"Ennio Morricone’s use of color with sounds was very dramatic and brave. The textures are very vivid, and they create a mood that is harsh but also very dreamlike. “I heard the soundtrack before I saw the movie, and then when I saw the film it made even more sense. But the great thing is that the music can stand on its own. You can absorb it as just music, which is probably the best thing about it"

"Powell and Pressburger’s ballet-oriented film of Offenbach’s opera of Hoffmann’s tales . . . as rich and strange a confection as the cinema ever produced, with astonishing work from Moira Shearer as the dancing automaton Olympia (whose absurd demise,with broken springs coiling out of her severed head, I always find shocking and sad) and Robert Helpmann as Hoffmann’s multifaced archenemy. With effects technique that could have been used by Méliès and gorgeous color art direction, costuming, and cinematography."

"I performed this for a Prince tribute [at the BET Awards in 2010] at his request. He told me, ‘This is an uptempo [song] I think that you can really do; it’s part of your spirit.’ His affirmation brought tears to my eyes. ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ is a resistance song. It’s a song for those marginalized because of their skin color, sexual identity or gender. There will never be a wrong time to dance to it like nobody’s watching."

"I love everything about this film—the script’s tone, the color palette, the production design, the costumes. It’s beautifully directed by Ang Lee, and it’s interesting to me that he so richly captured this specific time period in America without having grown up here. He is a master filmmaker. As a young actor, I wanted so badly to be Tobey Maguire in this film. He was so good! I’ve yet to be invited to a key party."