Top 27 Quotes by Lars von Trier

My films are about ideals that clash with the world. Every time it's a man in the lead, they have forgotten about the ideals. And every time it's a woman in the lead, they take the ideals all the way.

When I was younger, I was fascinated by David Bowie, for example. he had created an entire myth around himself. It was as important as his music.

I think it's important that we all try to give something to this medium, instead of just thinking about what is the most efficient way of telling a story or making an audience stay in a cinema.

Actors need bricks to play with, and in fact we rejected all the improvised fragments we had made without a plan. Improvisation without a plan is like tennis without tennis balls.

If you want to provoke, you should provoke someone who is stronger than you, otherwise you are misusing your power.

I'm happy that I'm alive. I feel like someone coming back from Vietnam, you know; I'm sure that later on I'll start killing people in a square somewhere, but right now, I just feel happy to be alive.

Far be it from me to force anyone into either chess or dressage, but if you choose to do so yourself, in my opinion there is only one way: follow the rules.

When I show a film at a festival, I am showing myself. Everything is at stake for me.

That's the great thing about entering a convent: There are things that you simply can't do, so you don't have to worry about them.

I know that I cannot be with a person for three hours without saying at least ten things that would kill me.