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.

I believe that perfection handicaps cinema.

All technical refinements discourage me. Perfect photography, larger screens, hi-fi sound, all make it possible for mediocrities slavishly to reproduce nature; and this reproduction bores me. What interests me is the interpretation of life by an artist. The personality of the film maker interests me more than the copy of an object.

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

The advantage of being eighty years old is that one has many people to love.

Is it possible to succeed without any act of betrayal?

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