The MoFo Top 100 of the 1970s: Countdown

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The People's Republic of Clogher
Star Wars has a place in my heart but got nowhere near my 25.

I'm pretty sure I didn't see it on release (I was 4) but fortunately those were the days when cinemas would show popular movies for months, years even and I'm guessing I watched it for the first time in 78 or 79.

The toys followed - my first one was Obi Wan, then Han, then R2. I had most of them by the time the original trilogy ended, including one of the best Christmas presents ever, the Millennium Falcon. My wife threw them out one day when I was at work in the early 2000s and I never forgave her. Never will.

I saw Star Wars in the cinema 4 times - The above mentioned first, then as part of a double bill with Empire and a few years later in a bum-numbing triple bill with ROTJ. Omagh cinema was great!

The final time was the Lucas remix version which soured my memories somewhat. I'd bought the (untouched) trilogy on VHS but by the time that the tinkered versions came to DVD the childlike wonder had been replaced with adult cynicism, from which I never recovered.

Some things are best left to kids. Maybe my wife was right....
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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan




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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



Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas topped the MoFo ‘90s list, Raging Bull got to number seven on the ‘80s, and now his Taxi Driver makes it all the way to number three, here, just twenty-four points – that’s one second place vote’s worth, ahead of Star Wars. Travis Bickle’s dark journey was on sixty-one out of ninety-nine lists, and if we’re just going by first place votes alone, it was the champ: one DOZEN MoFos had Taxi Driver as their number one overall pick, accounting for three hundred of its 1,034 points! It was on thirty-six top tens, with three second place, five third, six fourth, a fifth, two sixth, three seventh, an eighth, two ninth, and a tenth place nod in addition to the dozen first placers. Scorsese’s Mean Streets (77) was his only other entry on the countdown, in the decade where he began his illustrious career.



Scorsese’s other placements on our lists, not mentioned above, were The King of Comedy (29) and After Hours (35) for the 1980s, Casino (36) for the ‘90s, and The Departed (12) on the Millennial List.


The top two films on our countdown will be revealed, tomorrow. Yeah, we all know what they are….but which was the king-o supreme-o, and which finishes second?

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Probably not much of a surprise that Scorsese’s Taxi Driver was my second overall pick, giving me twenty-one from my list. Blackjack!

1. Chinatown (6)
2. Taxi Driver (3)
3. Nashville (43)
4. A Clockwork Orange (7)
5. Young Frankenstein (15)
7. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (22)
8. Little Big Man (61)
9. The Conversation (18)
10. The Man Who Would Be King (81)
12. The Long Goodbye (19)
13. Breaking Away (95)
14. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (8)
15. Days of Heaven (29)
16. Solaris (39)
17. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (94)
18. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (21)
19. MASH (78)
20. Don’t Look Now (72)
21. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (41)
22. Le Cercle Rouge (60)
24. The Spirit of the Beehive (47)
25. Stroszek (115)




My prediction for the top 7:

1. Jaws
2. The Godfather
3. Taxi Driver
4. Star Wars
5. Alien
6. Chinatown
7. A Clockwork Orange



I think Taxi Driver is a really good film. I don't have the deep love for it like many do, so I will leave the gushing to them. It was #23 on my list.
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I watched Taxi Driver awhile back and just couldn't get into it. I didn't feel anything for Travis Bickle or anybody else so I was left with only a feeling of boredom. I probably ought to rewatch it at some point, but I'm not anxious to do so anytime soon. But yay for it being #3. That means that the chances of Jaws coming in at #1 are just a tiny bit higher.

We'll see tomorrow.

