I wanted to have a reaction from the audience. I wanted to be able to talk to somebody, and not be talking just to myself. That's when I did 'The Conformist,' 'Last Tango in Paris,' etc. And I found it was incredibly rewarding, something new.
I don't think you can in any way export culture with guns or tanks.
If you mention any ideological thing about shooting 'Last Tango in Paris,' I was thinking I was doing a political film.
Sometimes you are in sync with the times, sometimes you are in advance, sometimes you are late.
I don't film messages. I let the post office take care of those.
For American filmmakers, the Oscars is like a mystic thing. For me, it was being in a mirror of my dreams when I was dreaming of Hollywood when I was an adolescent.
