Wilshire Boulevard... It has no smell to it.

Painters know that material needs are relative; and that the satisfactions of the mind are absolute.

The most skilled hand is never anything but the servant of the mind.

Among seekers of truth, painters perhaps come closest to discovering the secret of the balance of forces of the universe, and hence of man’s fulfillment.

The truly terrible thing is, everyone has his reasons.

To the question, ‘Is the cinema an art?’ my answer is, ‘what does it matter?’... You can make films or you can cultivate a garden. Both have as much claim to being called an art as a poem by Verlaine or a painting by Delacroix… Art is ‘making.’ The art of poetry is the art of making poetry. The art of love is the art of making love... My father never talked to me about art. He could not bear the word.

When a friend speaks to me, whatever he says is interesting.

All technical refinements discourage me. Perfect photography, larger screens, hi-fi sound, all make it possible for mediocrities slavishly to reproduce nature; and this reproduction bores me. What interests me is the interpretation of life by an artist. The personality of the film maker interests me more than the copy of an object.

The foundation of all civilization is loitering.

The only things that are important in life are the things you remember.