I was fortunate to grow up in an environment where one had to respect great art, literature, music and film. My father made sure of it. And I am glad he did. But, I also think the culture of the 60's and 70's embraced the masters of creative expression more readily than we do today. Now, remember I have a healthy appetite and affection for what one might call "pop culture" art from C drive-in movies, Gilligan's Island to "pet rocks" and Wham-o products, but I feel a little stunned by how we lost two filmmaking giants last week and it barely made a blip of news whereas the woes of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie seem to remain news worthy. It's a little sad.

Below are two quotes by these two "Old School" masters of human expression.

Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.
--Ingmar Bergman

All the characters in my films are fighting these problems, needing freedom, trying to find a way to cut themselves loose, but failing to rid themselves of conscience, a sense of sin, the whole bag of tricks.
--Michelangelo Antonioni