--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Filmmakers don't work for posterity. We…" description: "\"Filmmakers don't work for posterity. We create with celluloid and chemical pigments that don't last very long. They fade away. In 200 years there will ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/louis-malle-38305_celluloid_filmmakers-don-t-work-for-posterity-we-c_3167178.png" --- # Filmmakers don't work for posterity. We create with… ![“Filmmakers don't work for posterity. We create with celluloid and chemical pigments that don't last very long. They fade away. In 200 years there will be nothing left of our work but dust.” quote by Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/louis-malle-38305_celluloid_filmmakers-don-t-work-for-posterity-we-c_3167178.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/louis-malle-38305_celluloid_filmmakers-don-t-work-for-posterity-we-c_3167178.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/louis-malle-38305_celluloid_filmmakers-don-t-work-for-posterity-we-c_3167178.png) > “Filmmakers don't work for posterity. We create with celluloid and chemical pigments that don't last very long. They fade away. In 200 years there will be nothing left of our work but dust.” [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic work is transient; creators should accept impermanence. **In simple terms:** Films fade; accept their fleeting nature. Key Takeaway Embrace art’s temporary existence. Themes art mortality legacy Mood melancholic contemplative Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - archival preservation - digital restoration - museum exhibitions Key Concepts ephemerality cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - What value does preserving art hold? - How does impermanence affect creation? A Different Perspective Preservation efforts can extend lifespan, but cannot stop decay. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Celluloid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celluloid/) [Celluloid Chemical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celluloid-chemical-5749622/) [Chemicals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemicals/) [Create Celluloid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create-celluloid-5749621/) [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Fade away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fade-away/) [Fades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fades/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Filmmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmaker/) [Filmmakers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmakers/) [Filmmakers Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmakers-don-5509475/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Pigment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pigment/) [Posterity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posterity/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [The filmmakers are very much in their own kind of bubble. It was kind of a revelation to me and I realized why so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-garris/the-filmmakers-are-very-much-in-their-own-kind-of-bubble-it-was-kind/) [Mick Garris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-garris/) > [I don't think that writers or painters or filmmakers function because they have something they particularly want to say. They have something that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/i-don-t-think-that-writers-or-painters-or-filmmakers-function-because/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [It doesn't matter whether you shoot on celluloid or on digital, you better make a good film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/it-doesn-t-matter-whether-you-shoot-on-celluloid-or-on-digital-you/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Using film was so much easier than the digital technology of today. But digital is still at the beginning of what it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilmos-zsigmond/using-film-was-so-much-easier-than-the-digital-technology-of-today/) [Vilmos Zsigmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilmos-zsigmond/) > [I was born with this bow tie made of celluloid on my collar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/i-was-born-with-this-bow-tie-made-of-celluloid-on-my-collar/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) > ['Celluloid' is set in the 1930s. During the decade, the folk-classical genre seems to have been in vogue. It didn't take much effort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-jayachandran/celluloid-is-set-in-the-1930s-during-the-decade-the-folk-classical/) [M. Jayachandran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-jayachandran/) > [I'd always loved movies, but it wasn't some sort of desperate love of celluloid. It was literally like, "I want to write things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-d-always-loved-movies-but-it-wasn-t-some-sort-of-desperate-love-of/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [I like celluloid, I like film, I like the way that when a movie is projected it sort of breathes a little in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-like-celluloid-i-like-film-i-like-the-way-that-when-a-movie-is/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [Ecstasy is not really part of the scene we can do on celluloid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/ecstasy-is-not-really-part-of-the-scene-we-can-do-on-celluloid/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [The most expensive habit in the world is celluloid, not heroin, and I need a fix every few years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/the-most-expensive-habit-in-the-world-is-celluloid-not-heroin-and-i/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [The movies are celluloid hemorrhoids. No, worse: They're celluloid Bon Jovi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-smith/the-movies-are-celluloid-hemorrhoids-no-worse-they-re-celluloid-bon/) [Kyle Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-smith/) > [When we die, as when the scenes have been fixed on to celluloid and the scenery is pulled down and burnt — we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/when-we-die-as-when-the-scenes-have-been-fixed-on-to-celluloid-and/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [You have to remain strong. That's the kind of filmmaker I want to encourage. Orson Welles was the one who said, you know, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/you-have-to-remain-strong-that-s-the-kind-of-filmmaker-i-want-to/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [I prefer theater, but I love to do films, and I prefer theater primarily because I've done more. I know less about movies. