--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Little plots and stories, acted out and…" description: "\"“Little plots and stories, acted out and screened, can't possibly be called cinema. They have nothing whatever to do with cinema. A cinematographic wor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_art-form_little-plots-and-stories-acted-out-and-s_679495.jpg" --- # Little plots and stories, acted out and screened, can't… ![“Little plots and stories, acted out and screened, can't possibly be called cinema. They have nothing whatever to do with cinema. A cinematographic work is above all a work which would not be possible in any other art form. In other words. it can be created by means of cinema, and cinema alone” quote by Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_art-form_little-plots-and-stories-acted-out-and-s_679495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_art-form_little-plots-and-stories-acted-out-and-s_679495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/andrei-tarkovsky-3522_art-form_little-plots-and-stories-acted-out-and-s_679495.jpg) > ““Little plots and stories, acted out and screened, can't possibly be called cinema. They have nothing whatever to do with cinema. A cinematographic work is above all a work which would not be possible in any other art form. In other words. it can be created by means of cinema, and cinema alone”” [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cinema should be a unique art form that cannot be replicated by any other medium. **In simple terms:** Cinema must be distinct from other arts. Key Takeaway Create works that exploit cinema’s unique language. Themes art cinema originality Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - film making - art criticism - educational curricula Key Concepts aesthetics medium specificity Questions to Reflect On - Can cinema ever truly be isolated from other arts? - What defines its uniqueness? A Different Perspective Strict definition may limit experimental cross‑media. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-form/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ## Related quotes > [When I was 16, I discovered this island called cinema and I thought: 'Oh, how wonderful; I'm ready.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leos-carax/when-i-was-16-i-discovered-this-island-called-cinema-and-i-thought-oh/) [Leos Carax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leos-carax/) > [I did an HBO movie called 'Cinema Verite' where I played Candy Darling. That was really, really cool because I got to meet James…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willam-belli/i-did-an-hbo-movie-called-cinema-verite-where-i-played-candy-darling/) [Willam Belli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willam-belli/) > [Photography was inspired by painting, cinema by theatre and photography, I don't believe that any new art form was ever created from scratch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cage/photography-was-inspired-by-painting-cinema-by-theatre-and/) [David Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cage/) > [I'm very interested in dance, and I'm very interested in how people express themselves through movement. And of course, cinema is a kinetic art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wright/i-m-very-interested-in-dance-and-i-m-very-interested-in-how-people/) [Joe Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wright/) > [I've always wanted to be an animator. That's an ultimate art form, right there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-marsden/i-ve-always-wanted-to-be-an-animator-that-s-an-ultimate-art-form/) [Jason Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-marsden/) > [I think movies are now like going to a museum and seeing the latest exhibit - people just aren't going. It really is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-posey/i-think-movies-are-now-like-going-to-a-museum-and-seeing-the-latest/) [Parker Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-posey/) > [“Whenever an art form loses its fire, when it gets weakened by intellectual inbreeding and first principles fade into stale tradition, a radical fringe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/whenever-an-art-form-loses-its-fire-when-it-gets-weakened-by/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [Dick Clark was a really great influence in my career; he helped me a lot with his whole organization, and they were awesome to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-lauper/dick-clark-was-a-really-great-influence-in-my-career-he-helped-me-a/) [Cyndi Lauper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-lauper/) > [My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-fleming/my-worry-is-that-opera-will-become-an-historic-art-form-as-opposed-to/) [Renee Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-fleming/) > [Stand-up comedy is an art form and it dies unless you expand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kinison/stand-up-comedy-is-an-art-form-and-it-dies-unless-you-expand-it/) [Sam Kinison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kinison/) > [The book it reminded me of most is Henry Miller’s The Books in My Life. Like Miller, Shields manages to convey his affection for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-alexis/the-book-it-reminded-me-of-most-is-henry-miller-s-the-books-in-my/) [Andre Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-alexis/) > [Stage performing is a dying art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-spector/stage-performing-is-a-dying-art-form/) [Ronnie Spector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-spector/) > [If you consider yourself a part of the culture, then finances can't allow you to be bigger than the actual art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/if-you-consider-yourself-a-part-of-the-culture-then-finances-can-t/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [Comedy, although it is not one of the fine arts - it's a vulgar art, it's one of the people's arts, it's the spoken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/comedy-although-it-is-not-one-of-the-fine-arts-it-s-a-vulgar-art-it-s/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones ## More by