"Hydrangeas are the flowers that tint the shots of this beautiful film. My grandmother was called Hortensia (hydrangeas in Spanish). These are the flowers of my childhood. The film reaches its melancholic note through a floral invasion. It is quite moving and transporting to experience how the room in the theater is filled with their purple. The film explores “fakeism” as an evolution of realism, with color as its main artery. Purple runs through the veins that keep our hearts pumping."

"My first Fellini film, at the old Normandy theater, and though I got to love all the rest of his work, this one, like all first loves, has a special place in my heart. Watching Zampanò on the beach, howling like a lost wolf at the black star-filled night, has never left me. What a way to begin a Fellini career. And it was one of the films I remember that had a great beginning, which got almost forgotten by the end."

"This book was given to me as a sort of joke gift by a friend, but it ended up serving two purposes: Firs, it’s a great read from one of the true female pioneers in the movie and theater world. Witty, smart, giving the reader a glimpse into an era that’s long gone. Second, the cover has enormous camp value, and always draws attention. So it works both intellectually and decoratively—not unlike some of the characters Loos wrote about!"