Roger Corman

“In science-fiction films the monster should always be bigger than the leading lady.”

Joel Coen

“The characters are the result of two things-first, we elaborate them into fairly well-defined people through their dialogue, then they happen all over again, when the actor interprets them. ”

Ethan Coen

“We create monsters and then we can't control them. ”

Fritz Lang

“I should say that I was a visual person. I experience with my eyes and never, or rarely, with my ears...to my constant regret.”

Zhang Yimou

“To do art, one thing should always remember - subjects of people in misery have deep meanings.”

Francis Ford Coppola

“I'm in a unique situation. I'm like now an elderly retired guy who made a lot of money, and now I can just, instead of playing golf, I can make art films.”

Howard Hawks

“I'm a storyteller - that's the chief function of a director. And they're moving pictures, let's make 'em move! ”

Elia Kazan

“I like directors who come on the set and create something that’s a little dangerous, difficult or unusual.”

Billy Wilder

“If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill you.”

Alfred Hitchcock

“For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake.”

Richard Attenborough

“I do care about style. I do care, but I only care about style that serves the subject.”

David Lean

“My distinguishing talent is the ability to put people under the microscope, perhaps to go one or two layers farther down than some other directors.”

John Sturges

Sam Peckinpah

“The end of a picture is always an end of a life.”

Preston Sturges

“The most incredible thing about my career is that I had one.”

Anthony Mann

"Primarily known for his Westerns, Mann portrayed a world of violence against some of the most striking natural vistas in cinema history. His crime films are gritty and real, and all his work reflects an exploration of the complex psychology of the human soul." —William R. Meyer (The Film Buff's Catalog, 1978)

John Ford

“I hate the cinema. But I like making westerns.”

Budd Boetticher

“The Western formula: A man has a job to do, or a couple of men. They try to do it against tremendous odds. They do it.”

Terry Gilliam

“You get trapped by stories. Though I've got this reputation for being out of control, it's not true, it just happens to be a more interesting story than the truth.”

Orson Welles

“A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet.”