On experience: What I have always loved most in men is imperfection. I get moved by the wrinkles on the throat of a man. It makes me love him more. I think it is sad that more women don't take the chance that maybe men will be moved by seeing the chin a little less firm than it used to be, that a man will be more in love with his wife because he remembers who she was and sees who she is and thinks, God, isn't that lovely that this happened to her. And be moved by life telling its story there.

On growth: Is this not where life's possibilities lie? Not necessarily to arrive, but always to be on the way, in movement.

On solitude: Sometimes it is less hard to wake up feeling lonely when you are alone than wake up feeling lonely when you are with someone.

I sometimes try to avoid conflict, so I agree instead of saying no.

[on Ingrid Bergman] If possible, I admired the woman more than the actress.

The older one gets in this profession, the more people there are with whom one would never work again.

Quick cuts and camera angles - they think that's film. That is not film. Film is to show people and life, and to make you know more about life than when you went in. It's not this cut, cut, cut, kill, kill, kill, sex, sex, sex...

[on her frequent co-star, Max von Sydow] He is a friend I love dearly as perhaps you can only love someone you have worked with and known personally. It is a double relationship mixed into one. We haven't worked together for several years and I miss that very much.

[on working as a director] I've worked with more bad directors than good directors, and you learn by the bad ones because you find out how they destroy other peoples' fantasy life.