Film Quotes by Michael Haneke

All movies assault the viewer in one way or another.

— Michael Haneke

A feature film is twenty-four lies per second.

— Michael Haneke

I consider all my films experiments.

— Michael Haneke

Usually music is used to hide a film's problems.

— Michael Haneke

I consider all my films an experiment, at least in my mind.

— Michael Haneke

Film is simply the most complex way you can express yourself

— Michael Haneke

I try to get closer to reality, to get close to the contradictions. The cinema world can be a real world rather…

— Michael Haneke

To decide to film a movie again shot by shot, you must be masochistic to a certain degree because it is a…

— Michael Haneke

What I like are films that take me seriously, that don't treat me as more stupid than I am.

— Michael Haneke

Film is 24 lies per second at the service of truth, or at the service of the attempt to find the truth.

— Michael Haneke

Like every filmmaker, I make my films to reach the widest audience possible.

— Michael Haneke

At its best, film should be like a ski jump. It should give the viewer the option of taking flight, while the…

— Michael Haneke

As a European filmmaker, you can not make a genre film seriously. You can only make a parody.

— Michael Haneke

It became a gamble to myself whether I was able to do the exact same film ["Funny Games"]under very different circumstances.

— Michael Haneke

Films that are entertainments give simple answers but I think that's ultimately more cynical, as it denies the viewer room to think.…

— Michael Haneke

Awards are important for all directors because they improve your working conditions. You're only as good as your last film, so if…

— Michael Haneke

I give the spectator the possibility of participating. The audience completes the film by thinking about it; those who watch must not…

— Michael Haneke

When my first film 'The Seventh Continent' was presented here 12 years ago, non-Austrian spectators would come up to me and say,…

— Michael Haneke

Personally, I can't stand violence. In any standard American mainstream movie, there's 20 times more violence than in any one of my…

— Michael Haneke

In terms of cinema and filmmaking, there are certainly the unexpected gifts that the actors bestow on you. Film is always a…

— Michael Haneke

I think watching a movie that simply confirms my feelings is a waste of time. That applies not only to movies, but…

— Michael Haneke

Pornography, it seems to me, is no different from war films or propaganda films in that it tries to make the visceral,…

— Michael Haneke

I make my films because I'm affected by a situation, by something that makes me want to reflect on it, that lends…

— Michael Haneke

For me, it's always difficult when a historical film claims to depict or represent a reality that none of us can know,…

— Michael Haneke

“[on what interests him as a moviegoer] I'm interested in seeing films that confront me with new things, with films that make…

— Michael Haneke

I love actors, both my parents were actors, and the work with actors is the most enjoyable part of making a film.…

— Michael Haneke

Of course there are many films about the period of Fascism itself but I don't know of any about that period beforehand.…

— Michael Haneke

My films are intended as polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema and its dis-empowerment of the spectator. They are an…

— Michael Haneke

I'm lucky enough to be able to make films and so I don't need a psychiatrist. I can sort out my fears…

— Michael Haneke

The smaller and younger kids are, the more patient you have to be. But if they're gifted, then it's a wonderful present…

— Michael Haneke

When making a film, I'm never concerned about whether the theme is new or whether it's been done before in cinema or…

— Michael Haneke

I'm interested in seeing films that confront me with new things, with films that make me question myself, with films that help…

— Michael Haneke

If you go with the principle, you should go with the principle. If I really saw the subject very differently than ten…

— Michael Haneke

I think it's a little simplistic to explain a work through the psychology of its author. In other words, that Haneke has…

— Michael Haneke

You become a film critic because you're interested in film. I don't know whether knowing so much about cinema leads you to…

— Michael Haneke

Mainstream cinema raises questions only to immediately provide an answer to them, so they can send the spectator home reassured. If we…

— Michael Haneke

In my film "Benny's Video," I depicted violence but I failed to say all that I had to say, so I wanted…

— Michael Haneke

For me, it's always difficult when a historical film claims to depict or represent a reality that none of us can know,…

— Michael Haneke

You'll see more violence in any television crime series than you will in my films... Art is there to have a stimulating…

— Michael Haneke

If you do an original film and you want to cut a scene out you do it. But when you do a…

— Michael Haneke