Screenwriter and director Paul Schrader was born on July 22, 1946 in Grand Rapids (Michigan, USA) in a religious Calvinist family. Due to strict upbringing, he first visited the cinema at the age of eighteen. After graduating from Calvin College, where Paul Schrader studied theology, he attended Columbia University and then went to the University of California, Los Angeles. There he graduated from film school, with the support of Pauline Cale, an influential figure in film criticism, actively published
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Screenwriter and director Paul Schrader was born on July 22, 1946 in Grand Rapids (Michigan, USA) in a religious Calvinist family. Due to strict upbringing, he first visited the cinema at the age of eighteen. After graduating from Calvin College, where Paul Schrader studied theology, he attended Columbia University and then went to the University of California, Los Angeles. There he graduated from film school, with the support of Pauline Cale, an influential figure in film criticism, actively published articles and reviews about cinema in newspapers, edited the magazine "Cinema", in 1972 wrote a book of essays about directors "Transcendent style". Schrader then turned to writing scripts, although his first script, Yakuza, co-written with his brother Leonard and Robert Towney, was not sold until 1975. The following year, the Taxi Driver, staged by Martin Scorsese, opened the way for Schrader to succeed. Having created the scripts for the films “Obsession” and “Ringing Thunder”, he made his debut in 1978 as a director of the film “Blue Collar”. The following year, the director directed the film Hardcore, and the attention of the film audience was attracted by his drama American Gigolo (1980). Then Schrader again collaborated with Scorsese, taking part in the creation of the script “Raging Bull” (1980), directed the film “Cat People” (1982). In 1985, the director was awarded the Cannes Film Festival prize for his film “Misima: A Life in Four Chapters”. Scorsese’s film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) made a big noise in the world, in which Schrader also participated in the script. His film Patty Hearst (1988) was based on real events. Then he turned to film adaptations - his films "Consolation of Wanderers" (1990), "Touch" (1997), "Sorrow" (1997) were staged on literary works. The latter was highly appreciated by critics, who also noted the play of James Coburn - the actor received an Oscar for best supporting role. Scorsese's fourth film, Resurrection of the Dead (1999), did not gain the same laurels as their previous work. Having staged the crime thriller “Forever Mine” in 1999, Paul Schrader then decided to stay only in the director’s chair and in 2002 shot the scandalously ironic drama “Autofocus”, based on the real events of the life of the TV star of the 70s Bob Crane. The film made a real sensation at film festivals in Toronto and Telluride, becoming one of the most high-profile art-house hits of the year.