I think everybody dreamt somehow to make a film in Hollywood, you know.

You know, 20 years... the films of television when it started, the literature, radio in communist countries, they're clean as a whistle; there was no violence, no sex, no drugs, nothing.

You know what happened, you know, in 1938: France, England, you know, just sold out Czechoslovakia to Hitler.

When I came for the first time to the United States, visiting, I was absolutely fascinated by New York.

Well, listen, you know, the Czech saying is, you know, when you are drowning you are grabbing even a little twig. That's what all Czechs were doing, grabbing for... with the hope for this little twig.

Well, I wouldn't say that this experience had any influence on my decision to do this film about Andy, because Andy was apolitical. Andy was never political.

The worst evil is - and that's the product of censorship - is the self-censorship, because that twists spines, that destroys my character because I have to think something else and say something else, I have to always control myself.

So, thanks God, our films, our first films were suddenly being appreciated by the Western media; especially France was very good, and Switzerland was very good.

So I left with Jean Claude and went to Paris, so when the Russians came to Prague, I was in Paris.

People must not think that all bad in man which is unleashed, the moment you impose censorship disappears from man.

Memories are doing funny things to us.

Because if you lived, as I did, several years under Nazi totalitarianism, and then 20 years in communist totalitarianism, you would certainly realize how precious freedom is, and how easy it is to lose your freedom.

I tell you, in my opinion, the cornerstone of democracy is free press - that's the cornerstone.

I remember in 1968 when we were in Cannes, in the festival, and we were supposed to be there 10 days, and the second day the festival collapsed because the French, you know, film-makers raised the red flag in the festival and ended the festival.

I get out of the taxi and it's probably the only city which in reality looks better than on the postcards, New York.