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 don't believe in hate. I believe in love.
The cinema is a magic trick, not a science.
I'm not a king. I'm a jester.
The most important thing in art is to be passionate.
I hate the word 'art.' I think it's a dirty word. I think it's a word that's used to make people feel inferior.
I want to give the audience a hint of a story. It's like a game, a puzzle. It's up to them to put the pieces together.
I'm not a director who likes to be in control of everything. I like to be surprised.
My life has been a series of catastrophes, but I've always managed to land on my feet.
I have a great deal of respect for the audience. I think they're much smarter than most filmmakers give them credit for.
The most important thing in life is to be true to yourself, even if it means being unpopular.
I don't believe in happy endings. I believe in life, and life is messy.
I'm not interested in making films that are easy to watch. I want to make films that make people think.
Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.
The artist is a man who is always trying to escape from himself.
I've always been an outsider, and I like it that way.
The public is always right, but it's not always right about what it wants.
I don't make films for money. I make films because I have something to say.
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.
I'm a storyteller, not a preacher.
Life is too short to be serious all the time.
Contemporaries of Orson Welles
Other Film & Theaters born within 50 years of Orson Welles (1915–1985).