A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
- Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 22 wins & 21 nominations total
Robert De Niro
- Travis Bickle
- (as Robert DeNiro)
Diahnne Abbott
- Concession Girl
- (as Diahnne Abbot)
Victor Argo
- Melio
- (as Vic Argo)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector Martin Scorsese claims that the most important shot in the movie is when Bickle is on the phone trying to get another date with Betsy. The camera moves to the side slowly and pans down the long, empty hallway next to Bickle, as if to suggest that the phone conversation is too painful and pathetic to bear; this shot also showcases his isolation and loneliness.
- GoofsIris's sunglasses change from green to blue when they're having breakfast. This is a character quirk; she changes her glasses periodically, as the person Iris was modeled on did this.
- Quotes
Travis Bickle: Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up! Here is...
- Crazy creditsThe original television version of the film featured the following disclaimer before the closing credits: "To our Television Audience: In the aftermath of violence, the distinction between hero and villain is sometimes a matter of interpretation or misinterpretation of facts. 'Taxi Driver' suggests that tragic errors can be made.- The Filmmakers."
- Alternate versionsOriginal UK cinema and video versions suffered a very brief 1 second sound cut to the scene where Iris unzips Travis's fly in the bedroom. The BBFC finally restored this cut in 1993.
- ConnectionsEdited into Aristokraticheskiy kinematograf: Episode #1.1 (2011)
Featured review
A story about a lonely man
Taxi Driver is one of the best films ever made. This is one of those films that you do not get tired of seeing and every time you watch it you realize a little detail that you have not seen before. Excellent actors, a good director, an impressive soundtrack and a real story are the main appeals of this film.
This film is about loneliness, about the isolation of a man in a society full of scum. His objective is to finish with the scum of the streets. The story uses a taxi driver as a metaphor of loneliness and it has some kind of irony because we can see that a city which is full of people can be the most lonely place for a man. The long nights in the city, the night environment full of whores, junkies, pimps and thieves are the main elements of the world in which Travis Bickle lives. Travis is an misunderstood guy who is seeking desperately for some kind of company because as he says 'loneliness has followed me all my life, everywhere' but at the same time he seems not to do anything to avoid his situation and it is seen when he goes with Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) to a porn cinema. At the end of the film the character makes real his most violent fantasies, with a look of certain soldiers from Vietnam, and he behaves like this because of his loneliness, his alienation and because he does not find any sense to his life. The violent behaviour becomes Travis into a hero, although he had killed many people and he could do it again. Although he acts with an extreme violence the spectator understand him and the reasons why he acts that way. The soundtrack of the film, which is composed by Bernard Herrmann, inspires some kind of loneliness and sometimes it is absolutely terrifying like in a horror film. This music and the slow camera showing the streets help to introduce the spectator into the world of Travis, to know what he is thinking about.
In general I cannot say any negative aspect of this film because I have not found anything bad. Although it is a film of the 70s it is not an old-fashioned movie because the essence of the story, the reality that is shown on it, can be perfectly referred to the current society. This film has the privilege of having made famous the sentence You talking' to me? You talking' to me?' which will remain in the history of cinema. This is an authentic masterpiece.
This film is about loneliness, about the isolation of a man in a society full of scum. His objective is to finish with the scum of the streets. The story uses a taxi driver as a metaphor of loneliness and it has some kind of irony because we can see that a city which is full of people can be the most lonely place for a man. The long nights in the city, the night environment full of whores, junkies, pimps and thieves are the main elements of the world in which Travis Bickle lives. Travis is an misunderstood guy who is seeking desperately for some kind of company because as he says 'loneliness has followed me all my life, everywhere' but at the same time he seems not to do anything to avoid his situation and it is seen when he goes with Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) to a porn cinema. At the end of the film the character makes real his most violent fantasies, with a look of certain soldiers from Vietnam, and he behaves like this because of his loneliness, his alienation and because he does not find any sense to his life. The violent behaviour becomes Travis into a hero, although he had killed many people and he could do it again. Although he acts with an extreme violence the spectator understand him and the reasons why he acts that way. The soundtrack of the film, which is composed by Bernard Herrmann, inspires some kind of loneliness and sometimes it is absolutely terrifying like in a horror film. This music and the slow camera showing the streets help to introduce the spectator into the world of Travis, to know what he is thinking about.
In general I cannot say any negative aspect of this film because I have not found anything bad. Although it is a film of the 70s it is not an old-fashioned movie because the essence of the story, the reality that is shown on it, can be perfectly referred to the current society. This film has the privilege of having made famous the sentence You talking' to me? You talking' to me?' which will remain in the history of cinema. This is an authentic masterpiece.
helpful•36696
- david_vigues
- May 16, 2004
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Tài Xế Taxi
- Filming locations
- 87 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York, USA(Travis is buying guns at an apartment in Brooklyn Heights)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,300,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $28,262,574
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $116,458
- Feb 19, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $28,573,323
- Runtime1 hour 54 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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