Max von Mayerling

"I loved her because she needed to be loved."

"Some men are made for extraordinary circumstances."

"I understood that freedom was a luxury she could not afford."

"I am not a woman anymore, I am an institution."

"Without me, there would be no pictures on the screen."

"The world has forgotten me, but I have not forgotten the world."

"In my day, we knew how to make pictures that meant something."

"Every scene, every gesture—I orchestrated them all like a symphony."

"She was nothing until I found her, molded her, made her a star."

"The past never dies; it only waits for the moment to return."

"I gave everything to the pictures. The pictures gave me nothing in return."

"There is no greater love than the love of the camera."

"Memory is a narcissist's best friend."

"Art requires sacrifice, and I have sacrificed everything."

"The theater was my church, the director my confessor."

"I taught her that beauty is power, and power is immortal."

"What is money compared to creating something eternal?"

"I have lived more in my imagination than in reality."

"Time moves slowly for those who are waiting to be remembered."

"She would have been nothing without me—this she understood."

"The camera captured my soul, and the world devoured it."

"I am a work of art, preserved in aspic."

"To direct is to play God, and I was very good at it."

"The studio system was my kingdom, and I was its undisputed monarch."

"I created beauty where there was none. Is that not noble?"

"Every frame was a masterpiece because I willed it to be."

"Love is a luxury for those without ambition."

"I gave her everything except the one thing she wanted—freedom."

"The past is never past when you refuse to let it go."

"A true artist demands complete control, absolute devotion."