"The trick is to have my own particular taste and feel for the theater to audiences who have been used to one particular style and taste for nearly 40 years"
About this Quote
Ritchie’s line is the quiet confession of a filmmaker-director walking into a room where the furniture hasn’t moved in decades. “The trick” frames artistry not as inspiration but as logistics: translation, persuasion, positioning. He’s not claiming the audience is wrong; he’s admitting they’ve been trained. “Used to one particular style and taste for nearly 40 years” isn’t just a complaint about conservatism, it’s a diagnosis of institutional habit - the kind created by commercial theater’s long reliance on familiar rhythms, star vehicles, safe pacing, and a narrow definition of what “works.”
The intent is pragmatic: he wants to smuggle his sensibility into a space with entrenched expectations without triggering outright rejection. That word “have” matters. He isn’t waiting for audiences to discover him; he’s taking responsibility for delivery. It’s an artist talking like a strategist.
The subtext is a tug-of-war between confidence and caution. “My own particular taste and feel” asserts authorship, even ego, but “to audiences” places the public as gatekeeper. He’s acknowledging a power imbalance: directors may innovate, but audiences can veto with their attention and wallets. The “nearly 40 years” suggests he’s up against more than individual preference; he’s up against a generational style monopoly, a default setting that has hardened into tradition.
Contextually, coming from a director known for tonal range and an eye for social texture, it reads like a mission statement for cross-pollinating mediums: bringing cinematic or idiosyncratic staging instincts into a theater culture that rewards recognizability. The trick isn’t making something good. It’s making something different feel legible before it has the chance to be dismissed.
The intent is pragmatic: he wants to smuggle his sensibility into a space with entrenched expectations without triggering outright rejection. That word “have” matters. He isn’t waiting for audiences to discover him; he’s taking responsibility for delivery. It’s an artist talking like a strategist.
The subtext is a tug-of-war between confidence and caution. “My own particular taste and feel” asserts authorship, even ego, but “to audiences” places the public as gatekeeper. He’s acknowledging a power imbalance: directors may innovate, but audiences can veto with their attention and wallets. The “nearly 40 years” suggests he’s up against more than individual preference; he’s up against a generational style monopoly, a default setting that has hardened into tradition.
Contextually, coming from a director known for tonal range and an eye for social texture, it reads like a mission statement for cross-pollinating mediums: bringing cinematic or idiosyncratic staging instincts into a theater culture that rewards recognizability. The trick isn’t making something good. It’s making something different feel legible before it has the chance to be dismissed.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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