The Death of a Reputation: Paul Schrader’s ‘The Basics of Philosophy’ Faces Backlash at Venice 2026
By [Your Name/Editorial Staff] September 5, 2026 The 83rd Venice International Film Festival is intended to be a celebration of cinematic artistry, a place where the world’s most respected auteurs present their latest visions. However, the atmosphere at…
The Moral Event Horizon: Paul Schrader Explores the Limits of Redemption in ‘The Basics of Philosophy’
The cinematic landscape of the 21st century has seen few late-career renaissances as rigorous or as intellectually demanding as that of Paul Schrader. The legendary screenwriter of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, and the director of First Reformed, has…
The Weight of Conscience: Paul Schrader’s ‘The Basics of Philosophy’ Unveiled at Venice
The Venice Film Festival, a storied crucible for the world’s most profound cinematic voices, played host to a poignant moment of reflection this past Friday. As the lights dimmed in the Sala Grande, the audience prepared for the latest exploration into…
The Provocation of Paul Schrader: Unpacking the Polarizing "The Basics of Philosophy"
Paul Schrader has spent the better part of five decades interrogating the human condition through the lens of the "man in a room"—a lonely, often self-flagellating figure grappling with existential dread, religious trauma, and the crushing…
A Fifty-Year Haunting: Reassessing Brian De Palma’s Obsession and the Fractured Vision of Paul Schrader
Fifty years ago this week, the cinematic landscape was irrevocably altered by the arrival of a film that was as much an act of worship as it was a narrative experiment. Brian De Palma’s Obsession (1976) hit theaters, marking the director’s first major…
