Da autobiografia do Josef von Sternberg, Fun in a Chinese Laundry, um encontro entre ele e o Eisenstein em Berlim, durante a rodagem d' O Anjo Azul:

«The Russians have always, though subservient to political ideologies, managed to invest their work with notable values. Eisenstein was a fluidly expressive commentator, and we frequently discussed all our common interests. He barred none, not even one of such potential danger to him as the subject of government control of the arts. When I asked him how his country rewarded a good film, he told me jokingly, though he might well have been serious, that when a director made a good film in Russia he was rewarded by having a window added to his room, and if his film was bad he was shot for treason. I inquired as to the number of windows in his room and he answered, "One".»