Michael Haneke Quotes

A collection of quotes by Michael Haneke.

Michael Haneke is an Austrian film director and screenwriter, renowned for his distinctive and often controversial style. He was born on March 23, 1942, in Munich, Germany, but grew up in Vienna, Austria. Haneke studied philosophy, psychology, and theater sciences at the University of Vienna before pursuing a career in filmmaking.

Haneke made his feature film directorial debut with "The Seventh Continent" in 1989, which established his unique approach and penchant for exploring uncomfortable and thought-provoking themes. Known for his minimalist style and meticulous attention to detail, he gained international recognition with films like "Funny Games" (1997) and "Cache" (2005). Haneke's work often delves into the dark and disturbing aspects of human nature, challenging viewers with its unsettling narratives and non-linear storytelling.

Throughout his career, Haneke received numerous accolades and critical acclaim for his films. He has been a regular at international film festivals, earning prestigious awards such as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for "The White Ribbon" (2009) and "Amour" (2012). Haneke's films are celebrated for their intellectual rigor and ability to provoke meaningful discussions about society, violence, and the human condition.

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Of course, we avoid death. To know something is inevitable i

Of course, we avoid death. To know something is inevitable is one thing. To accept, to truly feel it... that's different.

You can use your means in a good and bad way. In German-spea

You can use your means in a good and bad way. In German-speaking art, we had such a bad experience with the Third Reich, when stories and images were used to tell lies. After the war, literature was careful not to do the same, which is why writers began to reflect on the stories they told and to make readers part of their texts. I do the same.

Films that are entertainments give simple answers but I thin

Films that are entertainments give simple answers but I think that's ultimately more cynical, as it denies the viewer room to think. If there are more answers at the end, then surely it is a richer experience.

Experience

I try to get closer to reality, to get close to the contradi

I try to get closer to reality, to get close to the contradictions. The cinema world can be a real world rather than a dream world.

Real Dream

'Funny Games' was conceived as a provocation. My other films

'Funny Games' was conceived as a provocation. My other films are different. If people feel my other films are, or respond to them as provocation, then that's quite different. 'Funny Games' is the only one of mine where my intention was to provoke the audience.

Funny

Film is the manipulative medium par excellence. When you thi

Film is the manipulative medium par excellence. When you think back on the history of film and the 20th century, you see the propaganda that's been made. So there are moral demands on the director to treat the spectators as seriously as he or she takes himself and not to see them merely as victims that can be manipulated to whatever ends they have.

History

To me, it's far more efficient to mobilize the imagination.

To me, it's far more efficient to mobilize the imagination. It's far more efficient to hear a creaking step, for example, than to see the face of a monster, which usually looks ridiculous, and where you know that the blood is ketchup.

Imagination

Mainstream cinema raises questions only to immediately provi

Mainstream cinema raises questions only to immediately provide an answer to them, so they can send the spectator home reassured. If we actually had those answers, then society would appear very different from what it is.

Society

When I first envisioned 'Funny Games' in the mid-1990s, it w

When I first envisioned 'Funny Games' in the mid-1990s, it was my intention to have an American audience watch the movie. It is a reaction to a certain American cinema, its violence, its naivety, the way American cinema toys with human beings. In many American films, violence is made consumable.

Funny

Because I'm the author of my screenplays I know what I'm loo

Because I'm the author of my screenplays I know what I'm looking for. It's true that I can be stubborn in demanding that I get what I want, but it's also a question of working with patience and love.

Patience

I've never let producers tell me what to do. Even when I was

I've never let producers tell me what to do. Even when I was making television, I always did what I wanted to do, and if I couldn't, I didn't do it. It was a freedom that, these days, young directors starting out don't have.

Freedom

All movies assault the viewer in one way or another.

All movies assault the viewer in one way or another.

Movies

To be perfectly honest, I think that as I'm growing older, I

To be perfectly honest, I think that as I'm growing older, I'm just growing more impatient. I'll be very happy if at some point people say, 'Michael's grown wiser and softer in his old age.' But we'll have to wait and see what my next project is.

Age

And if there was one title that could be applied to all my f

And if there was one title that could be applied to all my films, it would be 'Civil War' - not civil war in the way we know it, but the daily war that goes on between us all.

War

Drama lives on conflict. If you're trying to deal with socia

Drama lives on conflict. If you're trying to deal with social issues seriously, there's no way of avoiding violence, which is so present in society.

Society

It's unbearable when someone changes around you. Just imagin

It's unbearable when someone changes around you. Just imagine that your life partner changes, then it is difficult to cope with. Or your mother. Or your father. They were strong and now they're like a baby - it's not so funny.

Funny

I love actors, both my parents were actors, and the work wit

I love actors, both my parents were actors, and the work with actors is the most enjoyable part of making a film. It's important that they feel protected and are confident they won't be betrayed. When you create that atmosphere of trust, it's in the bag - the actors will do everything to satisfy you.

Trust

People expect me to be dark and gloomy, then write that I'm

People expect me to be dark and gloomy, then write that I'm a jolly chap, and after all, that is what I am. I think it's a case of an absolute romantic naivety that there should be a parallel between the work and the artist.

Romantic

My father and I had a good relationship, it was very relaxed

My father and I had a good relationship, it was very relaxed. He had a lot of humour. He looked a little bit like me, although he had no beard. He had the appearance of a very elegant British-looking man.

Relationship

Films for TV have to be much closer to the book, mainly beca

Films for TV have to be much closer to the book, mainly because the objective with a TV movie that translates literature is to get the audience, after seeing this version, to pick up the book and read it themselves. My attitude is that TV can never really be any form of art, because it serves audience expectations.

Attitude