The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

Taxi Driver was #3 on the MoFo Top 100 of the 1970s, #5 on the original MoFo Top 100, and #14 on the MoFo Top 100 Refresh.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

I am absolutely thrilled to see that I was wrong about my predictions. Not only does this mean that the movie I voted for is top three, it also means that Taxi Driver isn't number one.

I watched Taxi Driver in 2010 and was not impressed. There were some aspects that I liked, but didn't like it overall. I've never had any desire to revisit it and never considered it for my ballot.

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Only #4 for Taxi Driver? That is very surprising. It's personally my list's #5, but I thought it'd rate higher on the forum. A movie as gritty, grimy, and mentally detached as 70's New York itself.


I have a personal grudge with The Long Goodbye, because I'm a huge fan of the novel, and this movie is VASTLY different, especially the ending.


I did really like Elliot Gould's wonderfully eccentric performance though, the movie's best feature. It's a top 40 neo Noir for me.

taxi driver was my #2. arguably the best neo-noir to not centre around some kind of detective figure (though i suppose a self-styled vigilante wouldn't be too far afield of that).

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

There are few bigger Scorsese fans 'round these here parts than me, I reckon, and I regard Taxi Driver as Marty's second greatest film, behind only GoodFellas. But I didn't vote for it. It is Noir enough to pass the smell test, but for me it is so far beyond its genre elements that I never really considered it for my ballot. But, please do enjoy and contribute to my SCORSESE THREAD.

While I did not have Taxi Driver on my ballot, I did have a lesser-known flick from the 1970s. My final Neo No-Show is a small Canadian thriller…



The Silent Partner (1978) has developed a bit of a cult reputation over the decades, thanks to film nerds who keep rediscovering it no matter how well it is hidden. During its initial run in 1978 it got some decent notices, including from Siskel & Ebert – though they were not yet the TV stars they became in the 1980s once their program was syndicated. But being a small Canadian production, it had no chance to get the distribution it probably deserved. The problem continued into the VHS era where it was difficult to find. But boy is it worth a look.

Elliott Gould stars as an amiable bank teller. By chance he figures out the branch was almost held up at closing time, inadvertently thwarted by bad timing but not discovered by anyone else. Figuring the robber will be back the next day he quickly hatches a plan of his own: squirrel away a big pile of the bank’s cash in one of the safety deposit boxes, via paperwork make it seem that his till is very full, then when the bank robber comes back, hand over a relatively small amount to him then carefully claim the rest of the loot from the safety deposit. The bank and the authorities will naturally think all the money went to the criminal with the gun. Brilliant! Of course the one other person who quickly figures out what went down is the bank robber. He’s played by Christopher Plummer. Bad luck for the teller, not only is he a bank robber but he is also a vicious sadist who is now focusing his efforts on him!



Terrific set up which leads to a Hitchcockian game of cat and mouse between two very smart opponents, one of whom is deadly. The supporting cast includes Susannah York as another bank employee, and there is even a small role for a pre-SCTV John Candy. Clever, violent, funny, and very well written by a young Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential). I hoped there were enough other cult lovers of The Silent Partner that it might sneak onto the list, but I am not exactly shocked it didn’t make it. Still, if you are looking for a crackerjack thriller you have never even heard of, track down The Silent Partner.

It was my number eighteen. I had five that didn't make the cut. Though the last remaining three from my ballot turn out to be the collective Top Three.

HOLDEN'S BALLOT
2. The Long Goodbye (#5)
4. Night Moves (#40)
5. High & Low (#19)
6. Nightcrawler (#21)
7. The Grifters (#45)
8. One False Move (#73)
9. Blast of Silence (#48)
10. After Dark, My Sweet (DNP)
11. Blow Out (#17)
12. To Live & Die in L.A. (#43)
13. The Naked Kiss (#51)
14. Angel Heart (#31)
15. Shallow Grave (#95)
16. The Yakuza (DNP)
17. Dead Again (#90)
18. The Silent Partner (DNP)
19. The Limey (DNP)
21. Drive (#14)
22. The Hot Spot (#85)
23. Charley Varrick (DNP)
24. Blue Ruin (#82)
25. Johnny Handsome (DNP)

Had The man who occasionally drives a Taxi at #6. I'm pretty big fan of Scorsese although I haven't seen this one too many times but it has stayed with me.

