- [on Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea (1977)] You never know what eventually happens with the costumes. There is Hitler and his complete staff. We made their uniforms according to models from a military museum - all the distinctions were added precisely in the order the SS men had received them. It was all absolutely meticulous. I was really proud of myself. Two years later, I went to the Barrandov Studios wardrobe department and saw my Göring costume adapted to a hotel door guard's. The distinctions had been removed and there was a badge on his hat saying 'hotel'. That is the reality of my job. You have to reconcile with it or go home and shoot yourself.
- [on Frantisek Vlácil] He's the best friend I ever had. He had a heavenly nature - he was extraordinarily intelligent, artistic and always ready to help those around him. His only vice was alcohol.
- [on Amadeus (1984)] The most important thing is to give period costumes some precise detail. Before Amadeus, my Italian assistant took me to small shops and we bought rococo laces and fans that used to belong to aristocratic families that went bankrupt. And if you add a period ring, buttons or a ruffle to the costume, you make it believable.
- [on his work on Czech fantasy films and TV series] I do not put filmmaking for children and young people into double quotes and I don't call it a genre. It's a fireworks of fantasy and adventure. This is especially true of my cooperation with Václav Vorlícek and Milos Macourek. Their invention would put Hollywood on its knees.
- [on Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973)] My cooperation with the German co-production was really not that good. These gentlemen thought that my presence on the set in Germany would be too costly and so I was assigned a co-worker who was supposed to act as my substitute on the set. Of course, he made all sorts of mistakes. I'd rather not to be very specific about them.
- [on Osada havranu (1978) and its two sequels] Prehistoric costumes are play and fun, as well as a lot of imagination and certain exploration of the resources available to primeval people. Hides and hides again. How to create a pattern? How to turn Jirí Bartoska into a caveman? The Venus of Dolni Vestonice didn't have that much on.
- [on Gentlemen, Boys (1976)] Boys Will Be Boys was an exceptional project. Mark Twain's books about the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, which served as inspiration for this film by Vera Plívová-Simková, were always closely associated with the American South for me. It was not easy for me to accept this new version - I was constantly missing the black Jim - but eventually, Boys Will Be Boys turned out to be one of my favorites.
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