AFI: 100 Years, 100 Passions
Cameron’s comments from the AFI TV special
On Jerry Maguire
“Jerry Maguire had a very different goal, that I went into when I wrote it and it was a romantic comedy from a mans point of view. there is one moment that will always be Jerry Maguire for me. Dorothy Boyd stands in the kitchen and watches her son fall in love with a guy that she’s a little bit in love with too.
There’s such joy, and pain, and trouble, and love in her look. I watched her do that scene, I got a little misty eye there in that kitchen. that scene became better than I’d ever imagined.”
On Double Indemnity
“Woody Allen says this is the greatest American movie ever made, the twisted nature of this movie is that sexiest moment of Barbara Stanwyck is when the camera is just on her while he is murdering her husband in the backseat.”
On Roxanne
“Roxanne makes you long for more movies written by Steve Martin.”
On The Apartment
“The Apartment by Billy Wilder, it’s melancholy, it’s dark as hell, just vicious behaviour between human beings. And it’s the most life affirming and exhilarating romantic comedy I’ve ever seen.”
On Ninotchka
“While their set up so beautifully at the beginning of this movie the fact that Greta Garbo playing this Russian envoy is stern, never gonna laugh, never gonna break down, never gonna smirk or giggle.
Ninotchka becomes a love story to capitalism because I think Wilder himself was always in love with America.”
On Titanic
“Holey Moley! Kate Winslet is on fire in this movie! She’s one of the most charismatic leads of our time. And Leonardo is just completely captivating. You can have the absolute cutting edge of technology, but if you don’t have those two leads that you love, you’re sunk.”
On Annie Hall
“If you loved Woody Allen you got a special bonus with Annie Hall. You see him break through as an artist.”
On An Affair to Remember
“It’s a festival of unrequited and missed opportunities of love, it’s probably underrated because it so overtly reaches you, but it’s hard to make a movie like that.
It’s about love and all of it’s gory, beautiful agony.”
On Gone with the Wind
“The Vivian Lee character gets some great chest heaving moments, but Gabel is the King in that movie because he lets her spin wildly and looks at her and you know everything that goes through his mind, and he gets her.”
Courtesy of AFI: 100 Years, 100 Passions – Cameron Crowe