Paul Schrader

80 years old Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

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).

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Recent movies

# Name Character Rating
1 Oh, Canada (2024) Director / Writer -
2 Master Gardener (2023) Director / Writer -
3 There Are No Saints (2022) Director / Writer 1
4 The Card Counter (2021) Director / Writer 5.8
5 First Reformed (2018) Director / Writer 7.5
6 Dark (2017) Director / Writer -
7 Dog Eat Dog (2016) Director / Writer 5.3
8 Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015) Self 7
9 Dying of the Light (2014) Director / Writer 3.4
10 Milius (2013) Self 8.3
11 Venice 70: Future Reloaded (2013) Director / Writer 5
12 The Canyons (2013) Director / Writer 3.5
13 Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic (2013) Self 7
14 Eames: The Architect and the Painter (2011) Self -
15 Tales from the Script (2009) Self -
16 The Rules of Film Noir (2009) Self -
17 Adam Resurrected (2008) Director / Writer 6.7
18 The Walker (2007) Director / Writer 3.5
19 Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light (2006) Self -
20 Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005) Director / Writer 6.3
21 Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004) Self 6
22 Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003) Self -
23 Auto Focus (2002) Director / Writer 6.5
24 Making 'Taxi Driver' (1999) Self -
25 Forever Mine (1999) Director / Writer -
26 Bringing Out the Dead (1999) Director / Writer 6.7
27 Affliction (1998)
Oscars 1999 		Director / Writer 6.6
28 Touch (1997) Director / Writer 6
29 City Hall (1996) Director / Writer 6.5
30 Witch Hunt (1994) Director / Writer -
31 Talking with Ozu (1993) Self 6
32 Light Sleeper (1992) Director / Writer 8
33 The Comfort of Strangers (1990) Director / Writer 5.5
34 Patty Hearst (1988) Director / Writer -
35 The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Director / Writer 6.6
36 Light of Day (1987) Director / Writer -
37 The Mosquito Coast (1986) Director / Writer 7
38 Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) Director / Writer 8.5
39 Cat People (1982) Director / Writer 7.2
40 American Gigolo (1980) Director / Writer 7.3
41 Raging Bull (1980) Director / Writer 7.7
42 Hardcore (1979) Director / Writer 8
43 Blue Collar (1978) Director / Writer 9
44 Rolling Thunder (1977) Director / Writer 7
45 Obsession (1976) Director / Writer 7
46 Taxi Driver (1976) Director / Writer 8.1
47 The Yakuza (1974) Director / Writer 7