To the question, ‘Is the cinema an art?’ my answer is, ‘what does it matter?’... You can make films or you can cultivate a garden. Both have as much claim to being called an art as a poem by Verlaine or a painting by Delacroix… Art is ‘making.’ The art of poetry is the art of making poetry. The art of love is the art of making love... My father never talked to me about art. He could not bear the word.

When a friend speaks to me, whatever he says is interesting.

I am against great themes and great subjects... You can't film an idea. The camera is an instrument for recording physical impact.

The foundation of all civilization is loitering.

A Director Makes Only One Movie in His Life. Then He Breaks It Into Pieces and Makes It Again.

There is no realism in American films. No realism, but something much better, great truth.

Nature is millions of things. And there are millions of ways of understanding its preoccupations.