow the herd like somebody else might do."

"You just never give up, no matter how hard the challenges are, and observe this world with a healthy dose of criticism and don't just follow the herd like somebody else might do."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

Criticism, World

29

"The world distribution of French movies is a laughing matter. That is a fact."

"The world distribution of French movies is a laughing matter. That is a fact."

Jean-Jacques Annaud, French Director

Movies, Fact, World

29

"I mean, you have to be able - you have to have made the commitment within yourself to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to try to inspire other people to do it, because obviously the first rule is you can't do it by yourself."

"I mean, you have to be able - you have to have made the commitment within yourself to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to try to inspire other people to do it, because obviously the first rule is you can't do it by yourself."

James Cameron, American Director

People, Commitment, First, Job

29

"Hellboy is the first movie where both ends of the spectrum are combined."

"Hellboy is the first movie where both ends of the spectrum are combined."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

28

"It was actually Peter's idea that I should make the film. He called me in the very beginning, and I hadn't even read the book. So I read it and I liked it very much and I knew I'd certainly like to do it."

"It was actually Peter's idea that I should make the film. He called me in the very beginning, and I hadn't even read the book. So I read it and I liked it very much and I knew I'd certainly like to do it."

Bille August, Danish Director

Creativity, Idea, Beginning, Film

28

"I had read tons of science fiction. I was fascinated by other worlds, other environments. For me, it was fantasy, but it was not fantasy in the sense of pure escapism."

"I had read tons of science fiction. I was fascinated by other worlds, other environments. For me, it was fantasy, but it was not fantasy in the sense of pure escapism."

James Cameron, American Director

Science, Escapism, Fantasy, Fiction

28

"I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens."

"I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens."

Woody Allen, American Director

28

"I have a short attention span."

"I have a short attention span."

Tony Scott, British Director

28

"A government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation funds filmmaking there, and I wrote several screenplays but never got any money. They were sent back to me, and they said that they were too commercial for them."

"A government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation funds filmmaking there, and I wrote several screenplays but never got any money. They were sent back to me, and they said that they were too commercial for them."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

Government, Money, Film

27

"Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you're a director. Everything after that you're just negotiating your budget and your fee."

"Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you're a director. Everything after that you're just negotiating your budget and your fee."

James Cameron, American Director

Friendship, Sister, Friends, Name, Now

27

"An actor has to embody a role."

"An actor has to embody a role."

Taylor Hackford, American Director

27

"There were two sides to David Lean: on the one side, he was kind of a rather stiff, disciplined Englishman. And then he had this kind of romantic side to him. I think being true to both sides of your nature is important."

"There were two sides to David Lean: on the one side, he was kind of a rather stiff, disciplined Englishman. And then he had this kind of romantic side to him. I think being true to both sides of your nature is important."

John Boorman, British Director

Nature, Being, Romantic

27

"I come from a country and also a continent whose identity is in the making. We're a very young culture, and I think that things are not yet crystallised."

"I come from a country and also a continent whose identity is in the making. We're a very young culture, and I think that things are not yet crystallised."

Walter Salles, Brazilian Director

Nation, Country, Culture, Identity

27

"My parents said, Oh, he's going to be a director someday. I wanted to be an actor."

"My parents said, Oh, he's going to be a director someday. I wanted to be an actor."

Quentin Tarantino, American Director

27

"We'd be working in our motel room through the night, and I'd come up with an idea at two in the morning, and he'd start jumping up and down, pacing across the room, or whatever."

"We'd be working in our motel room through the night, and I'd come up with an idea at two in the morning, and he'd start jumping up and down, pacing across the room, or whatever."

Arthur Hiller, Canadian Director

Creativity, Idea, Night

27

"The more she rejected us the more convinced I was that she was another version of the real Molly, her disdain for authority, her scepticism that she had to do what the white man told her because it was good for her... She is Molly."

"The more she rejected us the more convinced I was that she was another version of the real Molly, her disdain for authority, her scepticism that she had to do what the white man told her because it was good for her... She is Molly."

Phillip Noyce, Australian Director

27

"The novel is a penetrating study of morals and ethics."

"The novel is a penetrating study of morals and ethics."

Bille August, Danish Director

Literature, Ethics, Morals, Study

26

bottom of page