226 Quotes by Peter Greenaway

"I got in trouble with the stern-faced Russians who didn't want me to create a guy who is mortal."

"For so many filmmakers, cinema is a means to an end."

"We all live to a formula. Maybe the secret lies in keeping that formula secret."

"We all know that we're going to die, but we don't know when. That's not a blessing, that's a curse."

"My heroes among filmmakers would be people like Buñuel and Pasolini, who were of very high cinematic intelligence, but tread on a lot of toes."

"I suppose I am gently cynical about notions of who we think we are, but I certainly don't hate my fellow man. I think my cinema, although it might often deal with death and decay, is highly celebratory."

"In a world where we can all be our own filmmakers, the old elites are disappearing and there is no desire to look at somebody else's dream anymore because you can go off and make your own."

"What are you -- some kind of addict? Is this where you come to..."

"There are many photos of Eisenstein. I think he was quite vain, and he liked photos of him. Being a virgin at 33 is strange now, but let's not be too high-minded about that."

"I think my films are always quite self-reflexive and always question 'why am I doing this, is this the right way to do it, what is cinema for, does it have a purpose?"