If a story doesn't give you a hard-on in the first couple of scenes, throw it in the goddamned garbage.
Samuel FullerRead
I don't care if it's a mystery story, a Western, or the story of Julius Caesar. To me it's the emotion, the lies, the double-cross, whether it's Brutus doing it to Caesar or Bob Stack doing it to Robert Ryan that defines what kind of drama it is.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The essence of storytelling lies in the emotions and conflicts it portrays, rather than the genre itself.
In this quote, Samuel Fuller emphasizes that the heart of drama transcends specific genres like mystery or Western. He suggests that the emotional depths, betrayals, and complexities of relationships, exemplified through characters and their actions, are what truly define a story. By referencing historical figures and their conflicts, Fuller illustrates that drama is universally human, focused on the emotional truths that resonate with audiences, regardless of the narrative framework.
Themes
DramaEmotionStorytellingConflictBetrayal
In practice
Example use cases
This quote would be perfect for a discussion on the significance of character development in drama classes.
More from Samuel Fuller
All quotes →A film is like a battleground. It's love, hate, action, violence, death—In one word, emotions.
Samuel FullerRead
Similar quotes
A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man pushing a button that releases a bomb.
W. H. AudenRead
My concern has always been to paint nudes as if they were some splendid fruit.
Pierre-Auguste RenoirRead
It's evening, one of those gray water-color washes, like liquid dust.
Margaret AtwoodRead
New York is a diamond iceberg floating in river water.
Truman CapoteRead
A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist's mind to the viewer's. But it may never reach the viewer, or it may never leave the artist's mind.
Sol LewittRead
In the writing of poetry we never know anything for sure. We will never know if we have 'trained' or 'practised' enough. We will never be able to say that we have reached grade eight, or that we have left the grades behind and are now embarked on an advanced training.
James FentonRead