When I was twelve, the passage from silent film to the talkies had an impact on me-I still watch silent films. I don't think that there is any such thing as an old film; you don't say, 'I read an old book by Flaubert,' or 'I saw an old play by Moliere.'

I never had any special appetite for filmmaking, but you have to make a living and it is miraculous to earn a living working in film.

So I used formal techniques to make the film more perceptive emotionally.

It was repugnant, but it was the only way to communicate.

There cannot be any communication except through form. If there is no form, you cannot create emotion in the spectator.

I saw part of The Singing Detective on TV in New York. I said, Something is going on here.

I am never driven. Every film Ive made has been an assignment.