As a filmmaker and as an essayist, Paul Schrader has always been focused on the life of spirit, often under the most debased conditions and shocking circumstances. That focus, as a writer and as a director, has resulted in several truly remarkable pictures. We've worked together on and off throughout the better part of our lives. It hasn't always been easy, but it has always been fruitful and, quite often, revelatory. Truly, I don't know where the art of cinema would be without his work, his mind, and his presence. This collection is a just and illuminating tribute to the work of a very important artist.'
Martin Scorsese

'Paul Schrader stands almost alone as an American who has made significant contributions as screenwriter, director and film critic. This book is the first to provide an in depth study that interlaces these three aspects of Schrader's lifetime of work in film. Here is fascinating reading about an important filmmaker.'
Robert K. Johnston, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena

'This anthology uses the occasion of the director's renewed popularity to make connections between his early successes and his more recent projects. It will be useful both to those new to Schrader's work and those seeking to better understand how particular films fit within his overall filmography.'
Kenneth R. Morefield, Professor of English, Campbell University

Paul Schrader's unique relationship to the role of the author (as screenwriter, director and critic) has long informed his cinema, and raises complicated questions about the definition of the auteur. This volume of essays includes the first original appraisals of his much-lauded masterpiece First Reformed (2017), as well as a chapter-length interview with Schrader himself, conducted by the editors.


Michelle E. Moore PhD is Professor of English at the College of DuPage. Brian Brems is an Associate Professor of English at the College of DuPage.


Cover image: Paul Schrader, 2018 © Matthew Scott Granger/Redux

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ISBN 978-1-4744-6203-7
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