I'm Not Afraid Of Dying Tomorrow, Only

A Filmmaker Has Almost The Same Freedom As A Novelist Has When He Buys Himself Some Paper.

How Could We Possibly Appreciate The Mona Lisa If Leonardo Had Written At The Bottom Of The Canvas: 'the Lady Is Smiling Because She Is Hiding A Secret From Her Lover.' This Would Shackle The Viewer To Reality, And I Don't Want This To Happen To 2001.

I've Never Achieved Spectacular Success With A Film. My Reputation Has Grown Slowly. I Suppose You Could Say That I'm A Successful Filmmaker-in That A Number Of People Speak Well Of Me. But None Of My Films Have Received Unanimously Positive Reviews, And None Have Done Blockbuster Business.

I Have Always Enjoyed Dealing With A Slightly Surrealistic Situation And Presenting It In A Realistic Manner. I've Always Liked Fairy Tales And Myths, Magical Stories. I Think They Are Somehow Closer To The Sense Of Reality One Feels Today Than The Equally Stylized 'realistic' Story In Which A Great Deal Of Selectivity And Omission Has To Occur In Order To Preserve Its 'realist' Style.

Anyone Who Has Ever Been Privileged To Direct A Film Also Knows That, Although It Can Be Like Trying To Write 'war And Peace' In A Bumper Car In An Amusement Park, When You Finally Get It Right, There Are Not Many Joys In Life That Can Equal The Feeling.