Top 67 Quotes by Elia Kazan

A good director's not sure when he gets on the set what he's going to do.

To be a member of the Communist Party is to have a taste of the police state. It is a diluted taste but is bitter and unforgettable.

I may be getting old, but not foolish.

I've lost many of my best friends... I'm going to satisfy myself now, not the critics, not even my friends.

I used to spend most of my time straining to be a nice guy so people would like me.

The physical life of the scene is determined by whether the set squeezes people together or whether the set has an escape place in it.

Every fighter has one fight that makes or breaks him.

Very often the Group actor is a critic when he's acting and an actor when he's criticizing.

I said to Tennessee, this thing is becoming the Marlon Brando show.

I will say nothing to an actor that cannot be translated into action.