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.

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

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

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

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

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I absolutely love Hardcore.

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Cat People

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

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

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Taxi Driver

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Tough call between Blue Collar and Auto Focus.

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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.

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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

Re: Best Paul Schrader Films Ranked
 

Good thread, focusing on my favorite film director. Too bad so many of his movies are either unavailable on modern home video, or are only available via P.O.S. DVD's with terrible transfers.

Here are some reviews of some of his films I posted on other sites - but are even more appropriate to this thread:

Hardcore (1979): The film is both extremely well done & very disturbing. I liked the extreme contrasts in the film: The wintry, cold, midwestern, seemingly "wholesome" small town Americana vs. the sunny, sleazy, dangerous big city in heavily urban CA that the Scott character has to unwillingly navigate in order to find his daughter. Also, Scott's conservative, religious views vs. the seedy characters he dealt with while searching for his daughter.

My favorite scene

The connection between this film & the Schrader-written Taxi Driver are obvious; both films feature young females who have been drawn into the sex trade & need to be "rescued". In both cases, it's unclear whether these women would go back to their "normal" lives after being taken away from the sleazy world - or, if they would run away again.

American Gigolo (1980): Incredible film, that epitomizes the '80's to a great extent, - even though it was almost certainly filmed in '79. The opening scene of Julien (Gere) driving down the highway while Blondie's "Call me" screamed over the radio is one of the best opening scenes to any film I've seen - great way to introduce the lead character!

There is something intriguing about being a guy who not only lives off of women, but who takes pride in doing so. That being said, the movie also shows the "negative side" of such a lifestyle - which I found added a good dose of realism to the film.

Cat People (1982): Gorgeous film. IMHO, this is a truly classic movie. Excellent but sad story, beautiful actresses (NK & AOT), good effects (for the time), extremely impressive visuals - especially the flash-back prehistoric?! sequences with the matte paintings & creepy, red lighting - and last but not least, incredible scenery of early '80's, pre-Katrina New Orleans.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985): Brilliant film.

I especially liked the surreal & stream-of-consciousness aspects present here - it was interesting that it basically skipped around between the present (which in this case was November 1970), to flashbacks from the past (b&w), to the stories that were taken from Mishima's work.

One of the many elements that really stood out for me was the story involving the son making the deal with that older woman so that his mother's debts could be paid off. The color in these segments was amazing - very bright & in many cases neon-like red, orange, pink, green, etc.

And, obviously, the score by Philip Glass was sublime.

I also got the impression that though Mishima was a very well-respected author & playwright with a large following, he still felt alienated from others much of his life. This may have been why Schrader decided to make the film, since many of the films he either wrote and/or directed focus on characters alienated from others, i.e. Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, Julien in American Gigolo, John LeTour in Light Sleeper, etc.

Auto Focus (2002): Another excellent film. I was never a fan of Hogans Heroes, but you don't need to be to enjoy the movie. Good time-capsule of the 1960's - late 1970's, and the colors were especially vivid in many scenes.

I've been fascinated by the BC death ever since seeing the film & a related documentary about the crime. Since there were no signs of forced entry into Crane's apartment, the authorities do think that he knew whoever killed him:

Light of Day (1987): Excellent film; great story, and good '80's hard rock soundtrack. This film was so realistic, it may as well have been a documentary.

I'm not a huge MJF fan, but Joan Jett & Gena Rowlands (as well as many of the supporting actors) were fantastic. JJ seemed like she wasn't even acting but was basically playing herself, which was perfect because her persona really fit the role.

Great rock & roll songs, especially the original?! songs like "Light of Day", which opened & closed the film.



It would be great see this with better picture quality/sound on DVD/Blu some day, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. IMHO, one of the reasons (if not the only reason) this hasn't hit modern home video is because of the licensing rights involving the music in the film. There are a plethora of artists featured here re: many of the cover songs played by JJ's band, as well as The Fabulous Thunderbirds concert sequence, etc

Forever Mine (1999): Great love story/revenge drama set in the 1970's; extremely underrated these days. IMHO this is Ray Liotta's second best role (behind Goodfellas), and Joseph Fiennes' best film.

Unfortunately, the PQ on the DVD I've seen is terrible - this film definitely deserves an upgrade.

Patty Hearst (1988): Excellent drama based on the actual incident from the early 1970's. Natasha Richardson is amazing in the title role.

The Comfort of Strangers (1990): Extremely creepy & unsettling film - Natasha Richardson & R. Everett play a couple from the UK on vacation in Venice, Italy. They meet a mysterious guy & his wife (C. Walken & H. Mirren) who seem nice at first, but appearances can be deceiving.

Blue Collar (1978): Excellent dramatic & at times very funny film; great late '70's look at union factory jobs in Detroit. This film has a perfect mixture of humor & drama, which is unusual for a Paul Schrader film. Richard Pryor was especially good in this. Well-done.

Light Sleeper (1992): Depressing & dark film, with amazing performances by Dafoe & Sarandon.

