"This is the only book on the list you don’t actually have to read. PBS and Masterpiece Theatre are already filming the umpteenth version of it. Unlike Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice is always ready for its close-up. Austen’s characters have a charisma that make actors want to play them. But her prose is pretty terrific, too, and the sheer fun of reading Jane Austin is a good reason to curl up with one of her books, especially this one. You’ll fall in love with Mr. Darcy, too. And then you can dream cast him in the next re-make."

"When I was in my early twenties, I worked as an usher at London’s National Film Theatre. They showed L’avventura with an earphone commentary instead of subtitles, but because I was working I couldn’t listen to the translation. Of course, it didn’t matter that I couldn’t understand a word of Italian—it blew me away regardless. The power of the compositions, the rhythm of the editing, the tone that is established from the opening frames. I decided for a while that if I was going to make films, they should all feel like Antonioni’s. I soon realized I wasn’t up to that challenge."