Who said “You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art…”?

Verified

Werner Herzog. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourcePromoting the English-language release of Heart of Glass in the New York Times, 11 September 1977

Evidence: Wikiquote · How we check

Source checked · Something wrong? Report a correction

Authors A–Z
“You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art of scholars but of illiterates.”
— Werner Herzog
VerifiedPromoting the English-language release of Heart of Glass in the New York Times, 11 September 1977 · evidenceCinema

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Promoting the English-language release of Heart of Glass in the New York Times, 11 September 1977.

APA

Herzog, W. (n.d.). You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art of scholars but of illiterates. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/1904-you-should-look-straight-at-a-film-thats/

MLA

Herzog, Werner. “You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art of scholars but of illiterates.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/1904-you-should-look-straight-at-a-film-thats/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Herzog, Werner. “You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art of scholars but of illiterates.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/1904-you-should-look-straight-at-a-film-thats/.

Related quotes

“All television ever did was shrink the demand for ordinary movies. The demand for extraordinary movies increased. If any one thing is wrong with the movie industry today, it is the unrelenting effort to astonish.”
— Clive James
Verified"Postcard from L.A.," The Observer, (10 June 1979) · evidenceDetails & citeCinema
“The words ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,'' which I saw on an Italian movie poster, are perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of movies. This appeal is what attracts us, and ultimately what makes us despair when we begin to understand how seldom movies are more than this.”
— Pauline Kael
VerifiedKiss Kiss Bang Bang (1968), "A Note on the Title". · evidenceDetails & citeCinema
“People sometimes say that the way things happen in the movies is unreal, but actually it's the way things happen to you in life that's unreal. The movies make emotions look so strong and real, whereas when things really do happen to you, it's like watching television -- you don't feel anything.”
— Andy Warhol
VerifiedThe Philosophy of Andy Warhol (1975) · evidenceDetails & citeCinema

More quotes by Werner Herzog

“For such an advanced civilization as ours to be without images that are adequate to it is as serious a defect as being without memory.”
Image
All 2 Werner Herzog quotes →