As I swim through the summer tide of vulgarity, I find that's what I'm looking for: Movies that at least feel affection for their characters. Raunchy is OK. Cruel is not.

Every great film should seem new every time you see it.

No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough.

One difference between film noir and more straightforward crime pictures is that noir is more open to human flaws and likes to embed them in twisty plot lines.

To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts.

You can have a movie with hardly any cuts, or very few cuts, that is fascinating, you can't take your eyes away from it... Look at some of the long takes in Citizen Kane.

I lost faith in the Oscars the first year I was a movie critic - the year that Bonnie and Clyde didn't win.

I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization.

I think we have to get beyond the idea that we have to categorize people.

What every human being should do is eat a vegetarian diet based on whole foods. Period. That's it. Animal protein is bad for you. Dairy is bad for you. Forget the ads: Milk and eggs are bad for you.

I do not fear death. I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear.

People are supposed to fear the unknown, but ignorance is bliss when knowledge is so damn frightening.

All this and Heaven too!

Sometimes I do just have to stop and hit myself in the head with my diamond-encrusted vase.

There's nothing tantric about my particular view on life.

There must always be a remedy for wrong and injustice if we only know how to find it.

You know the Art Rule: Do something that entertains/interests YOU, if you're lucky it'll do the same for others.

Unfortunately, most men would only be interested in a woman's mind if it bounced when she walked.

The most base of men can be civilized through suffering.

Remember that the stock market is manic-depressive.