Paul Schrader Quotations

Now I see it clearly. My whole life has pointed in one direction. I see that now. There never has been any choice for me.

Film noir is not a genre. It is not defined, as are the western and gangster genres, by conventions of setting and conflict, but rather by the more subtle qualities of tone and mood. It is a film 'noir', as opposed to the possible variants of film gray or film off-white.

Those artists who say that somehow therapy or analysis will thwart their creativity are completely misinformed. It's absolutely the opposite: it opens closed doors.

You think it's a blessing to know what God wants?

As screenwriters, we struggle with our own success. We have wallpapered our world and now we can't get anyone to notice the picture we just hung.

I want to be happy; why do I do things that make me unhappy?

I don't think it's very useful to open wide the door for young artists; the ones who break down the door are more interesting.

Ultimately, it's an illusion that you can understand yourself.

The clock is impotent; mechanical time does not affect those living in an eternal present.

You can't take contradiction away. Part of the fun of it is that the contradiction never really quite goes away.