The important thing is to make a different world, to make a world that is not now. A real world, a genuine world, but one that allows myth to live. The myth is everything.

From Ennio [Morricone] I ask for themes that clothe my characters easily. He's never read a script of mine to compose the music, because many times he's composed the music before the script is ever written.

My life, my reading, everything about me revolves around the cinema. So for me, cinema is life, and vice-versa.

If there is an auteur who influenced me - and there is only one - that is Charlie Chaplin. And he never won an Oscar.

My films are often characterized by the lack of women present in them, except for this last one [Once Upon a Time in America].

As far as commercials were concerned, I did very few, and I did them only when they gave me carte blanche to them the way that I wanted to. And I did them as an exercise, because I, who do very long films, never thought I would be able to tell a story in 30 or 40 seconds - you come across a whole new system and manner of approaching a subject.

I've shot films in Africa. I've shot in America - English is not my language.