You'll see more violence in any television crime series than you will in my films Art is there to have a stimulating effect, if it earns its name. You have to be honest, that's the only thing.

Film is the manipulative medium par excellence. When you think back on the history of film and the 20th century, you see the propaganda that's been made. So there are moral demands on the director to treat the spectators as seriously as he or she takes himself and not to see them merely as victims that can be manipulated to whatever ends they have.

What I like are films that take me seriously, that don't treat me as more stupid than I am.

I'm far more relaxed with German. I'm a control freak. I like to know exactly who's saying and doing what.

It's the duty of art to ask questions, not to provide answers. And if you want a clearer answer, I'll have to pass.

I'm not someone who enjoys long talks, long rehearsals. I'm very technical: I tell my actors, you come in, you sit down, you pick up a coffee, you look here, you say the line. We try it with the cameras rolling, and if it doesn't work, we adjust it until it does. It's very simple.

It became a gamble to myself whether I was able to do the exact same film ["Funny Games"]under very different circumstances.