I am never driven. Every film I've made has been an assignment.

A viewer as opposed to a filmmaker might see a film differently. But I’m extremely comfortable with my style.

When I was 12 I made some little films with my friends. I tried to make gangster films, like Fantomas, but I remember being very disappointed with them. They weren’t frightening at all. I’m sure they’d be very funny now.

I can’t see any reason why a film shouldn’t be stylized and visually beautiful. I don’t think a beautiful set is pretentious.

When I was twelve, the passage from silent film to the talkies had an impact on me-I still watch silent films. I don’t think that there is any such thing as an old film; you don’t say, ‘I read an old book by Flaubert,’ or ‘I saw an old play by Moliere.’

We should all die with a sharp, brusque heart attack. My father was lucky like that. One day he went hunting. He had a good day, he killed a lot of game, he was with his best friends. He said, “Ah, I’m still a good hunter.” Then he said, “I don’t feel well,” and in 30 seconds it was all over.

For the first time, I used a mix of black and white with color. In the editing room, I asked myself, What are you doing manipulating corpses this way?

I'd even say it's a realistic film because that's the way it happens in our heads; that was the idea.

I never thought of becoming a director. When I was twelve, the passage from silent film to the talkies had an impact on me - I still watch silent films.

That's easy to answer: I never had any special appetite for filmmaking, but you have to make a living and it is miraculous to earn a living working in film.