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.
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 Palatine. He becomes obsessed with her. After an incident with her, he believes he has to do whatever he needs to 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.
Written by Huggo
The character of Tom originally had very few lines in the script but Albert Brooks worked with Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader in fleshing out the role. Brooks was also allowed to improvise during filming.
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Goofs
Continuity:
When Travis is talking to the Wizard, facing the street, flashing lights from a police car appear on Travis' face. The camera immediately goes to Wizard, who is facing Travis, with no police car behind him. Seconds later a police car pulls up, lights flashing, across the street.
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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. See more »
Crazy Credits
Most Scorsese movies are credited: "A Martin Scorsese Picture." However,
this one is credited: "A Martin Scorsese Film."
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