Quotes from Dario Argento

Shooting movies has changed, and me too - I have changed. And then, every film I do, something in my mind, my soul, changes. My natural change, I change at the same time as the films, I think.

Even in the former Soviet Union, they have good copies of my movies.

I'm appreciated more abroad. In America, Japan... and in the United Kingdom.

I like women, especially beautiful ones. If they have a good face and figure, I would much prefer to watch them being murdered than an ugly girl or man.

I remember when I was very young, I had a fever - a long rheumatic fever in bed for four months. And in the days, I stayed alone with the maid. I only had my father's books with me. They were fantasy books about ghosts, and also books by Edgar Allen Poe that made a forever impression on me.

I think the camera was always my obsession, the camera movements. Because for me it's the most important thing in the move, the camera, because without the camera, film is just a stage or television - nothing.

'Deep Red' (1975) is my favorite movie. The character David Hemmings plays is very much based on my own personality. It was a very strong film, very brutal, and of course the censors were upset. It was cut by almost an hour in some countries.

I like to watch many things, especially strange films and something recent, not just the story.

I've never gone into analysis. But Freud opened a door, I know.

I was very young, and I was on vacation with my family, and there was a retrospective of old films, and one of them was 'The Phantom of the Opera' with Claude Rains that was in color. It was something very important for my career because I began to follow these stories that were morbid.

Maybe when I stop making movies, I'll understand my work better.

I don't like landscapes. I like cities. Lots of cities. I like buildings. I like streets.

In each of my characters there is a little of me. Not strictly autobiographical but a little piece of my soul.

To try and raise a budget for a film that is strictly for adults and both strong and graphic in content is not easy, especially when there is pressure to spend serious money on good special effects.

I'm Dario Argento, and my style is something recognizable I think by the audience.

But you know, as you say, the original versions of my films are getting out there, slowly.

I make a film - and once I've made it, everyone comes along and says 'Ah! This is a film that's political, or social', or whatever. But I'm not telling the story that they see. I made a film, told a story, but I wasn't thinking about exactly what it all meant.

I wanted to get back to my style of 20 years ago after a long period of exploring horror and fantasy themes.