"It's ironic that at age 32, at probably the greatest moment of my career, with The Godfather having such an enormous success, I wasn't even aware of it, because I was somewhere else under the deadline again." "I always found the film world unpleasant. It's all about the schedule, and never really flew for me." "The essence of cinema is editing. It's the combination of what can be extraordinary images of people during emotional moments, or images in a general sense, put together in a kind of alchemy." "I believe that filmmaking - as, probably, is everything - is a game you should play with all your cards, and all your dice, and whatever else you've got. So, each time I make a movie, I give it everything I have. I think everyone should, and I think everyone should do everything they do that way." "When I do a novel, I don't really use the script, I use the book; when I did Apocalypse Now, I used Heart of Darkness. Novels usually have so much rich material." "I associate my motion picture career more with being unhappy and scared, or being under the gun, than with anything pleasant." "Anyone who's made film and knows about the cinema has a lifelong love affair with the experience. You never stop learning about film." " I liked to work in a shop down in the basement and invent things and build gadgets." "I probably have genius. But no talent." "I like simplicity; I don't need luxury."