When a man talks from his heart, in his moment of truth, he speaks poetry.

I got out of the Army - in my world - I came to New York, for instance, when the civil rights movement was just beginning, and that created a certain energy, a certain rumble, a certain impetus for black actors.

I think classical ballet dancers dance on pointe because they're simultaneously touching the earth and reaching up to the skies

A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity.

A film is like a battleground. It's love, hate, action, violence, death—In one word, emotions.

Chaplin and Keaton are still the best. They know that there is nothing more serious than laughter, an art demanding infinite work, and that as long as the world revolves, making others laugh is the most splendid of activities.