“I suppose I am interested in the variety of human life—how people live. I am most interested in individuals and how they respond to challenges or to difficulties, or just to each other. I am curious about people. So that’s why I do a lot of different things. The cinema should be human and be part of people’s lives; it should focus on ordinary existences in sometimes extraordinary situations and places. That is what really motivates me.”
Claire Denis
Born April 21, 1948
“I never thought of the Tramp in terms of appeal. He was myself, a comic spirit, something within me that said I must express this. I felt so free. The adventure of it. The madness. I can do any mad, crazy thing I like. And then?—did it come off, this insane idea I had, did it come off? That was the thrill.”
Charles Chaplin
April 16, 1889 — December 25, 1977
After Kagemusha won the [Palme d’Or at the 1980] Cannes International Film Festival, until 1982, Kurosawa traveled extensively in Europe and the United States, meeting filmmakers everywhere he went and being warmly welcomed. While he was staying in New York’s Plaza Hotel, he received many surprise visitors, including film greats Jean-Luc Godard, John Milius, Werner Herzog, and Martin Scorsese.
The combination of Godard and Kurosawa was unusual. Probably he was invited along by Milius and went out of curiosity. Producer Tom Luddy might have come with them as well.
We had heard that Milius was a Kurosawa fan, and Kurosawa also had good things to say about his The Wind and the Lion. Milius asked Kurosawa to teach him the martial art of kendo, or Japanese fencing, and did Mifune impersonations, but Godard only sat looking on, smiling, and never spoke to Kurosawa.
Another unusual visitor was the German director Werner Herzog, whose name was then unfamiliar to Kurosawa. There was a book he wanted to give Kurosawa, said Herzog, but he hadn’t been able to find it in the book store and he had a plane to catch, so he had just dropped by to pay his respects. Then the next day, I think it was, he made a special trip to hand-deliver the book—having gone to the trouble of altering his flight reservations to do so. I believe it was a book of drawings. In any case, Kurosawa found this gesture deeply moving.
Later, in Japan, Kurosawa took the first opportunity to go see Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo and was overwhelmed by its tenacious energy.
— Teruyo Nogami, Waiting on the Weather: Making Movies with Akira Kurosawa
“I see myself as a person who makes films about people, their conflicts, their condition, their failures and successes, the things that resonate—things that seem simple, but have universal meaning. To share experiences—that’s what art is for. I see film as more of an art form than a commercial thing. I think because I come from a segregated experience, there’s a need to tell stories other than mainstream stories. You could say, ‘The stories you’re doing are about predominately black subject matter,’ but they are still about the American experience.”
Charles Burnett
Born April 13, 1944
“Bergman is everything. He’s so much. He left his mark in the minds of so many Swedish actors. And he dealt with so many human problems and relationships. He has, of course, been very disturbing for many people, but he has inspired so many more. And if I hadn’t had my time with Bergman, I certainly would not be here today. I have so much to thank him for. He was an inspiration for us, a great teacher. And he was at the same time a very charming person and funny to work with—oh, yes—with a great sense of humor.” — Max von Sydow
“To me, part of the fascinating profession of acting is to participate in all these strange situations, to try to understand all these interesting characters, fictitious or real, their human nature… It’s extraordinarily fascinating.”
Max von Sydow
Born April 10, 1929
“You have to find the right way to approach the right subject for yourself. No one can do that for you. You may not be aware of your great potentiality. You do not need to make films that we think are proper, or feel compelled to make certain kinds of films because they have been praised or recognized. Never let yourself be tied up by these thoughts. Be creative and unpredictable for every film you make. That’s best.” — Hou Hsiao-hsien
