Category: Paul Schrader
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Affliction (1997)
The theme of self-destructive men attempting to achieve redemption is the major hallmark of Paul Schrader’s filmography and Affliction is no different. What does distinguish it from some of the more apparent entries is its source material: a novel by renowned author Russell Banks, whose bleak surroundings and working-class characters allow for a strong element…
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Touch (1997)
If Light Sleeper encapsulates Paul Schrader’s personal and artistic philosophy up to this point in his career, his next two endeavors cannot be so easily understood except in the sense of Schrader as a filmmaker of ever-evolving dimensions and ambitions. Schrader does not have an emotional attachment to cinema — he saw his first film…
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Light Sleeper (1992)
Light Sleeper is, perhaps, the most emblematic of Paul Schrader’s work as a filmmaker. Calling it his most personal film is not an understatement; the film is an encapsulation of all that came before and most certainly influences much of what comes after. When it was first released, many detractors complained of its overt similarities…
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The Comfort of Strangers (1990)
Given their interest in depicting lonely people in isolated places, involved in bizarre situtations, it was only a matter of time before Paul Schrader and novelist Ian McEwan collaborated. Less destined is that Schrader, whose fame as a writer preempted his directorial career, would work on an adapted screenplay for a second film in a…
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Patty Hearst (1988)
One of the most striking differences between Paul Schrader’s previous film and this one is the portrayal of independent women. Schrader’s first three films focused on men grappling to understand and balance work, personal responsibility and acceptance. Light of Day and Patty Hearst explore those same themes, but put women at the center of the…
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Light of Day (1987)
Paul Schrader’s follow-up to Mishima, a stunning biography and statement about the nature of artists, is as minor as his previous work was a major triumph. One is hard pressed to see many similiarities between them; in fact, it is hard to tell the same man directed both films. Where Mishima is bold and daring…
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Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
There comes a point in an artist’s career when all elements of his or her experience, knowledge and ability merge to create an unforgettable and synthesized work that defines them. In Paul Schrader’s case, that work is Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. Released in 1985, Mishima is a unique biographical tale of Japan’s most…
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Cat People (1982)
After three features that explored lonely men’s attempts to understand their own frustrations and existences, Paul Schrader decided to direct an altogethter differet project. Unlike his previous work, whose screenplays Schrader wrote and which relied heavily on realist themes and scenarios, Cat People plays in the realm of myth and magic. In Cat People, realism…
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American Gigolo (1980)
Paul Schrader’s third directorial feature branches off from his previous work in its depiction of the other side of the seedy urban underbelly George C. Scott navigates in Hardcore. If Jake Van Dorn’s search for his daughter had taken him to the more chic and upscale sections of Los Angeles, perhaps he would have run…
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Hardcore (1979)
After depicting the plight of the blue collar worker in his directorial debut, Paul Schrader turned inward. Using his father and austere Calvinist childhood as his main sources, Schrader explores one man’s quest for redemption and restoration. In many ways, the plot of Schrader’s second film Hardcore parallels his screenwriting debut Taxi Driver‘s: both focus…