Alain Resnais Quotes & Sayings

A viewer as opposed to a filmmaker might see a film differently. But I'm extremely comfortable with my style. — Alain Resnais

Luck, I never looked to make difficult movies on purpose. You make the films you can make. — Alain Resnais

I saw part of The Singing Detective on TV in New York. I said, Something is going on here. — Alain Resnais

There was a darkness, a melancholy, that people had trouble accepting. Maybe now, it would work better. — Alain Resnais

Oh, yes, that never happened to me in my life before. It was a risky film, and I warned the producer. — Alain Resnais

That's easy to answer: I never had any special appetite for filmmaking, but you have to make a living and it is miraculous to earn a living working in film. — Alain Resnais

It was repugnant, but it was the only way to communicate. — Alain Resnais

When I was 12 I made some little films with my friends. I tried to make gangster films, like Fantomas, but I remember being very disappointed with them. They weren't frightening at all. I'm sure they'd be very funny now. — Alain Resnais

I had a friend once who looked at his library and discovered that even if he completely stopped filmmaking (he was a filmmaker too) and just decided to read the books he had in his library, it would take him until he was 100 years old. He was a little bit panicked. But he was courageous. He went out of his house. He went to the bookstore. And he bought ten books. — Alain Resnais

I can't see any reason why a film shouldn't be stylized and visually beautiful. I don't think a beautiful set is pretentious. — Alain Resnais

For me an unfavorable initial reaction happens fairly often. For some reason the more time that elapses after the film opens, the more favorable the reviews become. — Alain Resnais

I'd even say it's a realistic film because that's the way it happens in our heads; that was the idea. — Alain Resnais

Since we had little money and few documents, we had nothing. — Alain Resnais

I am never driven. Every film I've made has been an assignment. — Alain Resnais

So I used formal techniques to make the film more perceptive emotionally. — Alain Resnais

The present and the past coexist, but the past shouldn't be in flashback. — Alain Resnais

There cannot be any communication except through form. If there is no form, you cannot create emotion in the spectator. — Alain Resnais

My films seem to be better understood and better received by the monthly publications. On television the first reactions are usually unfavorable. — Alain Resnais

I never thought of becoming a director. When I was twelve, the passage from silent film to the talkies had an impact on me - I still watch silent films. — Alain Resnais

When I was twelve, the passage from silent film to the talkies had an impact on me-I still watch silent films. I don't think that there is any such thing as an old film; you don't say, 'I read an old book by Flaubert,' or 'I saw an old play by Moliere.' — Alain Resnais

We should all die with a sharp, brusque heart attack. My father was lucky like that. One day he went hunting. He had a good day, he killed a lot of game, he was with his best friends. He said, "Ah, I'm still a good hunter." Then he said, "I don't feel well," and in 30 seconds it was all over. — Alain Resnais