There’s nothing gratuitous about my films.

Meaning of the quote

There's nothing gratuitous about my films. This quote means that Italian director Dario Argento does not include anything unnecessary or excessive in his movies. He is very intentional and purposeful with every element he puts in his films. Argento wants everything to serve a specific role or purpose, without wasting the audience's time or attention on things that don't directly contribute to the story or filmmaking. He is a thoughtful and deliberate director who carefully crafts his movies to avoid including anything that is just there for show or decoration.

About Dario Argento

Dario Argento, the renowned Italian film director, screenwriter, and producer, is known as the “Master of the Thrill” and the “Master of Horror” for his influential work in the horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s. His filmography includes several acclaimed trilogies and stand-alone films that have cemented his status as a horror icon.

More about the author

More quotes from Dario Argento

Maybe when I stop making movies, I’ll understand my work better.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

I like to watch many things, especially strange films and something recent, not just the story.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

But you know, as you say, the original versions of my films are getting out there, slowly.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

The Opera was a very cold film, a hopeless and dark film, no hope, no love.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

But no one should have the right to manipulate my films in the first place.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

It irritated me that my fans kept wanting me to retread old ground.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

My life and career is my own adventure.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

Young girls of 13 or 12 are great actors.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

If you don’t like my movies, don’t watch them.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

I went through a phase where I thought nostalgia was a bad thing.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

Then I realized my early work did have something special that audiences adored apart from what I humbly thought about them. They occupy a distinguished niche in Italian film history and probably always will.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

I also don’t like films that are made just to make money, no this kind of film I don’t like.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

If you make a film normally it’s all right, the distributors are helpful and cooperative. But if you make a film that’s a little stange, a little bizarre, then all the time it’s a struggle with them.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

Paradise is too perfect for humanity.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

I wanted to get back to my style of 20 years ago after a long period of exploring horror and fantasy themes.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

When I was a teenager, I read a lot of Poe.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

When I see a film I’ve finished, it’s like another person made it. Like another mind.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

I like films to have something inside, I don’t mean a message, I mean something from the soul.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

I’ve been lucky enough to have had the luxury of being able to make the picture I’ve wanted to make each time on my own terms and without compromise.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

It’s incredible that they censor films. It’s sad.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

I’ve never gone into analysis. But Freud opened a door, I know.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

So I haven’t thought about the critics for a long time.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

Even in the former Soviet Union, they have good copies of my movies.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

To try and raise a budget for a film that is strictly for adults and both strong and graphic in content is not easy, especially when there is pressure to spend serious money on good special effects.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

In each of my characters there is a little of me. Not strictly autobiographical but a little piece of my soul.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

When I was five. That’s when I started to love film.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

In Italy the censor is very old and there are many judges and psychiatrists who analyse you.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

Every writer, to some extent, writes about himself.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

The psychiatrists examine you and ask you about your life and work, and then they decide whether your film can be shown or not. It’s a horrible experience.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

I want to do what I want when I want to do it not be dictated to by audiences.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

There’s nothing gratuitous about my films.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter

I’m very interested in portraying homosexual man and woman in my films because I’m interested in their lives and their problems.

Dario Argento

Italian film director and screenwriter