Writing

Paul Schrader

Born July 22, 1946 · Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA (age 80)

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 exte…

Known For

Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver · 1976

MovieCrimeDrama

Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city.

Raging Bull

Raging Bull · 1980

MovieDramaHistory

The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.

The Last Temptation of Christ

The Last Temptation of Christ · 1988

The Last Temptation of Christ

Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.

Bringing Out the Dead

Bringing Out the Dead · 1999

Bringing Out the Dead

Once called "Father Frank" for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank Pierce sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired, calling in sick, delaying taking calls where he might have to face one more victim he couldn't help, yet cannot quit the job on his own.

The Card Counter

The Card Counter · 2021

The Card Counter

MovieDramaThriller

William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk.

Cat People

Cat People · 1982

MovieFantasyHorror

After years of separation, Irena Gallier and her minister brother, Paul, reunite in New Orleans. When zoologists capture a wild panther, Irena is drawn to the cat – and zoo curator Oliver to her. Soon, Paul will have to reveal the family secret: that when sexually aroused, they revert into predatory jungle cats.

First Reformed

First Reformed · 2018

A pastor of a small church in upstate New York starts to spiral out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife.

American Gigolo

American Gigolo · 1980

American Gigolo

MovieCrimeDrama

Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and Detective Sunday begins pumping him for details on his different clients, something he is reluctant to do considering the nature of his work. Julian begins to suspect he's being framed. Meanwhile Michelle begins to fall in love with him.

Filmography

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Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver · 1976

MovieCrimeDrama

Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city.

Writer

Raging Bull

Raging Bull · 1980

MovieDramaHistory

The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.

Screenplay

The Last Temptation of Christ

The Last Temptation of Christ · 1988

The Last Temptation of Christ

Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.

Screenplay

Bringing Out the Dead

Bringing Out the Dead · 1999

Bringing Out the Dead

Once called "Father Frank" for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank Pierce sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired, calling in sick, delaying taking calls where he might have to face one more victim he couldn't help, yet cannot quit the job on his own.

Screenplay

The Card Counter

The Card Counter · 2021

The Card Counter

MovieDramaThriller

William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk.

Director

Cat People

Cat People · 1982

MovieFantasyHorror

After years of separation, Irena Gallier and her minister brother, Paul, reunite in New Orleans. When zoologists capture a wild panther, Irena is drawn to the cat – and zoo curator Oliver to her. Soon, Paul will have to reveal the family secret: that when sexually aroused, they revert into predatory jungle cats.

Director

First Reformed

First Reformed · 2018

A pastor of a small church in upstate New York starts to spiral out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife.

Writer

American Gigolo

American Gigolo · 1980

American Gigolo

MovieCrimeDrama

Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and Detective Sunday begins pumping him for details on his different clients, something he is reluctant to do considering the nature of his work. Julian begins to suspect he's being framed. Meanwhile Michelle begins to fall in love with him.

Director

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters · 1985

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

A fictional account of the life of Japanese author Yukio Mishima, combining dramatizations of three of his novels and a depiction of the events of November 25th, 1970.

Director

Dog Eat Dog

Dog Eat Dog · 2016

MovieDramaCrime

Ex-cons Troy, Mad Dog, and Diesel are hired by an eccentric mob boss to kidnap a baby and hold it for a large ransom. When the abduction goes awry, the men find themselves on the run from the mob and the cops. Vowing to stay out of prison at all costs, getting away with the crime is a matter of life and death.

Director

Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist

Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist · 2005

Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist

Father Merrin takes a sabbatical from the Church to devote himself to history and archaeology as he struggles with his shattered faith.

Director

City Hall

City Hall · 1996

MovieDramaThriller

The accidental shooting of a boy in New York City leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.

Writer

The Yakuza

The Yakuza · 1974

MovieCrimeDrama

When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.

Screenplay

Affliction

Affliction · 1998

MovieCrimeDrama

A small town policeman must investigate a suspicious hunting accident. The investigation and other events result in him slowly disintegrating mentally.

Director

The Comfort of Strangers

The Comfort of Strangers · 1990

The Comfort of Strangers

MovieThrillerDrama

An Italian diplomat's son follows and seduces English lovers in Venice.

Director

There Are No Saints

There Are No Saints · 2022

There Are No Saints

MovieActionMystery

A man is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. When his wife is murdered and his son kidnapped and taken to Mexico, he devises an elaborate and dangerous plan to rescue his son and avenge the murder.

Executive Producer

Master Gardener

Master Gardener · 2023

Master Gardener

MovieDramaCrime

Narvel Roth is a meticulous horticulturist who is devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate and pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill. When she demands that he take on her wayward and troubled niece, it unlocks dark secrets from a buried violent past.

Director

The Mosquito Coast

The Mosquito Coast · 1986

The Mosquito Coast

MovieDramaAdventure

An inventor spurns his city life and moves his family into the jungles of Central America to make a utopia.

Screenplay

Dying of the Light

Dying of the Light · 2014

Dying of the Light

MovieThrillerDrama

Evan Lake, a veteran CIA agent, has been ordered to retire. But when his protégé uncovers evidence that Lake's nemesis, the terrorist Banir, has resurfaced, Lake goes rogue, embarking on a perilous, intercontinental mission to eliminate his sworn enemy.

Director

Adam Resurrected

Adam Resurrected · 2008

Adam Resurrected

After again attempting to commit murder, a Jewish man with a mysterious past and extraordinary intelligence, charisma, and body control returns to an insane asylum, where he makes a startling discovery.

Director

Light Sleeper

Light Sleeper · 1992

MovieDramaCrime

John LeTour is a recovering drug user who suffers insomnia and still deals to a high-end New York clientele, even though he’s trying to move on from the business. John’s professional midlife crisis becomes something more acute — and dangerous — when he re-encounters an old flame while a string of seemingly drug-related murders rocks the city.

Director

Obsession

Obsession · 1976

MovieThrillerMystery

A wealthy New Orleans businessman becomes obsessed with a young woman who resembles his late wife.

Screenplay

Oh, Canada

Oh, Canada · 2024

Famed Canadian-American leftist documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife was one of sixty thousand draft evaders and deserters who fled to Canada to avoid serving in Vietnam. Now in his late seventies, Fife is dying of cancer in Montreal and has agreed to a final interview in which he is determined to bare all his secrets at last, to demythologize his mythologized life.

Director

The Canyons

The Canyons · 2013

MovieThrillerDrama

The discovery of an illicit love affair leads two young Angelenos on a violent, sexually charged tour through the dark side of human nature.

Director

American Gigolo

American Gigolo · 2022

American Gigolo

SeriesDramaCrime

Julian Kaye has always been an object of desire, so much so that people are willing to destroy him in order to have him. Exonerated, after 15 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, he now faces the challenge of picking up the pieces as the detective who put him behind bars tries to unravel the mystery that led to his wrongful incarceration.

Characters