Paul Schrader Savages Brian De Palma's Filmmaking Ability: "Brian Is Trite, Brian Is Artistically Weak"

I feel like it’s my responsibility in life to remind you to follow Paul Schrader’s Facebook page. The legendary filmmaker is one of the best social media personalities in the film industry and has no shortage of opinions that are sure to get people talking. And for his latest “I don’t give a fuck” moment, Schrader unleashes his wrath on none other than Brian De Palma.

In a FB thread that started as a discussion of Jordan Peele’s latest film, “Us,” Schrader decided to reply to someone who commented about how the horror film features “obvious homage to De Palma.”

READ MORE: Paul Schrader Escapes Facebook Jail & Talks De Niro’s Desire For A ‘Taxi Driver’ Sequel: “Stupidest F–king Idea I’ve Ever Heard”

“Don’t get me started on Brian DP,” replied Schrader. “I rewatched Redacted last night because thought that given total artistic freedom he could reach for the stars. And he did. But the stars were beyond his reach. The script is trite, it is weak. That’s because is Brian is trite, Brian is artistically weak. Skate fast on thin ice. That’s his story. That’s his con.”

For those that don’t know about “Redacted,” the 2007 De Palma film is far from his most famous effort. The war film did receive the Silver Lion award for Best Director from the Venice Film Festival and made the festival circuit rounds that year, but failed to connect with the majority of critics and was a box office disappointment. Revenue aside, it would appear that Schrader just didn’t really care for the film, or the director, in general.

And if there is someone that would know first-hand about De Palma’s skills (or apparent lack thereof), it would be the “Taxi Driver” writer. Schrader and the filmmaker worked together on the 1976 film “Obsession.” However, it’s widely known that De Palma took the script from Schrader and heavily rewrote it. This led to an apparent rift between the writer and the director, leading to Schrader to publicly denounce the film.

READ MORE: Paul Schrader Says Jordan Peele’s White Male Lead Comment “Makes Sense” But Isn’t Realistic

It seems as if the writer is still a bit upset over the situation and it might have led to a bit of bias when it comes to the work of De Palma. That being said, Schrader’s comments on Facebook are absolutely scathing and something you don’t honestly see said about professionals in the industry, especially coming from other professionals, and most especially when it involves two people that are seen as masters of the craft.

But hey, that’s what makes Paul Schrader so damn entertaining.

Finally saw JORDAN PEELE'S US. It's quite brilliant. It's also malarkey. Brilliant malarkey.

Posted by Paul Schrader on Thursday, June 27, 2019