Alex Ross Perry Pays a Visit to Great American Iconoclast Paul Schrader

In 2017, writer-director Paul Schrader was enjoying one of the peaks of his storied career with the release of First Reformed, a deeply unnerving drama that grapples with his perennial themes of sin, guilt, and faith. During the production of that widely acclaimed movie, longtime admirer Alex Ross Perry—an iconoclastic filmmaker in his own right—paid a visit to the set and captured the veteran auteur reflecting on the twists and turns of his life as an artist, which kicked off in the 1970s with screenwriting work for New Hollywood bad boys Brian DePalma and Martin Scorsese. These reflections have made their way into Perry’s intimate new documentary portrait, Paul Schrader: Man in a Room, a revealing profile that also dives into some of its subject’s abiding influences and his controversial social-media presence. This latest episode in our ongoing Meet the Filmmakers series premieres this week on the Criterion Channel along with selections from Schrader’s expansive body of work, ranging from the Scorsese collaboration Taxi Driver to directorial triumphs like Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Comfort of Strangers, and Light Sleeper. 

Watch the teaser above, then head to the Channel to dive into the full program.