My List
1. Charlotte's Web (#127, not on the countdown)
2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (#8)
3. The Long Goodbye (#19)
4. Harold and Maude (#27)
5. Kramer vs. Kramer (#44)
6. Paper Moon (#74)
7. Deliverance (#51)
8. Cries and Whispers (#50)
9. Serpico (#55)
10. Dog Day Afternoon (#28)
11. Dirty Harry (#34)
12. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (#68)
14. Frenzy (#121, not on the countdown)
15. Smokey and the Bandit (#124, not on the countdown)
16. Chinatown (#6)
18. Get Carter (#111, not on the countdown)
20. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (#46)
21. Network (#32)
22. Hausu (#76)
23. Mad Max (#70)
24. Tale of Tales (#120, not on the countdown)
25. Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1 point, not on the countdown)




Taxi Driver was Deadite’s number fourteen, and nineteenth overall.

1. Marathon Man (#73)
2. Alien (#5)
3. Dawn of the Dead (#35)
5. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (#25)
7. Harold & Maude (#27)
8. The Deer Hunter (#38)
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (#68)
11. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (#14)
12. Walkabout (#67)
13. The Conversation (#18)
14. Taxi Driver (#3)
15. Carrie (#36)
18. Straw Dogs (#83)
19. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (#8)
20. Annie Hall (#30)
21. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (#22)
22. Apocalypse Now (#9)
24. The Godfather Part II (#10)
25. Star Wars (#4)

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I had a feeling today would be the day. But hey, Top 3 so I can't complain. I have spoken at great lengths about my favorite movie of all time. So much so that I would become a broken record. So you can read as I wax philosophical about it here.

Taxi Driver review

What more can I say, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie! The shots, the mood, the score, the acting, the direction, the time frame and the themes all are superb! And to the surprise of no one, it was my number one movie.

Also, since it was only 24 points ahead of Star Wars, I will like to think my vote pushed it over the edge to the top 3.

Seen 81/98

My list: 19

1. Taxi Driver (3)
2. Apocalypse Now (9)
3. Stalker (20)
4. Blazing Saddles (33)
5. Eraserhead (26)
6. Pink Flamingos (1972)
7. Dirty Harry (34)
8. Dawn of the Dead (35)
9. Coffy (1973)
10. ?
11. Mean Streets (77)
12. Superman (23)
13. Rocky Horror Picture Show (46)
14. Star Wars (4)
15. Mad Max (70)
16. Foxy Brown (1974)
17. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (13)
18. Death Wish (1974)
19. The Exorcist (12)
20. ?
21. Young Frankenstein (15)
22. A Clockwork Orange (7)
23. Alien (5)
24. All the President’s Men (75)
25. Network (32)



I'm sorry Mark and HK, but I am hoping that Jaws isn't number one. I am surprised it is even this high, as I mentioned before, it doesn't generate a load of discussion there, even though it is an important film. That's not to say I don't like it, I just didn't realise it was this liked

Taxi Driver was on my list, somewhere between the middle and the bottom I think, although it would be higher now. It's a great film and an important one for me too.

Here's what I originally wrote about it when I saw it at the start of my film watching experience. My writing isn't great, but it was one of the first times I watched a film and thought it was genuinely great, not just something I enjoyed an awful lot.



Taxi Driver (1976)

“Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets”

Taxi Driver, in not only my opinion, is one of the best films ever made. A masterpiece in directing from Martin Scorsese and memorable acting including a fantastic performance from Robert De Niro make Taxi Driver a great film and Travis Bickle one of the greatest characters in film history.

Despite the films popularity and largely positive reviews I have heard many criticise the film, in fact whilst watching it with my younger brother, he himself felt disappointed at what he saw. Whilst not agreeing with him and others, I can understand why people may see the film in that light. Unlike a lot of films Taxi Driver isn’t your usual violent filled action/thriller, instead Taxi Driver is a more drawn-out, psychological study of a man the majority of people can connect with in some way or another, a story of rage building up inside a man.

Travis Bickle is a war veteran and suffers from insomnia, this leads him to taking a job as a taxi driver to keep him occupied at night. Whilst watching my brother commented that the scenes were ‘boring and long, with nothing of interest happening, that the storytelling provided little entertainment or excitement, with no significant or exciting twists’, but this should not be viewed as a negative, instead the film is showing us an accurate portrayal how the empty and lonely Travis feels, a nobody who wants to be somebody, who is fed up and wants to take action against ‘the scum of the streets’.

