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Costa-Gavras

Costa-Gavras Books

Film director

Costa-Gavras is a Greek-French film director born on February 12, 1933. He is renowned for his political-themed films, with 'Z' and 'The Bear' being particularly notable. Costa-Gavras' works often delve into themes of power, corruption, and social injustice.

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Related Quotes

“I saw money becoming more and more important everywhere. It's one of the most abstract and important inventions by human beings. At the same time, money is capable of extraordinary corruption in every kind of relationship. I tried to see how and why, more and more, money is becoming a religion.”

Humans Kind Important Human Beings Saws Becoming Capable Extraordinary Corruption Invention Abstract More Money Becoming More

Author:Costa-Gavras

“This crisis started probably due to the freedom they gave to the banks. First President [Ronald] Reagan and then President [Bill] Clinton. So, for [Barack] Obama it is extremely difficult to change now, to find a way to organize this banking system [differently].”

Way Firsts Difficult President Crisis Bills Clinton Dues Barack Organize Banking Banking System President Bill Clinton President Ronald Reagan

Author:Costa-Gavras

“In the U.S. more than any other place, the banking system is insane. Millions of Americans lost their houses. Because of what? Because of the banking system. This American banking system is also coming to Europe. We can say today that the banks and high financiers run the world.”

World Running Today House Lost Millions Europe Insane Banking Banking System Financiers

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Aggressive capitalism leads the world, and we can see the results, especially in Europe: more poverty for the vast majority, and more riches for a few.”

World Results Poverty Capitalism Europe Majority Riches Aggressive

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Every morning you have the economic news from all over the world, from television, radio, the Internet, and an hour later the news changes and the numbers change. People run fast from one place to another, which is very risky because they don't have enough time to think.”

People Thinking World Enough Running Hours Numbers Morning Economic Television Internet News Radio Every Morning Enough Time Time To Think

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Sometimes there are leftwing governments I'm very critical of. For me, being leftwing is to live in a society where there's permanent change. It also means to respect the freedom of everybody, and to not accept big organizations or rich, powerful people holding power.”

People Mean Sometimes Bigs Government Powerful Accepting Rich Organization Critical Permanent Permanent Change

Author:Costa-Gavras

“My life in Greece influenced what I am. My father was in the left because he was against the king and his family, who had created a war against the Turks at the beginning of the last century to revive the Byzantine Empire. For three years, there was fighting, and all my father's friends died. So he hated the royal family.”

Years War Lasts Fighting Three Father Left Century Kings Died Hated Empires Three Years Royal Greece Revive Royal Family Byzantine Friend Died

Author:Costa-Gavras

“I initially studied literature [in France], and then I went to cinema school. I discovered the Cinematheque, and saw not only action movies and westerns, but also lots of serious movies.”

Action School Literature Saws Serious France Cinema Action Movie

Author:Costa-Gavras

“[Akiro] Kurosawa, no doubt, was a big influence. Movies sometimes more than directors have influenced me: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Ford, was an extraordinary discovery. Sergei Eisenstein, of course. Later on, [Ingmar] Bergman.”

Sometimes Bigs Courses Doubt Influence Directors Discovery Extraordinary No Doubt Wrath Grapes Bergman Kurosawa

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Cinema has changed the world. If you go to the beginning of the cinema, you can see that the world started meeting other worlds. It was extraordinary. We saw how other people were living and thinking. How they were sad or happy. We also saw the body - naked or half-naked people, which was prohibited everywhere by religions. This was extremely important.”

People Ifs Thinking World Important Body Half Saws Changed Meetings Extraordinary Naked Cinema Other Worlds

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Essentially, filmmakers have to be free and not directed by power or politicians.”

Politician Filmmaker

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Every time you have a crisis in a country you have an extreme wing coming up and proposing solutions. The way to fight them is by doing lots of work teaching people that every time these fascist systems gained power they ended up with big tragedies - lots of blood, lots of police, and lots of misery.”

People Way Country Bigs Fighting Blood Teaching Solutions Tragedy Police Crisis Wings Misery Extremes Fascists

Author:Costa-Gavras

“We saw what happens with Bolsheviks. It was another catastrophe. I don't have the solution. The moviemaker can ask questions but not give solutions.”

