Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirkwas a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas in the 1950s...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth26 April 1897
CountryGermany
style proud crafts
I never regarded my pictures as very much to be proud of, except in this, the craft, the style.
gone reason angle
If I can say one thing for my pictures, it is a certain craftsmanship. A thought which has gone into every angle. There is nothing there without an optical reason.
broken-heart thinking heart-broke
You have to think with the heart.
film produce gamble
And in movies you must be a gambler. To produce films is to gamble.
character innocence innocent
Your characters have to remain innocent of what your picture is after.
meaningful promise world
These happy endings all express the weak and sly promise that the world is not rotten and out of joint but meaningful and ultimately in excellent condition.
designer knows
I worked for UFA as a set designer, you know.
home people
I considered that the homes that people live in exactly describe their lives.
lighting
Throughout my pictures I employ a lighting which is not naturalistic.
eye cameras doe
Your camera is the best critic there is. Critics never see as much as the camera does. It is more perceptive than the human eye.
ifs
If I couldn't read, I couldn't live.
directors hollywood wanted
A director in Hollywood in my time couldn't do what he wanted to do.
real america proud
Intellectualism came very late to America. That's why Americans are so proud of it. I found very few real intellectuals in America. But there are so many pseudo-intellectuals.
opportunity scandal saws
Yes, I was hired by Universal because they needed a comedy director. They had seen Scandal and liked it. I saw an opportunity even in those comedies to begin my project of American films.