I have Taxi Driver 10 on my Scorsese ranking and 9 on my Neo Noir list, and I don’t think I consider it Noir. I am never high nor drunk, but I must have been when making this list. Whatever, Taxi Driver is pretty great, and probably the Scorsese I have watched the most.

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Letterboxd

No vote from me but at least I finally got around to watching Taxi Driver. I'm sure it's an excellent movie just not my cup of joe. I did review it, if you want to read it go ahead...




So I watched this for the very first time and I was totally impressed with Robert DeNiro! His performance was worthy of the Oscar, indeed he was nominated for Best Actor. I mean he was the character! He immersed himself into the role, it was really quite an amazing feat of method acting. I'm impressed.

The first act, which ends after he takes Cybil Shepard to a porn film was all amazing. The intensity and oddness of the taxi driver, along with the ultra realness of the gritty world that he inhabited, was powerful stuff. It felt like I was there! I'd give the first act a 4/5, good stuff!

But when the director Martin Scorsese appears in the film for the second time it took me right out of the film's world and made me acutely aware I was watching a movie. That's not a good thing. Worse than that, I realized as Scorsese set in the cab talking about shooting his cheating wife...his dialogue...and his body language was a duplicate of the taxi drivers. That took me out of the film even further...and it reminded me of Tarantino's stale choice to insert himself into Django Unchained. Neither director is a great actor, so leave the acting to the professionals.

In the final act I was hoping the relationship between Jodie Foster's 12 year old prostitute and her would be hero, the taxi driver, would be dynamic and would power the last part of the film. Unfortunately we only get one good scene between them in the restaurant which develops their bond. And while it can be said the prostitute was what triggered him to go on a shooting rampage, there wasn't enough about their relationship to bring the movie to a fevered pitch. Instead the final act of the shooting rampage just seems to be rushed. It's like there needed to be another scene before the ending.

As it was I found the ending emotionally unsatisfying, as I the viewer hadn't sufficiently been primed by the movie to hate the pimp and the hotel manager enough to really want to see them dead.

But I'm surprised I enjoyed the shooting spree as entertainment. I found it kind of funny/entertaining when he blows his fingers off, it was kind of comically filmed. But it lacked utter seriousness in the way it was filmed and so didn't deliver an emotional wallop like I would have hoped for.

I completely understand Taxi Driver not being to everyone's tastes, either as a movie experience or as art. It's a tough watch, and too dirty and abnormal to be considered pretty.


It's a time and place that existed, and a type of person that you'll find in many real places in our world, even though we all want to pretend we won't. It can be hard to watch. Just like in the phone scene where the camera drifts away. We don't want to see. But that doesn't mean he isn't there in the back, hair shaved into a Mohawk, and a gun in his pocket.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... TAXI DRIVER


Roger Ebert said:

Peter Gutierrez said:

@KeyserCorleone said:

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Watched Taxi Driver at a drive-in way back when it was first released. I had no idea who Martin Scorcese was. I'm not even sure I knew who Robert DeNiro was. This was long before I got serious about film watching. I had ... heard things ... about the movie but since it was pre-internet the information was spotty. This was mid-70's when dark, sardonic films and mature subject matter had achieved mainstream acceptance. But even by those newly relaxed standards this stood out. Being the well-seasoned teen that I was I fixated on Travis Bickle's sleeve gun. The rest of it's allures became more apparent with the passage of time. TD was my #8 pick.

69 of 97 seen far.

Taxi Driver was #9 on my ballot.

