Taxi Driver (1976)

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

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writer:

Paul Schrader

Stars:

Albert Brooks, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster

Top 250 #56 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 26 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diahnne Abbott	...	Concession Girl (as Diahnne Abbot)
Frank Adu	...	Angry Black Man
Victor Argo	...	Melio (as Vic Argo)
Gino Ardito	...	Policeman at Rally
Garth Avery	...	Iris' Friend
Peter Boyle	...	Wizard
Albert Brooks	...	Tom
Harry Cohn	...	Cabbie in Bellmore
Copper Cunningham	...	Hooker in Cab
Robert De Niro	...	Travis Bickle (as Robert DeNiro)
Brenda Dickson	...	Soap Opera Woman
Harry Fischler	...	Dispatcher
Jodie Foster	...	Iris
Nat Grant	...	Stick-Up Man
Leonard Harris	...	Charles Palantine

Storyline

Travis Bickle is an ex-Marine and Vietnam War veteran living in New York City. As he suffers from insomnia, he spends his time working as a taxi driver at night, watching porn movies at seedy cinemas during the day, or thinking about how the world, New York in particular, has deteriorated into a cesspool. He's a loner who has strong opinions about what is right and wrong with mankind. For him, the one bright spot in New York humanity is Betsy, a worker on the presidential nomination campaign of Senator Charles Palantine. He becomes obsessed with her. After an incident with her, he believes he has to do whatever he needs to make the world a better place in his opinion. One of his priorities is to be the savior for Iris, a twelve-year-old runaway and prostitute who he believes wants out of the profession and under the thumb of her pimp and lover Matthew.

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | taxi | prostitute | taxi driver | insomnia | 

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Taglines:

He's a lonely forgotten man desperate to prove that he's alive.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 February 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Taksist

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,300,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 6,283,970 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Bill/Phillips, Italo/Judeo Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 110 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (re-release) Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In this film, Jodie Foster plays a woman held captive by the villain, played by Harvey Keitel. Robert De Niro's actions in this film provoked John Hinckley, who was obsessed with Foster, to try to get her attention by shooting President Ronald Reagan. The opportunity to reverse her role in this film, and also distance herself from Hinkley, is in part what inspired Foster to take the role of the heroine and rescuer in The Silence of the Lambs. Ironically, Harvey Keitel would play her future mentor in the prequel, Red Dragon.

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Goofs

The glass into which Travis drops the Alka-Seltzer tablet suddenly appears in front of him. Only a coffee cup was there before.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[a telephone rings loudly]
Personnel Officer: [to the dispatcher] Harry, answer that.
[to Travis]
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 what do you do now?
Travis Bickle: Well, I ride around nights mostly... subways, buses... I figure, you know, if I'm gonna do that I might as well get paid for it.

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Connections

Referenced in The Expendables 2 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"LATE FOR THE SKY"
By Jackson Browne
Courtesy of Asylum Records

User Reviews

Scorsese's dark masterpiece of urban alienation

Despite what some might see as limited by technical flaws and/or as an overly simplistic plot, Taxi Driver deserves its critical reputation as a cinematic masterpiece. Some 23 years later, the existential plight of Travis Bickle, "God's lonely man," continues to pack a hard emotional punch. In fact, it's hard to know where to begin when praising the elements of this film - such elements as the dark location shots of a (now gone) seedy Times Square, the cinema verite settings of the cabbies and campaign workers, the magnificent Bernard Hermann score, Paul Schrader's fine script, the memorable performances of Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Peter Boyle all must be mentioned. However, the brilliance of this film is primarily a result of the brilliance of De Niro and Scorsese, one of the greatest actor-director teams in movie history. This is an unforgettable film and rates a 10 out of 10, in my estimation.