Over the course of his long and illustrious career, though peppered with at least a handful of controversial works, Paul Schrader has continually revisited – be it as a director or only in screenwriting capacities – the theme of a tormented man on a mission. From Blue Collar to Hardcore and even recently to First Reformed, and even his collaborations with Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ and Raging Bull) many of his movies fit together thematically.
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Yes, probably. Or at least he would think it’s a good idea before seeing through his lies and deciding he must be assassinated instead. Similarly, Travis Bickle would likely think it’s a good idea to storm The Capitol and vandalize America’s epicentre of parliamentary democracy. Though, I don’t think he’d actually show up on the day, because a chaotic revolution is not his scene.
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History loves repeating itself. A little over a year ago, Martin Scorsese gave the now infamous interview (here) where he had the audacity to express a view that comic book movies are not real cinema, but theme park attractions. This naturally led to immediate backlash on social media where hordes of rabid Marvel zealots frothed at their mouths for months on end and threatened to publicly burn copies of Taxi Driver. Or something equally dramatic.
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Flasz On Film 