1. Le Samourai
6. Miller's Crossing
7. The Big Lebowski
8. Pulp Fiction
9. Taxi Driver
10. Le Circle Rouge
12. Memento
13. No Country for Old Men
16. Mulholland Drive
17. The Silence of the Lambs
18. Blow Out
22. Point Blank
23. Alphaville
25. Blood Simple

Yet another big MoFo surprise for me to find out Holden didn't include Taxi Driver on his ballot. I would have bet my shoes on it being there, for sure. Lots of rocks on the ground between here and my house, I'll tell ya. Good thing I didn't say I would eat my hat.



Anyway, I most certainly did have it on my ballot, all the way up at #3, folks. Taxi Driver is technically a better film than my #2, but there was no way I was putting Taxi Driver above it, and my #1 was a lock from minute one. Taxi Driver is one of the best films ever made, is a seminal king of its genre(s) and was groundbreaking in many ways. If anyone still had reservations about Scorsese's prowess as a film maker and a director before this film was released, this certainly put that all to rest.

This film just exudes 1970s New York City. Again, like Thief (the film, not our beloved friend and MoFo), I adore the grimy streets at night with shimmering tail lights and sounds of the city atmosphere. All the side players are almost as memorable as the leads, and one can spend hours (or more) studying the character of Travis Bickle.



Like Coppola with The Conversation, Scorsese employs several cinematic techniques to convey ideas is a cool way, especially the main characters warped sense of reality as he looks out of his cab. From blurry shots through rainy glass to one of my favorite scenes in all of cinema, the final sequence as Travis Drives away, when he looks in the mirror and we get a little under-cranked camera, as Travis starts to sort of glitch out. He is looking in the rear view mirror; will it all start again?





Like many here on MoFo, I assumed this was a lock for Top 3. It came as close as it could have without cracking it!

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I see 1 (maybe 2) of my remaining picks making it which would leave me with a r̶e̶s̶p̶e̶c̶t̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ disreputable 17 or 18.

1. The French Connection (#58)
2. You Were Never Really Here (#50)
3. Get Carter (#49)
4. In the Heat of the Night (#98)
5. Blast of Silence (#48)
6. Won't make it
7. Definitely won't
8. Taxi Driver (#4)
9. Thief (#29)
10. Nope
11. Maybe?
12. Blood Simple (#9)
13. Badlands (#103)
14. No. Excellent movie, but no
15. It certainly qualifies but ...
16. Harper (#101)
17. Dark City (#24)
18. One False Move (#73)
19. No Country for Old Men (#12)
20. Nope, no giallo
21. Another good one but no
22. It'd be nice but ...
23. Drive (#14)
24. Point Blank (#72)
25. Collateral (#33)

I just might win this.

Taxi Driver is my second favourite movie of all-time. I mean I've only based my entire (offline) personality on the film. But I placed it at #12 because I wanted to give a boost to some other neo noir films.

3. Blue Velvet (1986)
4. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
5. High and Low (1963)
6. Le Samouraï (1967)
7. Blood Simple (1984)
8. Mulholland Drive (2001)
9. The Long Goodbye (1973)
10. Alphaville (1965)
12. Taxi Driver (1976)
13. The Conversation (1974)
14. Zodiac (2007)
15. Memories of Murder (2003)
17. Fireworks (1997)
18. Pale Flower (1964)
19. The Grifters (1990)
20. Inherent Vice (2014)
22. The American Friend (1977)
24. Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
25. Série noire (1979) - One pointer

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

I don't like Elliott Gould in anything I've seen him in other than Friends and I don't care for him greatly in that either. I just don't get him.

Taxi driver, on the other hand, I do get. This will be my favourite film on this countdown, hands down, but I had it at number two because it's not the best example of Neo Noir. Again, it qualifies, but I don't really think of it as a Neo-Noir film but as it does qualify it would've been a sin to have put it any lower on my list.

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Here’s hoping you’re talking about Betsy, but I could see Sport.

I have #4.Taxi Driver at #18 on my ballot.

I guess, this is the last title from my list.
At some point, I even considered to cut it from ballot in order to make room for some other great overlooked film.
Anyway, I had a hope that this one gonna win the countdown since the other favourites of this locality are not that high on my ratings.

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