Impactful Cinema Quotes

Movies can be effective in influencing people to think in ways they might not otherwise be exposed to. Social commentary in films is most effective when you're not aware of a soapbox. Making the point without force-feeding the audience is the most desirable approach.

When people leave the theatre, they should remember a line, a character, a sequence or emotion. With entertainment, I want to give meaningful cinema.

The big thing for me is to make films that you feel, whether you feel happy, whether you feel sad, whether you feel sick; it's to make the audience feel so that the next day they remember what they saw.

It's so rare that you see a movie that you are genuinely moved by on a real level, and you relate to it, and you come out feeling uplifted.

Things have to touch me as a human being. I do films that touch my heart.

I want to do movies that I'm proud of where my kids, at some point, can see and I can feel comfortable sitting there watching it with them. And just that move people. That make people feel a little bit better about themselves when they leave the theatre.

It's a huge blessing to know you've done something that has affected people the way 'The Matrix' has. It's like, there's 'Star Wars,' and then there's 'The Matrix.' It's cool to be a part of that.

I don't look to save the world with any of the movies that I make. I'm not trying to make any political statement with the movies I make. I'm trying to have a good time. I'm trying to entertain people.

I've really tried to use the power of film to effect change.

I like making movies that people feel inspired by, a film that they will think about a few days after seeing it, and not entertainment that is completely forgettable the moment you walk out of the theater.

I think, in life, we want to surround ourselves with people who make us think and question ourselves, and those are the types of films I want to do and the types of characters that I hope I get to continue to play.

'Do the Right Thing' has been a big influence on me. I saw it when it first came out in 1989. I was about 18, and it blew me away on many levels - I had never seen anything like it before.

You see thousands of films you forget the minute you come out of the cinema, don't you? Because they don't mean anything. It's the tough ones like 'Breaking the Waves' and 'Nil By Mouth' that stay with you, that you never forget. I'd like to leave a few of those behind if possible.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt, with those 'Oceans' films they do, they get to work together, make a whole lot of money, and make a major film statement. Imagine if once a year, myself, Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, James Earl Jones, we did some relevant film together to make a statement.

I'm always surprised when some director says, 'When I saw this film, that changed my life.' I don't have that.

Here's the thing: 'The Hurt Locker' was an amazing, important film. But did I enjoy it? Of course not. It was very tough to watch and, while gripping, not exactly what you'd call a happy place.

I choose my films carefully. I have done movies that are sensitive, which deal with some issue and are a mirror of society.

I want to be a part of films that have some kind of social comment and that will help people evolve.

At heart, we believe that the films that work well are the films that do touch people emotionally.

I prefer to make a film that people have a really intense reaction to than have a film that people feel ambivalent about.

A film is not going to change the world. But if it can do that to individuals on an individual level, I think it's a magnificent movie.

The films that have influenced me and the films that have motivated me and inspired me were films that resonated, films that made me think after I saw them.

It's wonderful to be part of a film that really reaches an audience's mind and an audience's heart.

I like movies that instill passion in the viewer. I like movies that can teach us about who we are as people.

I'm interested in the impact my movies have on people and how it affects them, and what they like and what they don't like - and what they take away from it. What leaves an impression, you know?