Errol Morris Quotes

Just telling a story. That's cinema. It's not silent, black and white. It's a simple story that's well made.

Some filmmakers are great at making complex things and films with a lot of moving parts, and I'm just not that way.

Film is very condensed.

I have always believed that directing a film is like telling a story. You have to tell it well so that it is appreciated.

Film-makers must decide what story to tell and how to tell it.

In my opinion, the motion picture is the greatest medium of expression ever invented. It embraces all the other arts. The films that have the greatest unity, the greatest overall strength, and give the most satisfaction to the viewer, have been those in which a guiding hand was imposed in every section of the film's many divisions.

A good script and a good brief from the director is enough to let me know what is expected of me.

Genre aside, I'd like to make a film about people.

Technically, maybe I learned most of all from George Stevens, and among his movies I learned the most from 'A Place in the Sun.' It's a lesson in moviemaking.

The technology available for film-making now is incredible, but I am a big believer that it's all in the story.

My job is to create a film, where we are capturing truth in performances.

I need to have my hands on the DNA of a film.

Film has to describe and show.

Everything a director does must help the story and the performances. Otherwise, it is useless.

Cinema is not a series of abstract ideas, but rather the phrasing of moments.

Film is a different art form with its own demands and its own riches.

As the director of a film, as the story teller, you have to keep your voice alive.

'Piku' was driven by subtleties. Most films come with the padding of the sound, the visual, the drama.

Filmmaking, whatever the window dressing or the scale of a film may be, is eventually about telling a story.

A film is a film and it has to be good to be inspired. That's number one. It can be Italian, French, German, American. It's moving images in front of you and with a strong director who injects his point of view and artistry.

Things that matter are a great story, entertainment, how the lead part moves the story forward and who the directors are.

The movies are all about visual, and television is all about character and dialogue.

A sad truth I learned as a DP starting out was that it doesn't matter how beautiful I make it if the story and performance are not there. That should be number one.

As a director, what I'm trying to do is to create interesting stories.

You could make a film out of just about anything so long as there is a clear vision about the story.