This film may not appeal to some people who view Bickle’s life and behaviour as unacceptable and disturbing but although you may not be able to reason with his actions, you can definitely understand why he chooses them. The dark atmosphere, complimented by a deep and chilling score by Bernard Herrmann that only further adds to what is a living hell for Travis as we view his is spiral in to madness.
I think everyone has a bit of Travis Bickle inside them to some degree, rage against things we see as unacceptable in modern society which makes the film so brilliant, resulting in it having such a deep impact on the viewer. But it’s not just Robert De Niro who performs so brilliantly in the leading role, with the young Jodie Foster giving a performance well beyond her age as a young prostitute named Iris. The film also sees the now more well-known young duo of Albert Brooks and Harvey Keitel as well as a delightful cameo by the director himself, a young Martin Scorsese.

Cybill Shepherd plays Betsy, a key figure in the life of Travis, a young woman whom Travis is in attracted to. His awkward social skills are shown with the way he acts around woman, part of his lonely and isolated life. In one of the film's scenes of the film he takes Betsy to a porn cinema, unaware that this may be viewed as an unusual thing for a woman. Travis’ ignorance is also shown through his lack of knowledge for politics and it is this ignorance that leaves him later angered and confused, left unable to comprehend why he has faced rejection from Betsy who is so willing to show loyalty to Palantine, a local senator. There appears to be a general anger towards women from Travis who is unable to understand why they are willing to remain loyal to others, this is also shown later in an equally great scene in a café with Iris where she chooses to stay loyal to her pimp Sport despite clearly being angered by her lifestyle as a prostitute.

​*Spoilers in the next three paragraphs, skip if not seen film*

This personal anger leads Travis to self-destruct, taking action in to his own hands, creating one of the greatest film endings as he goes on a violent rampage. It’s the final scene’s irony and message that are left long-lasting in the minds of the viewer. Seemingly seconds away from killing the senator Palantine (likely due to Betsy’s rejection of him), Travis gets a ‘lucky’ escape before going on to kill ‘the scum’ including Sport, before saving Iris, completing an ironic turnaround.

Scorsese has said that the Mohawk hair style that Travis appears with in the final scenes is a sign used by soldiers who knew they were going in to certain death. But things do not turned out as planned by Travis who comes out of the killing spree as a hero after returning Iris to her parents. From possibly assassinating a senator and being known as a psychopathic murderer, Travis is now a hero of society, hailed for his actions of saving Iris.

This ending is followed by a scene where Travis gives Betsy a lift in his taxi, a woman he had formerly loved before being rejected, this time he rejects her. This seems to complete Travis' turnaround showing that the events may have had a positive affect on Travis who is now respected and not seen as a disturbed psychopath. However this feeling is short-lived in the final moments and one of the best in the film as Travis looks at ‘his own eyeballs in the mirror’ before being disgusted by what he can see in himself, suggesting that Travis is indeed not a changed man and this glory and respect he has achieved was purely through luck and is not deserving, these actions were not those of a hero doing the right thing, but a very dangerous psychopath, reminding us that the events could have lead to a completely different fate for the taxi driver and that Travis may attempt such dangerous actions again in the future where he may not turn out so lucky.

A combination of a brilliantly directed story, fantastic acting in which a variety of psychologically interesting characters are portrayed, mixed with a brilliantly chilling soundtrack makes Taxi Driver one of the most deeply affecting and emotionally thrilling films of all time. A masterpiece from Scorsese that is still seen as relevant and as breathtaking many years after its creation.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Taxi Driver was my #20, which surprised me when I made my list. It's a film I've loved for a quarter century and would have been in my top five favourites for at least the first 10 years of that 25.

That I've got so many films ahead of it in this list merely hammers home what a fantastic decade the 70s was.

Taxi Driver makes 19 out of 25 for me.

