"We were taught this in English class at school. Our teacher was a dick, but this film (and the play by Shelagh Delaney) opened my eyes to the fact that it wasn’t just my life that was shit! It’s about as real as a film can get, and its approach to sexuality and race was thought-provoking. —WY"

"I was an undergraduate art student when this film came out, and it was the reason I decided to apply to graduate film school. I find it hard to imagine the independent film movement without Stranger Than Paradise. It is entirely personal and impossible to copy —the kind of movie I hope for all the time."

"I gotta tell you man, I saw it and I couldn’t believe it. These guys all went to film school together, and they all got together to make this film, and they use their taste and courage. They came up with something that is uniquely its own. I am proud of it. I’m proud of them for doing it."

"A perfect example of how something they won’t teach you is a masterpiece in school can in fact be a masterpiece. Because this was a Criterion Collection DVD, there was no argument over whether it was essential and must be taken seriously. Also the first time I understood the importance of getting something “out of print.”"

"I hated this in high school, because I was young and couldn’t see myself or my world in the story of Hester Prynne. But then I reread it a few years ago, and realized that it contained a blueprint for the Sexual Revolution, the eternal clash between unruly desire and oppressive social convention. It’s all right here."

"I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pitched something and said, “It’s like if Terry Gilliam directed ____.” I fell in love with this film and those of Jean-Pierre Jeunet while I was in film school at Northwestern. I would love more than anything to make a film with a Gilliam level of design and art."

"Joseph Polisi is the President of the Juilliard School and one of the men I admire most. His beautiful book is a call to arms for all artists, and those who love the arts, to use their talents for the larger good of our culture, our communities, and our world. A must read for anyone in the arts."

"I dig movies about con men, and I think it’s because I saw this in high school. It was bizarrely educational. I also love the way David Mamet makes characters talk; it is my sincere hope that Criterion eventually gets the rights to Glengarry Glen Ross and The Spanish Prisoner. I offer to write the liner notes for free."