Giving Happens Asks Saws Solutions Catastrophe Bolsheviks

Author:Costa-Gavras

“People say "the Americans" or "the United States," as if it was a kind of bloc. It's not. There's a lot of people thinking differently from other people in the U.S. This is very interesting to me and very important.”

People Ifs Thinking Kind Important States Interesting United United States Very Interesting Thinking Differently

Author:Costa-Gavras

“In the U.S., some extraordinary movies have been made on politics and social issues. We learned lots of things from American cinema. But in the last ten or fifteen years, this has changed drastically. Today, that kind of movie is much easier to make in Europe.”

Years Kind Has Beens Made Today Lasts Social Issues Changed Easier Ten Europe Extraordinary Cinema Fifteen Social Issues Fifteen Years

Author:Costa-Gavras

“The American influence is not so aggressive anymore. The American big business influence in Latin America is not as strong, so people can vote and they can have a different life than before. They can have more liberal, more interesting, and more democratic governments.”

People Different Bigs Government America Strong Interesting Influence Vote Democratic Latin Aggressive Latin America Big Business Different Life Democratic Government

Author:Costa-Gavras

“You know every time you change a decade, it's a problem, because you approach the end little by little. But my decision is to keep going. The problem is always to know when the head doesn't work well. Someone has to tell you. I hope my children will tell me.”

Knows Wells Children Littles Ends Problem Decision Approach Decades My Children Keep Going

Author:Costa-Gavras

“I decided to go to the cinema school because I thought it was a new sort of media. Nowadays, it's not anymore, but in the '50s, cinema had a half century of age. Today it's more than one century. I thought it was a new media, a new way of telling stories.”

Way Stories Age Today School Half Century Media Decided Cinema New Ways Telling Stories New Media

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Many years ago making movies was something. It was the major entertainment just to go to the cinema, once, twice a week. At the time, something like 400 million people went to the movies.”

People Years Millions Week Majors Years Ago Entertainment Cinema

Author:Costa-Gavras

“I saw money becoming more and more important everywhere. It's one of the most abstract and important inventions by human beings. At the same time, money is capable of extraordinary corruption in every kind of relationship.”

Humans Kind Important Human Beings Saws Becoming Capable Extraordinary Corruption Invention Abstract Becoming More

Author:Costa-Gavras

“More and more, money is becoming a religion.”

Becoming More Money

Author:Costa-Gavras

“The assistants in France are not like they are in the States. Assistants are much more close to the film directors, and they used to have a kind of very artistic task. They used to do the casting, scouting, and so forth.”

Kind Film Artistic Scouting

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Make the movies you want to make in Europe is much easier. Of course, you don't have all the money you need, and if you go over budget, then you have to find the money, or you sell your house or something. But you have much more freedom.”

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Especially now, the immigrant problem is very dramatic around the world. Because we don't know what to do with them. They're in economic crisis, and there are more and more. There will be more and more. We speak about globalization of economy, but it's also globalization for immigration. Millions of people, they're willing to have a better life. A better life, they cannot have it where they live, so they move.”

People World Problem Moving Speak Economy Economic Crisis Immigration Dramatic Globalization Better Life

Author:Costa-Gavras

“I'm trying to see if I can speak about our society today, but I cannot speak about the theme, because it's a bit difficult. I'm just starting to work on that. Because we live in a kind of world which has drastically changed in the last years. We speak about globalization, and how it's become the reason for everything. It has a kind of deep meaning. To be everywhere and to be nowhere at the same time. You think to globalize, you think, the Earth, it's your country. No, it's not your country. It's not easy to catch it in a cinema. It's too huge.”

Thinking World Trying Kind Country Reason Today Earth Speak Easy Difficult Changed Globalization

Author:Costa-Gavras

“We don't live in Disneyland. We live in blood and in time, not in Fantasyland. We live in a tragic world.”

World Time Blood Tragic Disneyland

Author:Costa-Gavras

“Technology is an extension of our hands and our feet, not our spirit.”

Hands Spirit Technology Feet Extensions

Author:Costa-Gavras

About the Author

Born: February 12, 1933
Known for: Film director
Quotes: 27

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