Paul Schrader
 

An accomplished screenwriter, (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Rolling Thunder, The Mosquito Coast, The Last Temptation of Christ etc...) he has also directed some very fine motion pictures.

What is your favorite Paul Schrader film?

Re: Paul Schrader
 

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Re: Paul Schrader
 

Yeah, I have to say Cat People although Blue Collar is pretty good and I need to see Hardcore, if only for the awesome George C Scott screech.

As a screenwriter, I'd have to go with the Yakuza.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

I never cared for Cat People. Sure Kinski was easy on the eyes but the movie was such crap.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Favorite-Blue Collar
Best-Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Re: Paul Schrader
 

I've always liked "Light of Day". Joan Jett actually did pretty well in it.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Affliction although American Gigolo is visually stunning (too bad the film is just not up to par).

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Voted for Cat People -- although Light Sleeper comes in at a strong second.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

I absolutely love Hardcore.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Cat People

Re: Paul Schrader
 

"Turn if off. TURN IT OFFFF!!!!"

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Do you know who I am?
I'm Big Dick Blaque

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Taxi Driver

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Tough call between Blue Collar and Auto Focus.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

I had the pleasure of seeing Mishima restored, on the big screen and followed by Q 'n A with Schrader. What a great time, he's a funny, affable and very humble guy. I remember Hardcore and Cat People on cable from when they were still new movies, and now I wanna see 'em again!

Re: Paul Schrader
 

"Cat People", hands down. "Hardcore" was also great but so hard to watch.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

I want to pick Cat People because its a very seductive experience - even with screwy pacing - but Mishima is such an awe-inspiring film.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Wow, never realized how diverse his filmography is, or how many of his films are in my unwatched piles. Have seen too few of his to even vote, but hope to correct that.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Gee... what a surprise. :) -wink-

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Voted for Blue Collar, though I haven't seen most of his recent stuff. I much prefer him in his screenwriter guise, as I'm not really a fan of Hardcore, Cat People, or American Gigolo.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Haven't seen all of Scharder's body of work -- but I did watch Auto Focus yesterday and that's a masterpiece of a film, imo -- I wish they would release a BD of that already. The DVD is pretty packed with special features, too.

I rank 'em:

Auto Focus
Dominion
Cat People
Touch

I've been meaning to watch Hardcore for a while now.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

If you think those are good, you need to see Affliction, Light Sleeper and Blue Collar.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

My favorite Schrader films are two that he wrote: THE YAKUZA and TAXI DRIVER.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

The Canyons is not included with the great James Deen lol?

I noticed this thread was created in 2010.

Best Paul Schrader Films Ranked
 

Hi All,

As per usual, there's still several of his films I haven't yet watched (including American Gigolo, Forever Mine, and his Exorcist movie...all of which I own...I'll get around to watching them eventually), but of the ones I have seen, here are my thoughts...

1. Affliction - Maybe Nolte's best performance, with an equally great turn by the great James Coburn. Based on a Russell Banks novel (as was The Sweet Hereafter), just a great movie. Sissy Spacek is good in a supporting role. Very open-ended movie, and Nolte seems to channel a lot of what was going on in his personal life to this movie...Also love the wintry setting...

2. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters - Surprised how much I loved this, and a lot of it has to do with Philip Glass's phenomenal score. The instant you pop the movie in, it just propels itself forward...Really happy Criterion is releasing this on Blu-Ray...

3. Auto Focus - Usually not a big Greg Kinnear fan, but he was excellent in this role. The scenes with him and Willem Dafoe are heart-breaking...Still has its funny moments and scenes of levity, but ultimately a tragic tale...The extras on the DVD are also great...They have a very disturbing extra that shows actual crime scene footage...And the three commentaries are all terrific and informative...

4. Hardcore - George C. Scott was great in his role as a strict Calvinist whose daughter may or may not have joined the porn industry...Shows another seedy side of New York...Just a tough movie to watch and Schrader took a lot of his upbringing and put it in this movie...Harrowing...

5. Blue Collar - Great cast, and just a great story about members of a union who essentially end up screwing themselves. Kotto, Keitel, and especially Richard Pryor are terrific (famously, they didn't really get a long throughout the shoot)...One of the best '70s movies, and a great directorial debut for Schrader...

6. Light Sleeper - Willem Dafoe plays a low-level drug dealer. Just a solid movie...Nothing bombastic happens in the plot, it's just a low-key great little movie...

7. Patty Hearst - Ving Rhames was awesome in this. I had always been fascinated by the story, and this movie holds up very well today...Really shows a fascinating view of someone being brainwashed (I know this is still open to dispute)...He took a story ripped from the headlines and made a great movie...

8. Dying of the Light - Rewatched this recently. Cage gives a great performance and I'm still convinced this has been unfairly maligned...I know Schrader was not satisfied with the movie, and largely blamed interference from the producers, but I think he managed to make a good movie despite of that...

9. Dog Eat Dog - One of his most recent, featuring standout performances from Cage and Dafoe. The plot kind of bounces all over the place, but there's simply too many great scenes to discount the movie...Also extremely violent at times, but all of those scenes suit the tone of the movie...

10. Cat People - For whatever reason, I'm not a giant fan of this one...The Scream Factory release is great and all, but the movie has never really grown on me...The one plus is the awesome David Bowie song that features in the movie, later to be reused by Tarantino on Inglourious Bastereds...

11. Adam Resurrected - Couldn't stand this. The subject matter is obviously extremely grim, but I didn't think Schrader did a good job conveying that. It's also one of the few movies where I didn't much care for Jeff Goldblum...The movie seemed rushed to me...

In addition to these, he's obviously also written a number of other great movies (including many for Scorsese, and Obsession for De Palma), but in this instance I'm only ranking movies he actually directed...

Thanks