1. The Godfather Pt 2 (#10)
2.
3. The Long Goodbye (#19)
4. Chinatown (#6)
5. All The President's Men (#75)
6. The French Connection (#31)
7. Monty Python & The Holy Grail (#13)
8.
9. The Conversation (#18)
10. Don't Look Now (#72)
11. Apocalypse Now (#9)
12. Bring me The Head of Alfredo Garcia (#94)
13. Aguirre: The Wrath Of God (#21)
14.
15.
16. Alien (#5)
17. The Wicker Man (#79)
18. The Outlaw Josey Wales (#49)
19. Annie Hall (#30)
20. Taxi Driver (#3)
21. Nashville (#43)
22. The Tenant (#88)
23.
24.
25. Serpico (#55)



Taxi Driver is the 15th movie from my list to appear; I had it at #1. It's only behind Goodfellas on my all time favorites list, and Robert De Niro gives my all time favorite performance playing my all time favorite character, Travis Bickle. The incredible supporting cast and powerful score are also important keys to this movie's greatness. I first watched it in the mid 80's when I was about 15, and I got nothing out of it. When I watched it again in my early 20's, it changed my movie taste forever. I went from seeking out action and comedy movies, which I still love, to searching for gritty, realistic movies with dark humor and shocking violence. I like to be disturbed and to see something that I'll never forget. I'm not looking for another Taxi Driver, because I'll never find it, but I'm always looking for the feeling I get every time I watch this movie. I was hoping it would be #1, but hey, look at the competition.



My list-
#1 Taxi Driver
#2 A Clockwork Orange (7)
#3 Saturday Night Fever (87)
#4 Animal House (66)
#5 The Warriors (37)
#6 Chinatown (6)
#7 The Exorcist (12)
#8 Coming Home
#9 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (8)
#10 The Deer Hunter (38)
#12 Little Big Man (61)
#13 Apocalypse Now (9)
#14 Mean Streets (77)
#15 Deliverance (51)
#16 Smokey and the Bandit (124)
#17 Mikey and Nicky
#18 The Beguiled
#19 Marathon Man (73)
#20 The Gauntlet
#21 The Marriage of Maria Braun
#22 The Last House on the Left
#23 Straw Dogs (83)
#24 3 Women (126)



Love Taxi Driver. I remember for a group project in my college Intro to Psychology class, we had to use movie clips to help explain psychological concepts. As the "movie guy" of the group, I was assigned to pick the movies, and I chose Taxi Driver and The Aviator.

That said, I was never able to appreciate Taxi Driver as much as I wanted to. I appreciated it technically, but I had a hard time getting into it - I kind of made myself like it for a long time and then basically gave up on it for a while. Then, I rewatched it (quite recently actually) and it just clicked. Great movie! Scorsese's best in my opinion. It was #19 on my list.

My list:

1. Alien
2. Fantastic Planet
3. Halloween
4. 3 Women
5. Harold and Maude
6. Stalker
7. The Holy Mountain
8. Aguirre, the Wrath of God
9. Star Wars
10. Cries & Whispers
11. The Conversation
12. Autumn Sonata
13. A Clockwork Orange
14. Eraserhead
15. The Tenant
16. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
17. The Long Goodbye
18. That Obscure Object of Desire
19. Taxi Driver
20. Nosferatu the Vampyre
21. F for Fake
22. The Mirror
24. Suspiria
25. The Wicker Man



Okay everyone, it's Jaws and The Godfather.

Will they make the shark an offer he can't refuse? Will Luca Brasi sleep with the biggest of fishes?

Place your bets.



Gangster Rap is Shakespeare for the Future
Taxi Driver is good, an interesting combination of at least four major auteurs, Scorsese, DeNiro, Schrader, and Herrmann. It both suffers from and is enhanced by these meshed interpretations of the same material. Its Bressonian influences are also interesting, but unlike some, I don't think it surpasses Bresson (the Bresson I like that is), and I didn't put it on my list.
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