ColdStream96

6/10

**The Good**: + Very sharp and memorable dialogue. + A score that is both haunting, playful and sensual, perfectly capturing the feel of the film. + **Martin Scorsese** tells his story expertly using close-ups, sweeping shots and well-placed imagery. + The entire film balances on De Niro's layered performance. Travis Bickle is a fascinating character in his simplicity and naivety and at the same time, he is complex in his madness and obsession. Either way, De Niro performs impeccably. + The chemistry between De Niro and both Foster and Shepherd is great. + What starts out as a slightly uncomfortable romance turns into a mystery and a crime thriller - the loner turns into a vigilante. + Several memorable moments including the scene in the taxi with the husband, the conversation with the Secret Service guy, the "You talkin' to me?" sequence... + Shows that dark, gritty and filthy side of NYC that is so central to Bickle's motives. + A 12-year-old **Jodie Foster** totally steals the show in her small but impressive part. + Deep down, _Taxi Driver_ is a story about loneliness, madness and mental disorder. **The Bad**: - The dialogue oftentimes feels abstract and philosophical and very rarely advances the plot itself. - The first hour is not very interesting. - There are plenty of scenes that feel like padding or filler and they interrupt the natural flow of the film. - I had difficulties grasping the actual motives of the characters as well as the political and societal undertones of the script or the whole point of the film. - There is a proper build-up to the core of the story but after that, the film goes nowhere until it suddenly arrives at a conclusion. - The entire subplot with Betsy and Palantine feels superfluous since they are barely even in the film. **Verdict**: It's a simple story with a powerful message - but even De Niro's Oscar-worthy performance can't save a film that suffers from a simplicity and lack of supporting characters.

arlbro-deleted-1575965368

7/10

Spoilers

I think I appreciate this film more as a reflection on and exploration of the alienation and cynicism of the post-Vietnam era than, as so many herald it as, a deeply personal character study. Travis Bickle is our lens into this setting, but I don't view the film as necessarily about him. It is through him, a PTSD-suffering, disaffected veteran, that we get a glimpse into the essence of this time period. The film's narrative and themes meander all over the place; from a cynical political campaign supposedly built on "we the people," to the reactionary backlash against civil rights and women's liberation (as well as the failures of those movements), to a seemingly universal lack of emotional fulfillment, exemplified by Betsy, and the disadvantaged that are left behind by a society that has stopped caring, exemplified by Iris. Travis effectively serves as a vehicle (a taxi, if you will) that brings the viewer to each of the these themes that are universal yet so firmly rooted in the setting, most of which are echoed in Travis, himself. I really enjoyed the ending because whether the events of the epilogue are literal and serve as a sort of postmodern joke about the nature of fate, or what we're seeing is simply the culmination of Travis' fantasies, they serve less as an ending to the narrative than as a thematic and emotional conclusion to Travis' story, which I think is the only way to end a film like this. For whatever reason, I think mostly due to the nature of the narrative, the pacing at times, and its failures for me as an effective character study, I didn't connect with this film as much as a would have liked to, but ultimately there's a lot to like from a film as well crafted as _Taxi Driver_. The shot of Travis on the phone is particularly masterful in its subtlety and I'm sure it will stay in my mind for quite some time.

Wuchak

0/10

**_Hellish urban decay and one man’s step-by-step fall into Big City madness_** In the mid-70s, an ex-marine insomniac in New York works the graveyard shift as a cab driver (De Niro) while trying to develop a relationship with a beautiful campaign volunteer for a presidential candidate (Cybill Shepherd and Leonard Harris). He experiences White Knight Syndrome as he seeks to rescue a 12½ years-old prostitute (Jodie Foster). Written by Paul Schrader and directed by Scorsese, "Taxi Driver" (1976) is an interesting character study of a misfit and his descent into radicalness after the day-to-day grind of living amidst the grungy, unsanitary places of an infernal Gotham, especially the grindhouse district. The protagonist is a ‘contradiction,’ loathing the decadence he observes but frequenting porn theaters in his spare time. Then there’s the irony of a potential assassin perceived as a vigilante hero. The notable cast also includes a young Harvey Keitel as the girl’s pimp and Peter Boyle as Travis’ mentor-like fellow cabbie. Albert Brooks in on hand as a protective colleague of the campaign volunteer. Scorsese shows up in a bit part as an unhinged cab passenger. It’s a good companion-piece to similar Schrader flicks, like “Hardcore,” “Cat People,” “Auto Focus” and “Dog Eat Dog.” The film runs 1 hour, 54 minutes, and was shot in Manhattan and Brooklyn. GRADE: B+/A-

Ian Beale

0/10

**Social outcast with a mohawk goes nutzoid** Porn obsessed loner, Travis Bickle, is a cabbie in New York. The story tells of his gradual descent into madness brought on by his inability to relate to those around him and a feeling of a lack of worth. Travis is essentially invisible - of no importance. Walton's self imposed isolation preferable to getting along with the scum around him. One day he decides to change all of that and become _a somebody_ by murdering a politician. This _nobody_ with the superiority complex has gone off the rails, for certain and it can only lead to bloodshed. A lot of it will be his own.

David

0/10

Taxi Driver has had many things said about it, and I don't wish to add to all that but it is the yardstick I measure all other films by, it is by far my favourite of all the films I have ever watched. It's brutal honesty and use of themes such as paranoia, mental health issues, and society degradation make it a film that has been imitated, and referenced since its opening in cinemas back in 1976. Robert De Niro puts in a tour-de-force performance as Travis Bickle, a Vietnam War veteran with symptoms of PTSD and paranoia, who becomes a New York City taxi driver because of his inability to sleep. Travis is one who is at odds with society, fed up with pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers, and all the other scum of the earth, he slowly works himself in his sleep deprived and drugged state to become a one man army ready to kill anyone he believes to be part of the problem. His interactions with other cabbies, Betsy (Shepherd) a Presidential Candidate campaign worker, Iris a teenage prostitute (Foster), and her Pimp “Sport” (Keitel) fuels his destructive mission to rid New York City of its problems. His attempt at normalcy with Betsy, by taking her on date to a movie that disagrees with her sensibilities ends in disaster, mostly due to Travis’ supposed naivety about what is considered appropriate and tasteful entertainment. While plying his nightly trade as a NYC cabbie, he has some unusual encounters, including a fare from a fairly psychotically jealous man showing Travis the place where the man’s wife is cheating on him, and then a short encounter with Iris who gets in his cab, and then forced out by Sport, who throws Travis a dirty crumpled up twenty dollar note for the trouble, Travis then makes it his mission to rescue Iris from her situation while also making a menace of himself to the visiting Presidential candidate. This film is still relevant in these times, as social media, and other such technological & society advancements have brought about a new degradation of values, with many wanting their fifteen minutes of fame by any means necessary, which now brings with it many who sell their souls to attain notoriety. I love De Niro's performance as Travis, its one that has many facets to it, in it is a man who is angry, naive, sleep deprived, lonely, a sociopath, and a killer. A scene in the Presidential campaign office where he is rebuffed by Betsy due to the terrible date experience, and ushered, and menaced by the opportunistic & snotty campaign co-worker Tom (Brooks), shows the range of De Niro's performance as he goes from apologetic, and sheepish to angry, and ready to fight. De Niro was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for this role. The presentation on blu-ray is a solid one, PQ is nice, skin tones not waxy, and the AQ allowing the score, and surrounding noise subtleties to really shine through, it's very well handled for a source filmed in the mid 70's