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-plummer/i-prefer-theater-but-i-love-to-do-films-and-i-prefer-theater/) [Amanda Plummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-plummer/) > [Narrative, fiction filmmaking is the culmination of several art forms: theater, art history, architecture. Whereas doc filmmaking is more pure cinema, like cinema verité…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hickenlooper/narrative-fiction-filmmaking-is-the-culmination-of-several-art-forms/) [George Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hickenlooper/) ## More by Louis Malle > [The longer I live, the less I trust ideas, the more I trust emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/the-longer-i-live-the-less-i-trust-ideas-the-more-i-trust-emotions/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [When you are working on a script, the story itself is not difficult. You say this would happen and then this, resulting perhaps in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/when-you-are-working-on-a-script-the-story-itself-is-not-difficult/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [You must find the note, the correct key, for your story. If you find it, everything will work. If you do not, everything will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/you-must-find-the-note-the-correct-key-for-your-story-if-you-find-it/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [If you have someone on the set for the hair, why would you not have someone for the words?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/if-you-have-someone-on-the-set-for-the-hair-why-would-you-not-have/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [Memory is not frozen, it's very much alive, it moves, it changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/memory-is-not-frozen-it-s-very-much-alive-it-moves-it-changes/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [I think predictability has become the rule and I'm completely the opposite -- I like spectators to be disturbed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/i-think-predictability-has-become-the-rule-and-i-m-completely-the/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [You see the world much better through a camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/you-see-the-world-much-better-through-a-camera/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [It is only when memory is filtered through imagination that the films we make will have real depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/it-is-only-when-memory-is-filtered-through-imagination-that-the-films/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [Well, Fellini... there is always Fellini.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/well-fellini-there-is-always-fellini/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [I didn't feel like going any further in this scene with the boy. He was not a professional actor, and if I had pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/i-didn-t-feel-like-going-any-further-in-this-scene-with-the-boy-he/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) > [“We poets have no need for drugs to attain the borderline between life and death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-malle/we-poets-have-no-need-for-drugs-to-attain-the-borderline-between-life/) [Louis Malle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) [Explore all 12 Louis Malle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-malle/) ## More Celluloid quotes > [Narrative, fiction filmmaking is the culmination of several art forms: theater, art history, architecture. Whereas doc filmmaking is more pure cinema, like cinema verité…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hickenlooper/narrative-fiction-filmmaking-is-the-culmination-of-several-art-forms/) [George Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hickenlooper/) > [I prefer theater, but I love to do films, and I prefer theater primarily because I've done more. I know less about movies. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-plummer/i-prefer-theater-but-i-love-to-do-films-and-i-prefer-theater/) [Amanda Plummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-plummer/) > [You have to remain strong. That's the kind of filmmaker I want to encourage. Orson Welles was the one who said, you know, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/you-have-to-remain-strong-that-s-the-kind-of-filmmaker-i-want-to/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [When we die, as when the scenes have been fixed on to celluloid and the scenery is pulled down and burnt — we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/when-we-die-as-when-the-scenes-have-been-fixed-on-to-celluloid-and/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [The movies are celluloid hemorrhoids. No, worse: They're celluloid Bon Jovi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-smith/the-movies-are-celluloid-hemorrhoids-no-worse-they-re-celluloid-bon/) [Kyle Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-smith/) > [The most expensive habit in the world is celluloid, not heroin, and I need a fix every few years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/the-most-expensive-habit-in-the-world-is-celluloid-not-heroin-and-i/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Ecstasy is not really part of the scene we can do on celluloid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/ecstasy-is-not-really-part-of-the-scene-we-can-do-on-celluloid/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [I like celluloid, I like film, I like the way that when a movie is projected it sort of breathes a little in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-like-celluloid-i-like-film-i-like-the-way-that-when-a-movie-is/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I'd always loved movies, but it wasn't some sort of desperate love of celluloid. It was literally like, "I want to write things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-d-always-loved-movies-but-it-wasn-t-some-sort-of-desperate-love-of/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > ['Celluloid' is set in the 1930s. During the decade, the folk-classical genre seems to have been in vogue. It didn't take much effort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-jayachandran/celluloid-is-set-in-the-1930s-during-the-decade-the-folk-classical/) [M. Jayachandran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-jayachandran/) > [I was born with this bow tie made of celluloid on my collar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/i-was-born-with-this-bow-tie-made-of-celluloid-on-my-collar/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) > [Using film was so much easier than the digital technology of today. But digital is still at the beginning of what it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilmos-zsigmond/using-film-was-so-much-easier-than-the-digital-technology-of-today/) [Vilmos Zsigmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilmos-zsigmond/) > [It doesn't matter whether you shoot on celluloid or on digital, you better make a good film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/it-doesn-t-matter-whether-you-shoot-on-celluloid-or-on-digital-you/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I don't think that writers or painters or filmmakers function because they have something they particularly want to say. They have something that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/i-don-t-think-that-writers-or-painters-or-filmmakers-function-because/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [As a career, the business of an orthodox preacher is about as successful as that of a celluloid dog chasing an asbestos cat through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/as-a-career-the-business-of-an-orthodox-preacher-is-about-as/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) [Browse all 49 Celluloid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celluloid/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Filmmakers don't work for posterity. We create with celluloid and chemical pigments that don't last very long. They fade away. 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