241 Quotes by Francis Ford Coppola

I think it's better to be overly ambitious and fail than to be underambitious and succeed in a mundane way. I have been very fortunate. I failed upward in my life!

It takes no imagination to live within your means.

I had a heartbreaking experience when I was 9. I always wanted to be a guard. The most wonderful girl in the world was a guard. When I got polio and then went back to school, they made me a guard. A teacher took away my guard button.

We were raised in an Italian-American household, although we didn't speak Italian in the house. We were very proud of being Italian, and had Italian music, ate Italian food.

Usually, the stuff that's your best idea or work is going to be attacked the most.

As long as I can make lots of money in other businesses, I'll continue to subsidize my own work.

We had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little, we went insane.

I gladly, I voluntarily gave up the kind of commercial film career I had going as soon as I had enough money to finance my own films. I didn't make that money necessarily from the film business, but I eventually made a lot of money and that's what I do. Of course, I consider myself unbelievably fortunate, and I'm pretty content with my life.

My film is not a movie; it's not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam.