Milos Forman Quotes

Czechoslovakian - Director Born: February 18, 1932

I get out of the taxi and it's probably the only city which in reality looks better than on the postcards, New York.

City New York Reality Better

Memories are doing funny things to us.

Funny Memories Doing Things

The worst evil is - and that's the product of censorship - is the self-censorship, because that twists spines, that destroys my character because I have to think something else and say something else, I have to always control myself.

Myself Character Think Evil

People must not think that all bad in man which is unleashed, the moment you impose censorship disappears from man.

Moment Man People Think

I worked with Jack Nitzsche for 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' and we'd booked a symphony orchestra. He dismissed them and came with a little man who poured water into glasses of different sizes to make a glass harmonica. And most of the music for the film was that - with some Indian flutes and some drums.

Music Water Man Glasses

Humor was not important only for me, humor was important for this nation for centuries, to survive, you know.

Me Humor You Important

Individuals fighting or rebelling against the status quo, the establishment, is good for drama.

Good Fighting Drama Status

Technically, you can learn everything on the set as an assistant director, and rather quickly.

You Everything Learn Director

A modern hero is very ambiguous. I went through some very rough times in Czechoslovakia - the occupation by the Germans at the end of the war. We had people going against their tanks with brooms. Are they nuts, or are they heroes?

War Hero People End

I tell you, in my opinion, the cornerstone of democracy is free press - that's the cornerstone.

Democracy You Opinion Free

Top 10
Milos Forman
Quotes

The way one perceives a book and a film are totally different. You read a book in the privacy of your room. You are the boss; you set the pace and rhythm of your reading. In the movie house, you can't do that.

Boss You Book Way

I can say, with a little arrogance, that I could be an actor, a cameraman, a writer, but composers are the most mysterious people.

People I Can Arrogance Say

Because if you lived, as I did, several years under Nazi totalitarianism, and then 20 years in communist totalitarianism, you would certainly realize how precious freedom is, and how easy it is to lose your freedom.

Freedom You Lose Easy

When you make a film, you realize that the audience will be powerless to stop it or flip back to refresh their memories or skip the boring parts. They are at the mercy of your storytelling.

Memories You Boring Back

Holocaust films will be made and should be made as long as we can't understand what makes people so cruel to each other.

People Long Understand Holocaust

It's not a lighthearted decision to change your language, your country, your citizenship, and come to a world where you don't know anybody, to leave a place where you've had opportunities to build friendships from childhood. That's quite a big decision to make.

Change Childhood Decision World

And also they were absolutely brilliant in one way, you know: they knew how effective is not to punish somebody who is guilty; what Communist Party members could afford to do was mind-boggling: they could do practically anything they wanted - steal, you know, lie, whatever.

Lie You Way Know

And everything is controlled and everybody is a member of some committee, because then their watchdogs placed in the committees can control everything, what this person says or how this person think(s), you know.

You Control Know Person

Because I just loved to spend two years of my life in the company of Andy Kaufman and other characters.

Life Loved My Life Company

First of all, to defend my work, I had to believe that I am doing a totally silly, stupid, innocent comedy.

Work I Am Believe Stupid

First of all, whoever didn't want to be a member of this association or the other association, was branded, you know, like a dangerous individualist, you know, infected by the Western decadence, you know. So everybody joined.

You Know Dangerous Want

I remember in 1968 when we were in Cannes, in the festival, and we were supposed to be there 10 days, and the second day the festival collapsed because the French, you know, film-makers raised the red flag in the festival and ended the festival.

Day Red You Remember

I think everybody dreamt somehow to make a film in Hollywood, you know.

Think You Know Hollywood

Now, after the communist take-over in 1948, the amount of feature films produced dwindled to three a year, while the school was, you know, every year another three, four, five students.

School You Know Three

So I left with Jean Claude and went to Paris, so when the Russians came to Prague, I was in Paris.

Paris Left Prague Russians

So, thanks God, our films, our first films were suddenly being appreciated by the Western media; especially France was very good, and Switzerland was very good.

Good God Media Thanks

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