I was surprised to see the meeting was of Communists and the whole meeting was along Communist lines.

In art, the obvious is a sin.

With me it was that defending the Communist Party was something worse than naming the names.

The films dramatic requirements should always take precedence over the mere aesthetics of editing.

I believed that I was being forced to sacrifice my family and my career in defense of the Communist Party, from which I had long been separated and which I had grown to dislike and distrust.

I only knew a few people, literally a handful of people, al of whom had been in the Party long before I was, all of whom were known by the FBI and were known to the Committee.

Not a single person I named hadn't already been named at least a half-dozen times and wasn't already on he blacklist.

The 'human situation,' in all its guises, is what good films are all about, and technical skill counts for nothing if it is used only to manufacture films which have little to do with humanity.

A flock of angels are coming to see me...or a gaggle? A herd? No, they aren’t animals. A legion... That’s the word.

Develop a strong opinion about yourself so that you don’t accidentally start believing what others say about you.

Those who cannot attack the thought, instead attack the thinker.

He who does not know how to receive another person, honor him and provide common help is not considered to be worthy of deserving honor from others

The best way to deal with excessive thinking is to just listen to it, to listen to the mind. Listening is much more effective than trying to stop thought or cut it off.

Chicago is unique. It is the only completely corrupt city in America.

My mother helped me understand how not to show off what I knew, but how to use it so that others might benefit.

In youth, what disappointments of our own making: in age, what disappointments from the nature of things.

The appearances of natural objects are in themselves meaningless; the essential thing is feeling - in itself and completely independent of the context in which it has been evoked.

While you had the chance to live, did you become your true self?