The Walker (2007): Excellent, and one of Woody Harrelson's best performances. Kirsten Scott Thomas & Lauren Bacall were amazing in this as well.

Re: Best Paul Schrader Films Ranked
 

Good notes...I definitely to check out some more of those...I've been meaning to pick up The Walker, especially, but was hoping to wait til it comes out on Blu-Ray...Need to check out Light of Day and Comfort of Strangers, as well...I've read a little bit about them (such as the book Schrader on Schrader), but have tried to avoid spoilers...I look forward to checking them out in the future...

I might watch Forever Mine or American Gigolo tonight...Currently watching Atom Egoyan's Remember, which is surprisingly great...

I appreciate the feedback...

Re: Best Paul Schrader Films Ranked
 

Watched Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. Pleasantly surprised...Not a great movie, but a solid one...Features some cheesy CGI from time to time, but aside from that the storyline was pretty good...I'd rank this just slightly above Cat People, in terms of my list...And I'd also add that the opening scene is very harrowing and one of the most intense things Schrader has ever written...Not a bad way to spend two hours...

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Schrader is mightily over rated. Almost all the movies he had directed are shit. The only things i could ever repeat watch are Blue Collar and Auto Focus, and even they don't peak my interest much anymore.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

If you don't like Schrader's films, that's one thing. But saying he's overrated is erroenous - because, other than Taxi Driver (which he didn't direct, but only wrote the script for) & possibly American Gigolo - many casual film-goers haven't even seen his films, and probably wouldn't recognize his name if they were asked about him. He also seems to work outside of the Hollywood system re: many of his movies - which is one of the reasons he's my favorite director.

It's also worth noting that Schrader gets no respect when it comes to home video releases of his films:

-Many of his films aren't on Blu-ray.

- The films of his that are on DVD are in many cases still in the P.O.S. non-Anamorphic, pan & scan format w/awful PQ.

-Some of his films aren't on any modern home video at all (i.e., DVD or Blu).

So, that's another reason his films aren't seen that much - they're not available in a decent home video format.

Here's another review:

The Canyons: I saw this several years back - only because I'm a huge Paul Schrader fan.

Thought the movie was O.K. - not nearly as bad as everyone is making it out to be, but definitely far from great. I'm not a huge Bret Easton Ellis fan (his books & films are basically all about spoiled rich people, which I don't find compelling), and IMHO this was far more a BEE film than it was a Paul Schrader film.

That being said, I did like certain aspects to the movie:

-The shots in the beginning (and I believe throughout the film) of the empty, abandoned movie theaters, and the later conversation that two characters had about film - i.e., "When was the last time you went to see a film in the theater that really meant something to you?" - I'm paraphrasing here, but the theme seemed to be that people aren't going to see films in the theater as much anymore, the art of film is dying/dead, and that most films made now aren't that great and/or don't mean as much as they used to. Also, it is true that I see less movie theaters around these days; a lot of them have shut down in my area, and there are very few new ones to replace them....

-The scene when the young guy who was having the affair with the Lohan character confronted another guy in a parking garage who had been following him - I thought this was a nice homage to a very similar scene in Schrader's magnum opus, American Gigolo (1980).....

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Just watched Hardcore for the first time, as a rental. It was fucking great! It's a trip because it had certain beats that reminded me of 8MM, as if that was a remake of it. I saw that Hardcore was released via Twilight Time years ago, so that one is OOP. I may just import the Indicator release from the UK.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Hardcore is 3/4 a truly fine, intelligent, thoughtful movie, and 1/4 pure insipid, Arron Spelling-esque shit.

As good as it is, it really goes off the rails in the last act with that silly, studio mandated ending more geared for the climax of a Charlies Angels or TJ Hooker episode, than the harrowing drama/ sensitive character work that precedes it.

BTW- The Indicator is the slightly better version anyway, and region free as well.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

I had heard about the last part of the film being not-so-good, but it was fine, IMO. It served as a cool action piece, with great lighting and violence, and a very ambivalent ending - even if it was studio-mandated. :shrug:

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Re: Paul Schrader
 

That was a funny ass scene! :lol:

Re: Paul Schrader
 

I remember seeing "Cat People" in the theater and getting in an argument with my then-girlfriend: I appreciated it as a Horror film with some artistic intentions (or pretensions, some would say) and she just found it ridiculous. I felt a little redeemed when the late, great "Cinefantastique" printed a lengthy article praising the film. It's been poorly treated on home video with poor transfers and a song cue edit.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Hardcore is great.

Anybody follow Paul on Facebook? Dude posts some funny shit.

First Reformed has continued to stick with me. I'd put that right under Taxi Driver at this point, I think (regardless of only written by).

Re: Paul Schrader
 

I did see that "Adam Resurrected" is on PRIME, so I may give that a watch today. PS does have a shit ton of films that still have not seen.

Re: Paul Schrader
 

Don't sleep on Light Sleeper, a very underrated film with an excellent performance by Willem Dafoe. It is the third part of an unofficial trilogy along with Taxi Driver and American Gigolo.