Schrader on Schrader & Other Writings

by Paul Schrader

Schrader on Schrader is an essential set of dialogues with one of the most genuinely fascinating and uncompromising writer-directors in American film. Raised as a Calvinist and hence forbidden to partake of 'worldly pleasures' such as movies, Paul Schrader nevertheless defied his upbringing to become first a leading film critic, then a star pupil among the US 'movie brat' generation of the 1970 writing the coruscating screenplays for Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and directing such provocative pictures as Blue Collar, Hardcore and American Gigolo. Maturity has never sated his appetite for attacking 'difficult' material, from adapting Kazantzakis' The Last Temptation for Scorsese, to filming the singular lives of Mishima and Patty Hearst. Schrader on Schrader is a tour through this formidable body of work, including some of Schrader's finest critical essays.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Art, Media Tie In, Biography, Essays

Paperback

First published September 17, 1990

About the author

Although his name is often linked to that of the 'movie brat' generation (Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, Lucas, De Palma, etc.) Paul Schrader's background couldn't have been more different. Schrader's strict Calvinist parents refused to allow him to see a film until he was eighteen. Although he more than made up for lost time when studying at Calvin College, Columbia University and UCLA's graduate film program, his influences were far removed from those of his contemporaries - Bresson, Ozu and Dreyer (about whom he wrote a book, Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu Bresson Dreyer Da Capo Paperback) rather than Saturday morning serials. After a period as a film critic (and protégé of Pauline Kael), he began writing screenplays, hitting the jackpot when he and his brother, Leonard Schrader (a Japanese expert), were paid the then-record sum of $325,000, for The Yakuza, thus establishing his reputation as one of Hollywood's top screenwriters - which was consolidated when Martin Scorsese filmed Schrader's script [Book:Taxi Driver] (1976), written in the early 1970s during a bout of drinking and depression. The success of the film allowed Schrader to start directing his own films, which have been notable for their willingness to take stylistic and thematic risks while still working squarely within the Hollywood system. The most original of his films (which he and many others regard as his best) was the Japanese co-production Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985).


Biography Source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001707/bio

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Schrader is my favorite LIVING American (mainstream) filmmaker. I think he's totally underrated, and his film works are basically equisite little portraits of individuals struggling to maintain some sort of order in their lives.

His 'Mishima' is a personal favorite of mine. By far the best film on an author EVER! Also it is interesting that if you look at it as a family - Travis (Taxi Driver), Bob Crane, Jesus, and Mishima share the same outside status.

Wonderful book length interview about his films and stuff that turned him on as a filmmaker. Bresson and Ozu fan. What more can one ask for!

[G. Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting look at the career of a filmmaker who's spent much of his career trying to reconcile seemingly opposing influences. Readers who've seen Schrader's recent film "First Reformed" and are curious about his spiritual beliefs will particularly find the book helpful as it examines how his religious upbringing and theology studies have influenced his films.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mix of interviews and early critical pieces from Schrader; turns out he's quite the critic in addition to his other talents. It's those critical pieces that make the collection worthwhile, but the interviews also have some fun anecdotes and some interesting exegesis on his films.

[Thomas Mackell · Rating 5 out of 5]

legend

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

hail to the king

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Schrader On Schrader is a series of interviews, essays, and other miscellaneous writing by the director interviewed and edited by Kevin Jackson. I found it to be fascinating. I am thinking about writing an academic paper on his film Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters. He started out as a film critic that was a disciple of Pauline Kael until he decided that he wanted to try his hand at writing/directing films. I enjoyed his critical essays on Sam Peckinpah and Film Noir. The main interview sections were as follows: The Screenwriter: The Yakuza to The Last Temptation of Christ (this section also includes Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Mosquito Coast), The Director: Blue Collar to The Comfort of Strangers (this section also includes American Gigolo, Cat People, Mishima, and Patty Hearst), The Intermission: Stage Plays and Other Considerations, The Screen Writer, Resumed: Manhattanville a.k.a. City Hall to Bringing Out The Dead, The Director, Resumed: Light Sleeper to Exorcist: The Beginning (this section also includes Touch, Affliction, and Auto Focus among others). This is probably a book for film enthusiasts, but I really enjoyed Schrader’s intelligent analysis of his career in film. He worked on many intriguing projects over the years and is still working on his body of work.

[Drew Raley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific. Here we have Schrader's Notes on Noir and brief conversations about his transition in the industry. One of Hollywood's only public intellectuals, Schrader is a formidable interviewee and a hell of a raconteur.