Taxi Driver (1976)

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writer:

Paul Schrader (written by)

Release Date:

8 February 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.

Plot:

A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as nighttime taxi driver in a city whose perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge to violently lash out, attempting to save a teenage prostitute in the process.

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Actress Playing Preteenage Girl | Hooker | 1970s | Campaigning | Manhattan

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Travis Bickle (as Robert DeNiro)
Cybill Shepherd	...	Betsy
Peter Boyle	...	Wizard
Jodie Foster	...	Iris Steensma
Harvey Keitel	...	'Sport' Matthew
Leonard Harris	...	Senator Charles Palantine
Albert Brooks	...	Tom
Diahnne Abbott	...	Concession Girl
Frank Adu	...	Angry Black Man
Gino Ardito	...	Policeman at Rally
Victor Argo	...	Melio (as Vic Argo)
Garth Avery	...	Iris' Friend
Harry Cohn	...	Cabbie in Bellmore
Copper Cunningham	...	Hooker in Cab
Brenda Dickson-Weinberg	...	Soap Opera Woman (as Brenda Dickson)

Runtime:

113 min | Spain:110 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (re-release) | Stereo

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (original rating) | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Germany:16 (re-rating) | Italy:VM14 | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 (re-rating) | France:-16 (original rating) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Israel:18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) (cut) | UK:18 (video re-rating) (1993) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

13 St between 2nd & 3rd Avenues, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Bill/Phillips

Trivia:

When Travis is watching television alone and he kicks over the television, he is watching a scene from "The Young and the Restless" (1973). The scene is a conversation between Brock Reynolds and Jill Foster (not June as the closed captions state) about Brock's love for Jill and Jill's love for Brock's stepfather (Phillip). Truly trivial is that even though Brock and Jill married, they later found out the marriage was invalid because they were in reality half-siblings.

Goofs:

As Travis is leaving the garage after applying for a taxi driving job his jacket is unzipped. But in the next shot, Travis emerges onto the sidewalk with his jacket halfway zipped.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[phone rings loudly]
Personnel Officer: Harry, answer that.
Personnel Officer: So whaddya want to hack for, Bickle?
Travis Bickle: I can't sleep nights.
Personnel Officer: There's porno theaters for that.
Travis Bickle: Yeah, I know, I tried that.
Personnel Officer: So now what do you do?
Travis Bickle: I ride around most nights - subways, buses - but you know, if I'm gonna do that I might as well get paid for it.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Xue zhan dao di (2006)

Soundtrack:

HOLD ME CLOSE

God's lonely men make a great film

The strength of Taxi Driver is that it proves film is a collaborative art. Undoubtly the films power lies in its unwavering first person narrative; De Niro appears in virtually every scene as God's lonely man Travis Bickle, a character craving human contact yet so crippled by paranoia and mental illness that this modest goal is seemingly unattainable. Scorsese films New York like its hell on earth - and we come to realise it is Travis' twisted world view that we are party to. Paul Schrader's script keeps the tension at an almost unbearable simmer, violence threatens to erupt at any moment making the experience a deeply distressing one for the casual viewer.

However, this film would be unimaginable without Bernard Hermann's haunting score made doubly poignant because it was his last. And I could go on about contributions made by other members of the Taxi Driver team.....but I hope my point has been taken that it is the synergy of deeply creative people at the height of their powers that makes Taxi Driver such a unique and rewarding experience. They have all made excellent work since this production but will never better this their finest moment.