Contempt (1963)

Giorgia Moll: Francesca Vanini

Photos 

Quotes 

• Francesca Vanini : [Translating Lang's German]  "But Man, when he must, can stand fearless and along before God. His candor is his shield. He needs neither arms nor wile, until such time as God's absence helps him."

  Fritz Lang : Very good.

  Francesca Vanini : That's Hölderlin, isn't it, Mr. Lang?

  Fritz Lang : Yes. "The Poet's Vocation." The final line is obscure. Hölderlin originally wrote

  [speaking in German] 

  Francesca Vanini : [Translating]  "So long as God is not absent."

  Fritz Lang : And then

  [speaking in German] 

  Francesca Vanini : "So long as God is close to us."

  Fritz Lang : Yes. The way the last lines are written, when you've read the other two, is no longer about God's presence. It's God's absence that reassures Man. Strange, but true.

• Paul Javal : Will they undress?

  Francesca Vanini : Of course.

  Paul Javal : Aren't movies great! You see women in dresses, in movies, you see their ass!

• Paul Javal : It's a drag to be so cute and so sad.

  Francesca Vanini : Haven't you anything more amusing to say?

• Francesca Vanini : Mr. Prokoscha already said it: You're wrong. You aspire to a world like Homer's. You want it to exist, but unfortunately it doesn't.

  Paul Javal : Why not? It does.

  Jerry Prokosch : No!

  Francesca Vanini : You may be right, but when it comes to making movies, dreams aren't enough.