Yes, I was hired by Universal because they needed a comedy director. They had seen Scandal and liked it. I saw an opportunity even in those comedies to begin my project of American films.

Quote by Douglas Sirk

Topics: Douglas Sirk Quotes

There arose a belief in style - and in banality. Banality encompassed politics, too, because...

There arose a belief in style - and in banality. Banality encompassed politics, too, because...

These happy endings all express the weak and sly promise that the world is not...

These happy endings all express the weak and sly promise that the world is not...

Your camera is the best critic there is. Critics never see as much as the...

Your camera is the best critic there is. Critics never see as much as the...

I think the great artists, especially in literature, have always thought with the heart.

I think the great artists, especially in literature, have always thought with the heart.

Intellectualism came very late to America. That's why Americans are so proud of it. I...

Intellectualism came very late to America. That's why Americans are so proud of it. I...

In the 19th century, you had bourgeois art without politics - an almost frozen idea...

In the 19th century, you had bourgeois art without politics - an almost frozen idea...

And in movies you must be a gambler. To produce films is to gamble.

And in movies you must be a gambler. To produce films is to gamble.

A director in Hollywood in my time couldn't do what he wanted to do.

A director in Hollywood in my time couldn't do what he wanted to do.

My idea at this time, which was slowly developing, was to create a comedie humaine...

My idea at this time, which was slowly developing, was to create a comedie humaine...

If I couldn't read, I couldn't live.

If I couldn't read, I couldn't live.

Your characters have to remain innocent of what your picture is after.

Your characters have to remain innocent of what your picture is after.

I considered that the homes that people live in exactly describe their lives.

I considered that the homes that people live in exactly describe their lives.

Throughout my pictures I employ a lighting which is not naturalistic.

Throughout my pictures I employ a lighting which is not naturalistic.

The war was the end of an era, in art as well. And we were...

The war was the end of an era, in art as well. And we were...

And it really began with Einstein. We attended his lectures. Now the theory of relativity...

And it really began with Einstein. We attended his lectures. Now the theory of relativity...

At the time I belonged to the socialist party, and Hitler came to power.

At the time I belonged to the socialist party, and Hitler came to power.

I was making films about American society, and it is true that I never felt...

I was making films about American society, and it is true that I never felt...

At the same time, of course, Marxism arose - Rosa Luxembourg, Leninism, anarchism - and...

At the same time, of course, Marxism arose - Rosa Luxembourg, Leninism, anarchism - and...

I worked for UFA as a set designer, you know.

I worked for UFA as a set designer, you know.

If I can say one thing for my pictures, it is a certain craftsmanship. A...

If I can say one thing for my pictures, it is a certain craftsmanship. A...