I think there’s a poet who wrote once a tragedy by Shakespeare, a symphony by Beethoven and a thunderstorm are based on the same elements. I think that’s a beautiful line.

Meaning of the quote

This quote suggests that great works of art, like a Shakespearean tragedy, a Beethoven symphony, and even a thunderstorm, all share common elements. The actor Maximilian Schell finds this idea to be a beautiful and insightful observation about the fundamental building blocks of creativity and nature.

About Maximilian Schell

Maximilian Schell was a Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film Judgment at Nuremberg. Born in Austria, he and his family fled to Switzerland in 1938 when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany. Schell later moved to Hollywood and appeared in numerous German films, often with anti-war themes, before becoming a renowned actor and director known for his diverse range of portrayals.

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More quotes from Maximilian Schell

We should never forget that Hollywood was built by Europeans, and the old Jewish boys from Eastern Europe.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

A conversation goes sometimes into personal things and that’s nicer. You look to each other and you have a different picture, you get into a relationship.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

I played piano, I learned a lot about music.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

And it’s interesting, but I’m always interested in the story behind the story.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

Except here it’s more power, more energy, younger and also in Europe it’s still not only entertainment. Theater or films are looked at as a moral institution. That’s why maybe they’re so poetic. Here it’s clear entertainment.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

I never played the right roles, or very rarely got the right roles offered, except on stage.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

The interesting thing is that I found scenes which I put together which could appeal to almost every woman, or apply to almost every woman after the war. Falling in love, dancing, marrying.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

I did have fun, for example, in The Black Hole which was very popular among youngsters.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

Well, I did Marlene 15 years ago and that’s in the style. It’s somehow similar and not similar because Marlene was much more aggressive, funny and sad.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

I think there’s a poet who wrote once a tragedy by Shakespeare, a symphony by Beethoven and a thunderstorm are based on the same elements. I think that’s a beautiful line.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

I just think the word interview, although it is the view between two people exchanged, became a sort of cliche. You ask questions and the other one answers.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

I’m always happy when I’m left alone, but if somebody comes and is nice, then we talk.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

First love is first love, first marriage is first marriage, disappointment is disappointment.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

Music in this film is a very important part.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor

And in reality, I don’t think it’s a real documentary. It’s more a story of her life. It’s a story of survival. It’s a story of the time in which she lived. The story of success and failure.

Maximilian Schell

Swiss and Austrian film and stage actor