Origin Stories: Paul Schrader’s Footnotes to First Reformed

Though he began his career as a critic and groundbreaking screenwriter, Paul Schrader has emerged—over the past four decades—as one of American cinema’s most accomplished and perennially underrated directors. This month marks a culmination for Schrader, with the publication of an updated reissue of his essential Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer and the release of First Reformed (opening May 18 from A24), one of his crowning achievements. It’s a great film steeped in the language of other great films, so for the second installment of our ongoing Origin Stories series, we’ve invited Schrader to select a roster of titles that have had an impact on his life and art and influenced his new film. We’re pleased to welcome him back to the Quad with films beautiful and harsh, austere yet vibrant, and both of their time and eternal.

With Paul Schrader in person at selected screenings

Past Screenings