I first came to cinema as a passionate filmgoer, when I was a child. Then, when I was a very young man, I became a film critic precisely because of my knowledge of cinema. I did better than others because of this. Then I moved on to screenwriting. I wrote a film with Sergio Leone, 'Once Upon a Time in the West.' And then I moved to directing.

I want to do what I want when I want to do it not be dictated to by audiences.

Then I realized my early work did have something special that audiences adored apart from what I humbly thought about them. They occupy a distinguished niche in Italian film history and probably always will.

Every writer, to some extent, writes about himself.

It irritated me that my fans kept wanting me to retread old ground.

The psychiatrists examine you and ask you about your life and work, and then they decide whether your film can be shown or not. It's a horrible experience.

I used a Luma crane, a wounderful device; it makes the camera able to go anywhere. It was also used on Friday the 13th Part 3.