Paul Schrader

Biography

Paul Joseph Schrader (/ˈʃreɪdər/; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first became known for writing the screenplay of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). He later continued his collaboration with Scorsese, writing or co-writing Raging Bull (1980), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Bringing Out the Dead (1999). Schrader has also worked extensively as a director: his 23 films include Blue Collar (1978), Hardcore (1979), American Gigolo (1980), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), Light Sleeper (1992), Affliction (1997), and First Reformed (2017), with the last of these earning him his first Academy Award nomination. Schrader's work frequently depicts "man in a room" stories which feature isolated, troubled men confronting an existential crisis. Raised in a strict Calvinist family, Schrader attended Calvin College before pursuing film studies at UCLA on the encouragement of film critic Pauline Kael. He then worked as a film scholar and critic, publishing the book Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer (1972) before transitioning to screenwriting in 1974. The success of Taxi Driver in 1976 brought greater attention to his work, and Schrader began directing his own films, beginning with Blue Collar (co-written with his brother, Leonard Schrader). Schrader has described three of his recent films as a loose trilogy: First Reformed (2017), The Card Counter (2021), and Master Gardener (2022). Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Schrader, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Late Night with Seth Meyers

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

The Last Movie Stars

Mr. Scorsese

Scene by Scene

Sex at 24 Frames Per Second

Dog Eat Dog

All Movies (42)

• Masterclass di Paul Schrader al Laceno d'Oro 482025 · as Self - filmmaker, guest
• Ritratti di cinema2025 · as Self
• The Book of Harth2022 · as Self
• The Beauty of Horror: Paul Schrader on The Comfort of Strangers2020 · as Self
• Clapboard Jungle: Surviving the Independent Film Business2020 · as Self
• Paul Schrader: Man in a Room2020 · as Self
• What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael2019 · as Self
• We Blew It2017 · as Self
• Taxi Driver: 40th Anniversary Cast Q&A2016 · as Self
• Dog Eat Dog2016 · as El Greco
• Ken San2016 · as Self
• Hitchcock/Truffaut2015 · as Self
• Venice 70: Future Reloaded2013 · as Self (segment Paul Schrader)
• Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic2013 · as Self
• Milius2013 · as Self
• Eames: The Architect and the Painter2011 · as Self
• Godard Made in USA2010 · as Self
• The Rules of Film Noir2009 · as Self
• Tales from the Script2009 · as Self
• Murnau, Borzage and Fox2008 · as Self
• Schrader's Exorcism2008 · as Self
• God's Lonely Man2007 · as Self
• Influence And Appreciation: A Martin Scorsese Tribute2007 · as Self
• Producing 'Taxi Driver'2007 · as Himself
• Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light2006 · as Self
• Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That2005 · as Self
• Raging Bull: Before the Fight2005 · as Self
• Männer im Trenchcoat, Frauen im Pelz2004 · as Self
• Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade2004 · as Self
• Sex at 24 Frames Per Second2003 · as Self
• A Decade Under the Influence2003 · as Self
• Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood2003 · as Self
• Cat People: An Intimate Portrait by Paul Schrader2002 · as Self
• Making 'Taxi Driver'1999 · as Self
• Untitled: New Blue1995 · as Himself (uncredited)
• Talking with Ozu1993 · as Self
• Hollywood Mavericks1990 · as Self
• Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer1990 · as Self
• Pictures of Europe1990 · as Self
• Inside Mishima1985 · as Self
• The Road to Bresson1984 · as Self
• Best Served Cold— · as Himself

All TV Shows (6)

• Mr. Scorsese2025 · as Self
• The Last Movie Stars2022 · as Self
• Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter2015 · as Self
• Late Night with Seth Meyers2014 · as Self - Guest
• The Story of Film: An Odyssey2011 · as Self
• Scene by Scene1997 · as Self