I simply know what the actor's attitude should be and what he should say. He doesn't, because he can't see the relationship that begins to exist between his body and the other things in the scene.

A director is a man, therefore he has ideas; he is also an artist, therefore he has imagination. Whether they are good or bad, it seems to me that I have an abundance of stories to tell. And the things I see, the things that happen to me, continually renew the supply.

I began taking liberties a long time ago; now it is standard practice for most directors to ignore the rules.

The script is simply a series of notes for the film.

Nothing regarding man is ever inhuman. That's why I make films, not iceboxes.

A scene has to have a rhythm of its own, a structure of its own.

People are always misquoting me.