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Good films have had influence on us. To say that they haven't is to talk nonsense. No one lives in a vacuum. I believe that the world's great masters, geniuses, and super-genius have always been the products of their times, that they've been influenced by the overall creative atmosphere of their times. Regardless of whether they want to be like other people or not, they've all been influenced.

— Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou Interviews (1988)

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More quotes by Zhang Yimou

The problem is that Hollywood is competition for Chinese art films. So I thought I should make a film with box office promise, that refers to Chinese culture, but also contains an art element.

I have always hoped that Asian movies can enjoy better development and can enjoy a better position in relation to the rest of the world. I'm sure this is the hope and goal of all movie directors in Asia.

It is true that I was a cinematographer, so for me, the narration of the spectacular is powerful and important. I always pay special attention to the expression of the pictures. It has always been my style.

Fiction film is really different from documentary in this aspect. It is less objective, because the director expresses a subjective point of view with the movie. I would like the movie to look like a documentary, look real.

I have seen a lot of films, but no Western filmmaker has ever had a great impact or influence on me. We always feel there is a great gap between Chinese films and Western films. Western films are far more advanced, but we don’t feel any shock about this gap. It seems natural.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Zhang Yimou (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.