Death comes in a flash, and that's the truth of it, the person's gone in less than 24 frames of film.

The most important thing is, how can I move forward towards something that I can't articulate, that is new in storytelling with moving images and sound?

I loved the idea of seeing the world through a boy's eyes.

Sometimes when you're heavy into the shooting or editing of a picture, you get to the point where you don't know if you could ever do it again.

An interviewer once asked me to discuss my collaboration with Elmer Bernstein, and precisely why I chose to work with him. My first thought was: How could I not work with Elmer, when I had the chance? Simply put, he's the best there is-the very best.

[Action's] a Western thing. We think of the hero going into battle, rebelling against a government or an oppressor, but [in KUNDUN] action is nonaction or what appears to be nonaction. That's a hard concept for Western audiences. . . . We wanted to show a kind of moral action, a spiritual action, an emotional action. Some people will pick up on it; some won't.

Film in the 20th century, it's the American art form, like jazz.