Paul Schrader is one of the most accomplished writer and directors Hollywood has see over the past 45 years . After pass age as a film critic , Schrader altered the course of his life history when selling his first screenplay forThe Yakuza , which went on to be directed by Sydney Pollack . Two yr by and by , he wroteTaxi DriverforMartin ScorseseandRobert De Niro .

In 1978 , Schrader made his directorial introduction with the sidekick - heist filmBlue Collar . Since then , Schrader has directed more than 20 feature plastic film while still working as a screenwriter on other projects . He is currently filmingThe Card Counter , starringWillem DafoeandOscar Isaac , here are Paul Schrader ’s 10 better movies ( as director),according to IMDb .

Patty Hearst (1988) 6.3/10

In one of the few celluloid that Schrader direct but did not compose , Patty Hearsttells the dead on target - life account of the American socialite kidnapped by subverter during the seventies .

Written by Nicolas Kazan , the story follow Patty Hearst ( Natasha Richardson ) , daughter of famous newsprint mogul William Randolph Hearst . When 19 - year - old Patty is nobble by American revolutionaries in 1974 , she begins to link the causal agency as she becomes mold by Stockholm Syndrome . Schrader earned a Palm d’Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival .

Adam Resurrected (2008) 6.3/10

base on the Yoram Kaniuk novel , Adam Resurrectedtells of the unbelievable second luck afforded to a Jewish entertainer after being save of the gasoline chamber during WWII .

When Adam Stein ( Jeff Goldblum ) forfend execution from the Nazis due to their love of his entertainment , the former genus Circus performer becomes a patient and de facto leader of a group of Holocaust survivors . Adam ’s wizard ways at an asylum in 1961 Israel allows him to touch the hearts and brain of his fellow inmates .

The Comfort Of Strangers (1990) 6.3/10

Adapted from the Ian McEwan novel , The Comfort of Strangerstracks an English couple on holiday in Venice , Italy . With their marriage on the sway , they indulge in wild fantasies upon meeting a secret stranger with a devilish good luck charm .

Colin ( Rupert Everett ) and Mary ( Natasha Richardson ) are being followed by an unknown mortal in Venice . After getting lose in the city , the unknown named Robert ( Christopher Walken ) call for them to his home for drinks . After a wild night , the couple is repulsed by Robert ’s misrepresented fantasies but struggles to escape .

Auto Focus (2002) 6.6/10

Based on the Robert Graysmith Christian Bible , Auto Focustells the account of picture show - star hopeful Bob Crane ( Greg Kinnear ) , who in the viewing of major success on the TV sitcomHogan ’s Heroes , went into business with lubricious electronics maven John Henry Carpenter ( Willem Dafoe ) . The destination ? To produce the first wave of home - telecasting smut .

Crane and Carpenter bond of their mutual interestingness in having and photograph sexual urge on film . While Crane maintains a spotless image by day , by night he produces adult material in the steer up to the home - video grocery store .

Light Sleeper (1992) 6.9/10

InLight Sleeper , Willem Dafoe star as a drug dealer named John LeTour who wrestles with his own sense of ethical motive during his daily offense routine . The picture also starsSusan Sarandon , Sam Rockwell , Mary Beth Hurt , Jane Adams , and David Spade .

As a former junkie whose married woman left him , John has his own inner daemon to struggle as he continues to allow lethal substances to the people in his residential area . As John ’s genial body politic deteriorates , a bowed stringed instrument of gruesome murders join drug - related events transpires .

Affliction (1997) 7.0/10

James Coburn won a Best confirm Oscar for his oeuvre inAffliction , adapted by Schrader from the Russell Banks novel . Co - star Nick Nolte as also propose for Best Leading Actor .

The movie traces gloomy and downtrodden Wade Whitehouse ( Nolte ) , a minuscule - town cop investigating a mysterious and deadly hunting stroke . Wade ’s hardscrabble life and dour demeanor color his investigating , which precede to several the great unwashed interview his fittingness for the job . Coburn plays Wade ’s overbearing beginner , Glen Whitehouse .

Hardcore (1979) 7.1/10

In the second feature of speech film of his directorial career , Hardcoretells the tale of a conservative and spiritual Midwestern valet de chambre ( George C. Scott ) who journey to California to find his missing girl among the California pornography industry .

Single father Jake Van Dorn ( Scott ) go clandestine in California as a smut producer and hold several auditions in the off chance of finding his lost daughter , Kristen ( Ilah Davis ) . His search leads to encounter with several colourful character before undertake to bring Kristen plate safely .

First Reformed (2017) 7.1/10

Schrader take in an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay following the going ofFirst Reformed , a fib of a roiling faith - test priest doing everything he can to assist a grieving new family concerned about environmental degradation .

Ethan Hawke star as Ernst Toller , a Reverend at First Reformed Church who is project a jamboree for the 250th anniversary of the historic property of adoration . As Toller counsels a couple pertain of parenting a child in a clock time of mood change , his faith is put to the ultimate challenge .

Blue Collar (1978) 7.5/10

Schrader made his directorial debut with the 1978 expiration ofBlue Collar , a buddy - heist movie starring Harvey Keitel , Richard Pryor , Yaphet Kotto , and Ed Begley Jr.

Zeke ( Pryor ) , Jerry ( Keitel ) , and Smokey ( Kotto ) are three auto - prole in a Detroit manufacturing plant who expend every night drinking together after hr . feel exploited for their work , the trio settle to steal money from the local union ’s secure . As they concoct the perfect plan , the three uncover far-flung rottenness within the union .

Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters (1985) 8.0/10

concord to Rotten Tomatoes , the highest - order film of Paul Schrader ’s directing vocation belong toMishima : A Life in Four Chapters .

Co - written with Schrader by his comrade Leonard , the pic decipher a fictional recounting of Japanese scribe Yukio Mishima . The picture show is divided into part of his life , demarcated by Yukio ’s three originative novels , The Temple of the Golden Pavillion , Kyoko ’s House , andRunaway Horses . The film was advert winner of the Best Artistic Contribution at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival .

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Wade manages traffic on a school street in Affliction

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Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters

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