"Many slashers have been made since with diminishing returns, and I think a lot of this film’s power, to me, relies on its honest channeling of the political and cultural violence endemic in the U.S. at the time. On an aesthetic level, the opening credits’ invocations of black-and-red sun flares are such a thrilling cosmic omen for the violence to follow, and the final shots of Leatherface spinning in circles before a setting sun are, to me, sublime."

"Three Italians! I remember crying really badly with that when all the films in the projection room are on fire. I remember that also it was a film that when I was really young I could see myself reflected in the younger part of the film. And you can grow with the film, you know. When you become more mature you find a lot of sadness in the story of the old guy while he’s watching at the beginning and the end"

"Watched a lot of this on my phone on the RER B because I kept seeing the cover or poster or something. Watched it in sections on my phone, which must be blasphemy. I watched it while I was in postproduction for An Oversimplification of Her Beauty and briefly became insecure about finishing the movie because I felt that, as a person making a movie about making a movie about all the women in my life, I was accidentally plagiarizing 8½"

"Then, I don’t know… Now I’ve got to start flipping coins. Should I say, The Godfather, or do I say Platoon, you know? Both incredibly influential films on me as well. The Godfather is such an interesting film in that it does a lot of things to establish character in place in a way that’s so economical. You don’t realize that you’re being given information; you don’t realize that you’re learning. It was one of the best-directed films of all time."

"It’s a documentary, but I remember liking Crumb a whole lot. When Crumb came out I would go and see it like three times a week; I would be bringing different people to see it. I’d seen a couple of documentaries before, from Errol Morris or whatever, but that, I mean that one took it to a whole other level as far as I was concerned. I just thought it was the most interesting family I’d ever seen in a movie, really."