Submitted by InfiniteWar t3_11dwj7g in movies
I’m really getting into these kinds of slow, subtle, character studies. Aftersun was incredible and First Reformed left me thinking about it for weeks after I watched it. Obviously, Taxi Driver and First Reformed were both written by Paul Schrader, but I’m not familiar with his other works. Would this be a good place to start?
First Reformed is basically a combo of Winter Light, Diary of a Country Priest, and Ordet. The first half is a straight remake of Winter Light (although I like First Reformed better)
> but I’m not familiar with his other works
Schrader has written/directed quite a few other great movies, most notably Raging Bull and Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. Definitely recommend
Basically any Ingmar Bergman movie (Winter Light included). Wild Strawberries and Hour of the Wolf are good places to start
Ozu movies, particularly Tokyo Story, Late Spring, and An Autumn Afternoon
Andrei Rublev
In a Lonely Place
The Deer Hunter
Great list. I'll add:
Serpico
8 1/2
Le Samourai
Bad Lieutenant
Thief
Carlitos Way
There Will Be Blood
Punch Drunk Love
A History of Violence
Good list. I’d throw in Bresson since Schrader was influenced by him too (particularly Pickpocket and L’Argent).
Oh yeah I love A Man Escaped
Cronenberg's Dead Ringers or Schrader's Light Sleeper
Light Sleeper is so good.
Brilliant work from Defoe. I love how they never resort to ex-junkie suffering a relapse for cheap drama. Defoe's character is clean and stays clean. The drama is about him wanting out of his environment without a plan to do so.
interesting. it's been a while since I saw it but I never made the connection between dead ringers and taxi driver.
both are contenders for biggest "hitting me like a freight train" movies.
after dead ringers I sat and stared at the blank screen for 30 minutes, in shock.
Bringing out the Dead is Taxi Driver for the 90's except for substituting paramedics for cabbies.
>slow, subtle, character studies.
Ozu.
The Florida Project
If you liked those, I would highly recommend Phantom Thread, and Days of Being Wild.
This is basically the only kind of movie that Paul Schrader writes, so along those lines: THE CARD COUNTER, MASTER GARDENER, BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, AMERICAN GIGOLO.
Schrader was hugely inspired by the Robert Bresson movie PICKPOCKET:
> “The movie that was most important to me was Pickpocket because when I saw that in 1969 it made me realise that there was a connection between a religious upbringing and my profane presence. […] It almost made me realise that there was actually a place for me in filmmaking, I was a critic, and I didn’t think there was, but then I saw this movie about a guy who writes in a journal and goes out and steals stuff, and I thought, I can make something like that. Then three years later, I wrote Taxi Driver.”
He wrote about it here: http://www.paulschrader.org/articles/pdf/1969-PickPocket.pdf
Off the top of my head, movies that might fit the bill: CALVARY, IN BRUGES, THE FLORIDA PROJECT, A SERIOUS MAN, THE MASTER, BAD LIEUTENANT, THE WRESTLER, LE SAMOURAI, A SINGLE MAN, SHAME.
Ms .45 - it’s similar to Taxi Driver
Croupier? The limey.
Ida
Poetry
The Gambler (1974)
[deleted]
The Nest (2020)
Burning (2018)
BEE_REAL_ is on point.
I'd add Mike Leigh's naked, as well as Schrader's Card Counter (follow up to First Reformed). Otherwise you're det with Dryer, Bergman, Ozu.
"First Reformed," "Aftersun," and "Taxi Driver" are all intense, thought-provoking movies with complex characters and themes. Here are some similar movies that you may enjoy:
"The Master" (2012) - This movie is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and stars Joaquin Phoenix as a troubled World War II veteran who becomes involved with a charismatic cult leader played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
"There Will Be Blood" (2007) - Also directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, this movie tells the story of an ambitious oil prospector in early 20th century California.
"Requiem for a Dream" (2000) - This movie, directed by Darren Aronofsky, follows the lives of four individuals as they spiral into addiction and despair.
Paul Schrader has written the same type of character repeatedly for years and and consciously thinks of them as variations ofnthr same character and increasingly thr films are intentional companion pieces.
Most recently with the Card Counter. Earlier films you might enjoy include Light Sleeper, Walker, and American Giggolo. He also has an upcoming film called thr Master Gsrdener which premiered but hasn't been distributed yet.
For some other recent riffs on this kind of thing, you might want to check out You Were Never Really Here and Saint Maude.
Willard, either version, 1971 or 2003.
KenseiJournal t1_jab85sc wrote
The Card Counter, The Last Temptation of Christ, American Gigolo, Mishima, Raging Bull, Light Sleeper.