It's very important to set your place in a concrete environment. I think Chekhov said that the important thing when you have a play or any kind of novel is to set the roots in a concrete place.
Roman PolanskiTo the audience it doesn't really matter how much the director struggled with an actor. It's the result that counts.
Roman PolanskiIn Paris, one is always reminded of being a foreigner. If you park your car wrong, it is not the fact that it's on the sidewalk that matters, but the fact that you speak with an accent.
Roman PolanskiIf you have a great passion it seems that the logical thing is to see the fruit of it, and the fruit are children.
Roman PolanskiSome experience is helpful. "The Pianist" was a film that I could make with my eyes closed because I had lived it and everything was still alive in me.
Roman PolanskiThe torches ran off, and I found myself in a forest, at night, without any light, on skis, and that was not fun - particularly because I was drunk. Luckily at some point I started to see the light of the ski lift. To be in the forest in the middle of the night, it's terrible.
Roman PolanskiI like skiing, among other things, because I have moments when I am alone in the mountains. That's fantastic, when there's nobody around you. You see miles around you, and the sun is almost down .
Roman PolanskiIf I had killed somebody, it wouldn't have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But f-ing, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to f- young girls. Juries want to f- young girls. Everyone wants to f- young girls!
Roman PolanskiI don't really know what is shocking. When you tell the story of a man who is beheaded, you have to show how they cut off his head. If you don't, it's like telling a dirty joke and leaving out the punch line.
Roman PolanskiI know that atmosphere of the Parisian apartment building, with the twin menaces of the concierge on the ground floor and the landlord upstairs.
Roman PolanskiWhen I really love a movie, I don't want to spoil it by too frequent visits. But I like to come back to certain films, which I admire.
Roman PolanskiMy films are the expression of momentary desires. I follow my instincts, but in a disciplined way.
Roman PolanskiI can only say that whatever my life and work have been, I'm not envious of anyone - and this is my biggest satisfaction.
Roman PolanskiYou have to show violence the way it is. If you don't show it realistically, then that's immoral and harmful. If you don't upset people, then that's obscenity.
Roman PolanskiI simply think there's life after movies. I have to adhere to this philosophy, and therefore I like other things, and I have other passions. None are as big as movie-making, but they exist.
Roman PolanskiI would love to make a film about aging that would take place before the war. It would follow the stages in the life of a woman who would not have at her disposal the resources of today like cosmetic surgery, creams and pills.
Roman PolanskiWhy did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too. Now go ahead and ask me if I'm still Polish. You people keep asking me this question. You want Polish artists to make it in the world, but when they do, you accuse them of treason.
Roman PolanskiI sometimes cry in the moments that are not necessarily dramatic or tragic in the films, often because of the music. I wonder whether it's the music that has that effect on you in this film.
Roman PolanskiWith each film, i need an artistic challenge so I don't get bored! I like to tackle challenges.
Roman Polanski