Andrei Tarkovsky > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I think in fact that unless there is an organic link between the subjective impressions of the author and his objective representation of reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/i-think-in-fact-that-unless-there-is-an-organic-link-between-the/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Perhaps the meaning of all human activity lies in the artistic consciousness, in the pointless and selfless creative act? Perhaps our capacity to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/perhaps-the-meaning-of-all-human-activity-lies-in-the-artistic/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [If we succeed with something, that is only because others are in need of what e have produced. And the more success we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/if-we-succeed-with-something-that-is-only-because-others-are-in-need/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [“I believe in one thing: the human spirit is immortal and indestructible. In the beyond there could be anything, it is of no importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/i-believe-in-one-thing-the-human-spirit-is-immortal-and/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [It is perfectly possible to be a professional director or a professional writer and not to be an artist: merely a sort of executor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/it-is-perfectly-possible-to-be-a-professional-director-or-a/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Some sort of pressure must exist; the artist exists because the world is not perfect. 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What takes them into a darkened room where, for two hours, they watch the play of shadows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/why-do-people-go-to-the-cinema-what-takes-them-into-a-darkened-room/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Objectivity can only be the author's and therefore subjective, even if he is editing a newsreel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/objectivity-can-only-be-the-author-s-and-therefore-subjective-even-if/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [“Perhaps cinema is the most personal art, the most intimate. In cinema only the author's intimate truth will be convincing enough for the audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/perhaps-cinema-is-the-most-personal-art-the-most-intimate-in-cinema/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Weakness is a great thing, and strength is nothing. When a man is just born, he is weak and flexible. When he dies, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/weakness-is-a-great-thing-and-strength-is-nothing-when-a-man-is-just/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) [Explore all 120 Andrei Tarkovsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) ## More Art form quotes > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [Comedy, although it is not one of the fine arts - it's a vulgar art, it's one of the people's arts, it's the spoken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/comedy-although-it-is-not-one-of-the-fine-arts-it-s-a-vulgar-art-it-s/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [If you consider yourself a part of the culture, then finances can't allow you to be bigger than the actual art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/if-you-consider-yourself-a-part-of-the-culture-then-finances-can-t/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [Stage performing is a dying art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-spector/stage-performing-is-a-dying-art-form/) [Ronnie Spector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-spector/) > [I'm very interested in dance, and I'm very interested in how people express themselves through movement. And of course, cinema is a kinetic art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wright/i-m-very-interested-in-dance-and-i-m-very-interested-in-how-people/) [Joe Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wright/) > [The book it reminded me of most is Henry Miller’s The Books in My Life. Like Miller, Shields manages to convey his affection for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-alexis/the-book-it-reminded-me-of-most-is-henry-miller-s-the-books-in-my/) [Andre Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-alexis/) > [Stand-up comedy is an art form and it dies unless you expand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kinison/stand-up-comedy-is-an-art-form-and-it-dies-unless-you-expand-it/) [Sam Kinison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kinison/) > [My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-fleming/my-worry-is-that-opera-will-become-an-historic-art-form-as-opposed-to/) [Renee Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-fleming/) > [Dick Clark was a really great influence in my career; he helped me a lot with his whole organization, and they were awesome to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-lauper/dick-clark-was-a-really-great-influence-in-my-career-he-helped-me-a/) [Cyndi Lauper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-lauper/) > [“Whenever an art form loses its fire, when it gets weakened by intellectual inbreeding and first principles fade into stale tradition, a radical fringe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/whenever-an-art-form-loses-its-fire-when-it-gets-weakened-by/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [I think movies are now like going to a museum and seeing the latest exhibit - people just aren't going. It really is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-posey/i-think-movies-are-now-like-going-to-a-museum-and-seeing-the-latest/) [Parker Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-posey/) > [Photography was inspired by painting, cinema by theatre and photography, I don't believe that any new art form was ever created from scratch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cage/photography-was-inspired-by-painting-cinema-by-theatre-and/) [David Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cage/) > [I've always wanted to be an animator. 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