Michael Haneke Quotes

Many people who have watched 'Pieta' have said my filmmaking has become more objective.

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?'

I do believe that movies are subject to a million interpretations.

I mean, '8½' to me is such a great dissertation on the whole, you know, act of filmmaking and creativity.

I try not to look for messages in films.

I still think like a critic, and I still analyze films like a critic. However, it's not possible to write criticism if you're making films.

No critic writing about a film could say more than the film itself, although they do their best to make us think the oppposite.

I know that movies are basically meant to be entertainment, but I'm not that interested in entertainment.

Every film you see in film school takes on a heightened importance in your life.

I always try to approach a film from the point of view of the director.

'Barton Fink' owed something to Roman Polanski. As a director, he always goes beyond the obvious narrative drift.

No film should be meaningless.

Films like 'Velvet Goldmine' are an accumulation of research and references. I create an almost random resource of connections and am constantly distilling that into narrative specifics.

Themes only arise after a novel is written, and people begin to try to talk about it.

To David Lynch, any film or television show should be life casting a shadow.

Baz Luhrmann is a very visual director. He needs to see things as they would unfold in his world.

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

I don't read for plot, a story 'about' this or that. There must be some kind of philosophical depth rendered into the language, something happening.

Look at 'Marienbad' honestly. What is it? It is just another talking radio show with pictures. Nobody acts. People stand around while the author talks about the woodwork.

You're always just trying to make your film, tell the story you're trying to tell - best you can, you know.

I think other people's interpretations of what I've written are a lot better than what I have, because I don't understand a lot of what I write.

I study myself. I study film, and I make sure that everything's on point.

When I was around 12 or so, I saw 'The Shining.' I just remember that being a turning point for me, where I started to think about the fact that there was a hand behind the film. That it wasn't just this magical story being told - there were actual people crafting these films, and they were works of art.

I've always tried to create music the way Kubrick makes film, just kind of mimicking consciousness. He has a way of mimicking this greater power.

For me, writing is a part of directing. It's the first stage of directing.