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Taxi Driver (1976)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast overview: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster
Running time: 113 minutes
At its heart, Taxi Driver is a character study, that character being Travis Bickle, a lonely, insomniac taxi driver in New York City. Despite this seemingly simple exterior, he is a complex character who we follow throughout his late-night shifts around the city, and his loneliness, confusion and frustration surrounding the city he sees becomes apparent. We see very clearly the urban sleaze that abounds, and the multitude of unhinged and disturbing characters that walk the streets. Bickle is a portrait of loneliness - he doesn't particularly enter into any meaningful relationships, and this causes us to feel sympathy for him in many respects.
Bernard Herrmann's soundtrack - the last one he would ever do, sadly passing away prior to the film's release - complements tremendously the urban sleaze and grime, and the late-night seventies feel of the film. It evokes the feel of a jazz bar late at night, while also feeling hollow - it fits both with the violent and dirty city it portrays, but also with the loneliness of Bickle himself. Scorsese's direction is accomplished, and this is by far the best film I've seen from him - it also happens to be considered as one of his best. Bickle's internal monologue is also a nice touch, emphasising the feelings of isolation that seem to trap him.
This is also a film that is timeless. While it has a distinctly seventies feel, the problems and themes touched upon in the film are present and can be seen nowadays. Loneliness, for example, is timeless and indefinable in terms of an era.
The ending is ambiguous, and its ambiguity means there will be dozens of different interpretations as to what really happened afterwards, but that's part of the beauty of the film, and one of the reasons why it has instantly become one of my favourites - it's a fantastic portrayal of life and loneliness in 1970s New York.
Quotes
Travis Bickle: [Travis is trying his guns on the mirror] Huh? Huh?
[Draws]
Travis Bickle: Faster than you, ****ing son of a... Saw you coming you ****ing... shitheel.
[Reholsters]
Travis Bickle: I'm standing here; you make the move. You make the move. It's your move...
[Draws]
Travis Bickle: Don't try it you ****.
[Reholsters]
Travis Bickle: You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talking... you talking to me? Well I'm the only one here. Who the **** do you think you're talking to? Oh yeah? OK.
[Draws]
Travis Bickle: Listen, you ****ers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the ****s, the dogs, the filth, the ****. Here is a man who stood up.
Travis Bickle: Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man.
Trivia
Paul Schrader wrote the script for "Taxi Driver" in five days. As he was writing, he kept a loaded gun on his desk for motivation and inspiration.
Robert De Niro worked twelve hour days for a month driving cabs as preparation for this role. He also studied mental illness.
Between the time Robert De Niro signed a $35,000 contract to appear in this film and when it began filming, he won an Oscar for his role in The Godfather: Part II (1974) and his profile soared. The producers were terrified that De Niro would ask for a deserved large pay raise, since Columbia was very discomfited by the project and were looking for excuses to pull the plug on it, but De Niro said he would honor his original deal so the film would get made.
Trailer
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast overview: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster
Running time: 113 minutes
At its heart, Taxi Driver is a character study, that character being Travis Bickle, a lonely, insomniac taxi driver in New York City. Despite this seemingly simple exterior, he is a complex character who we follow throughout his late-night shifts around the city, and his loneliness, confusion and frustration surrounding the city he sees becomes apparent. We see very clearly the urban sleaze that abounds, and the multitude of unhinged and disturbing characters that walk the streets. Bickle is a portrait of loneliness - he doesn't particularly enter into any meaningful relationships, and this causes us to feel sympathy for him in many respects.
Bernard Herrmann's soundtrack - the last one he would ever do, sadly passing away prior to the film's release - complements tremendously the urban sleaze and grime, and the late-night seventies feel of the film. It evokes the feel of a jazz bar late at night, while also feeling hollow - it fits both with the violent and dirty city it portrays, but also with the loneliness of Bickle himself. Scorsese's direction is accomplished, and this is by far the best film I've seen from him - it also happens to be considered as one of his best. Bickle's internal monologue is also a nice touch, emphasising the feelings of isolation that seem to trap him.
This is also a film that is timeless. While it has a distinctly seventies feel, the problems and themes touched upon in the film are present and can be seen nowadays. Loneliness, for example, is timeless and indefinable in terms of an era.
The ending is ambiguous, and its ambiguity means there will be dozens of different interpretations as to what really happened afterwards, but that's part of the beauty of the film, and one of the reasons why it has instantly become one of my favourites - it's a fantastic portrayal of life and loneliness in 1970s New York.
Quotes
Travis Bickle: [Travis is trying his guns on the mirror] Huh? Huh?
[Draws]
Travis Bickle: Faster than you, ****ing son of a... Saw you coming you ****ing... shitheel.
[Reholsters]
Travis Bickle: I'm standing here; you make the move. You make the move. It's your move...
[Draws]
Travis Bickle: Don't try it you ****.
[Reholsters]
Travis Bickle: You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talking... you talking to me? Well I'm the only one here. Who the **** do you think you're talking to? Oh yeah? OK.
[Draws]
Travis Bickle: Listen, you ****ers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the ****s, the dogs, the filth, the ****. Here is a man who stood up.
Travis Bickle: Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man.
Trivia
Paul Schrader wrote the script for "Taxi Driver" in five days. As he was writing, he kept a loaded gun on his desk for motivation and inspiration.
Robert De Niro worked twelve hour days for a month driving cabs as preparation for this role. He also studied mental illness.
Between the time Robert De Niro signed a $35,000 contract to appear in this film and when it began filming, he won an Oscar for his role in The Godfather: Part II (1974) and his profile soared. The producers were terrified that De Niro would ask for a deserved large pay raise, since Columbia was very discomfited by the project and were looking for excuses to pull the plug on it, but De Niro said he would honor his original deal so the film would get made.
Trailer