Being Independent... Is Being Innovative Out Of

People Want To Classify And Say, 'ok, This Is A Gangster Film.' 'this Is A Western.' 'this Is A... ' You Know? It's Easy To Classify And It Makes People Feel Comfortable, But It Doesn't Matter, It Doesn't Really Matter.

It’s Also True That I Might Have Never Made Taxi Driver [1976] Were It Not For The Success Of Alice [doesn’t Live Here Anymore, 1974]. The Question Of Commercialism Is A Source Of Worry. Must One Make A Choice, Must It Be A Matter Of Either Setting Your Sights On Winning An Academy Award And Becoming A Millionaire, Or Making Only The Movies You Want To Make And Starving To Death?

[action's] A Western Thing. We Think Of The Hero Going Into Battle, Rebelling Against A Government Or An Oppressor, But [in Kundun] Action Is Nonaction Or What Appears To Be Nonaction. That's A Hard Concept For Western Audiences. . . . We Wanted To Show A Kind Of Moral Action, A Spiritual Action, An Emotional Action. Some People Will Pick Up On It; Some Won't.

The Bottom Line Is, I Tend To Be Going Back To Older And Older Music.

Actually, I Was Rock Climbing On This Film At 7 In The Morning. It Was Quite Unique! But In Any Event, The Colour Of The Leaves Disturbed Me So We Had To Work On That. On The Other Hand, I Didn't Want To Drench It In A Kind Of Depressing Tone.