"When you are put down by the larger society and there’s a poet who compares the color of your skin to chocolate and brown sugar, you fall for it, because you need it. Paul Laurence Dunbar — who was one of the great poets of the 19th and 20th centuries — wrote about African-Americans, and he showed me the beauty of our colors and the wonder of our music."

"The most purely beautiful film I can think of and done up in a pristine transfer here; the fact that the film was shot at Shepperton Studios, in England, actually blows the mind. The acting is impeccable, and the fevered colors and close-ups are as close to a cinematic wet dream as I ever need to have. Powell and Pressburger in the throes of a most singular cinematic vision."

"“Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” which enveloped me in its soft, magical world of colors where the innocent joy of discovering love is so quietly captivating. I never wanted to end. It also features my favorite shot of the year (which contains a small, handheld mirror, you’ll know it when you see it.) and is, I find, the most beautifully photographed scripted film, only to be matched by…"