Orson Welles
Citizen Kane, transformed cinema and radio
Most quoted
"I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my personal life. I've been married three times. I've been a father. I've been a lover. I've been a friend. I've been a lot of things. I've been a lot of things that I'm not now. I've been a lot of things that I'm not now. I've been a lot of things that I'm not now."
"I believe that television is going to be the test of the modern world, and that in this new opportunity to see beyond the range of our vision we shall discover either a new and unbearable disturbance of the general peace or a saving radiance in the sky. We shall stand or fall by television—of that I am quite sure."
— from Speech: 'The Mercury Theatre on the Air', 1938
"In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love—they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
— from Film: The Third Man (as Harry Lime), 1949
All quotes by Orson Welles (351)
I believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
The artist is a person who is always trying to understand the world.
I have a great deal of faith in humanity.
The cinema is a magic lantern.
I am a very passionate person.
I hate the word 'art.' It's a pretentious word. It's a word for people who don't know what they're doing.
The most important thing in life is to know how to say 'I don't know.'
My life has been a series of escapes from the obvious.
The great thing about being a director is that you can make your own mistakes.
I have a great love for the past. The past is a wonderful place, and I love to visit it. But I wouldn't want to live there.
I'm not a genius. I'm just a guy who's trying to make a living.
I prefer to be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate.
The cinema is a very young art. It has no traditions. It has no rules. It has no past. It has no future.
I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of Him.
The true artist is a man who believes in himself.
I don't want to make movies that are good. I want to make movies that are great.
The public is a monster. It's a monster that eats you up.
I'm not interested in money. I'm interested in making movies.
The only thing that matters is the work.
The artist is a man who is always alone.
Contemporaries of Orson Welles
Other Film & Theaters born within 50 years of Orson Welles (1915–1985).