Taxi Driver
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| Taxi Driver | |
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| Directed by | Martin Scorsese |
| Produced by | Julia Phillips & Michael Phillips |
| Written by | Paul Schrader |
| Starring | Robert De Niro Jodie Foster Harvey Keitel Cybill Shepherd Peter Boyle Albert Brooks Leonard Harris |
| Music by | Bernard Herrmann |
| Cinematography | Michael Chapman |
| Editing by | Tom Rolf Melvin Shapiro |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  February 8, 1976 10 June 1976 |
| Running time | 113 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.3 Million (estimated)[1] |
| IMDb profile | |
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film stars Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle, a lonely, isolated, and psychotic taxi driver and Jodie Foster as the teenage prostitute he attempts to save.
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[edit] Synopsis
Travis Bickle (De Niro) is an alienated and mentally unstable young man of 26 from the Midwest, who was a Marine[2] who fought in the Vietnam War. He suffers from chronic insomnia and takes a job as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City.[3] Travis spends his days watching pornography in seedy porn theaters and driving around aimlessly through the shadiest neighborhoods of Manhattan.
He becomes obsessed with Betsy (Shepherd), an aide for New York Senator Charles Palantine, who is running for the presidential nomination and is promising dramatic social change. She is initially intrigued by Travis and agrees to a date with him after he flirts with her and sympathizes with her own apparent loneliness. On the date, however, Travis takes her to a pornographic film, and she leaves him, disturbed.[3] This is a crucial moment in the narrative as Travis feels rejected and depressed, and it triggers in him an obsession with violent self-assertion.
Travis is horrified by what he considers the moral decay around him. Iris (Foster), a 12 year-old child prostitute, gets in his cab one night to escape her pimp.[3] Later he arranges a date with her but refuses when she offers him sex; the next day, they go have breakfast and Travis becomes obsessed with saving her, despite her lack of interest, explaining that she was "stoned" when she tried to escape, and that her pimp Matthew (Harvey Keitel), whom she calls "Sport", appears to be a kind and caring person.[3] Travis then tries to convince her to return home to her parents and go back to school, but fails. Of Sport, Travis says, "Someone has to do something to him ... he is the worst sort of ... sucking scum."[3]
Travis then plans to assassinate Senator Palantine at a public rally, though his reasons for doing so remain murky. He is spotted by Secret Service men and flees.[3] Travis then desperately drives to Alphabet City and in an extremely violent finale shoots Iris's pimp Sport (Keitel), before storming into the brothel and killing the bouncer, the wounded Sport (who has followed Bickle), and Iris's customer.
A brief epilogue of sorts ends the film and shows Travis recuperating from the incident. He receives a letter from Iris's parents who thank him for saving their daughter, and the media hails him a hero for saving her.[3] Travis returns to his job, where one of his fares is Betsy. She comments about his saving of Iris and Travis's own media fame, yet Travis denies being any sort of hero. Just before the credits start rolling, Travis sees something in his rear view window and quickly looks in its direction, though the viewer never gets to see what Travis does.
[edit] Cast
- Robert De Niro: Travis Bickle
- Jodie Foster: "Easy" Iris
- Harvey Keitel: "Sport" Matthew
- Cybill Shepherd: Betsy
- Peter Boyle: "Wizard"
- Albert Brooks: Tom
- Leonard Harris: Sen. Charles Palantine
[edit] Production
In the original draft of the screenplay, writer Paul Schrader had written the role of Sport as a black man. There were also additions of other negative black roles. Scorsese believed that this would give the film an overly racist subtext, so they were changed to white roles. A strong undercurrent of racial tension remains, with black characters being referred to as "spooks," "jungle bunnies," "niggers," and by other racial titles, as well as Travis exchanging hostile stares with black men on the street. [4]
When Travis determines to assassinate Senator Palantine, he cuts his hair into a mohawk. This detail was suggested by actor Victor Magnotta, a friend of Scorsese's who had a small role as a Secret Service agent and who had served in Vietnam. Scorsese later noted, "Magnotta had talked about certain types of soldiers going into the jungle. They cut their hair in a certain way; looked like a mohawk ... and you knew that was a special situation, a commando kind of situation, and people gave them wide berths ... we thought it was a good idea."[4]
The actress who played Iris's friend in the film was a real prostitute whom Jodie Foster studied to pick up on the character.[citation needed]
[edit] Controversies
The climactic shoot-out was, for its era, intensely graphic. To attain an "R" rating, Scorsese desaturated the colours, making the brightly-colored blood less prominent.[2] In later interviews, Scorsese commented that he was actually pleased by the colour change and he considered it an improvement over the originally filmed scene, which has been lost. However, in the special edition DVD, Michael Chapman, the film's cinematographer, regrets the decision and the fact that no print with the unmuted colours exists anymore.
Some critics expressed concern over young Jodie Foster's presence during the climactic shoot-out. However, Foster stated that she was present during the setup and staging of the special effects used during the scene; the entire process was explained and demonstrated for her, step by step. Rather than being upset or traumatized, Foster said, she was fascinated and entertained by the behind-the-scenes preparation that went into the scene.[4] In addition, before being given the part, Foster was subjected to psychological testing to ensure that she would not be emotionally scarred by her role, in accordance with California Labor Board requirements.[5]
[edit] Interpretations of the ending
Some have seen the epilogue, in which Travis is hailed as a hero, as Travis' dying fantasy, while others see it as a real resolution of his acts. Statements by Schrader in which he said the final scenes were meant to comment on how criminals become celebrities in America's unbalanced society, seem to strongly indicate that the ending was not intended to be a fantasy. Comments by Scorsese on the ending also do not show any intent to imply that the ending is taking place only in Travis's head. Nevertheless, a large group of fans, including some film critics, still argue for this interpretation.
At the very end, as Betsy departs his cab, Travis drives away, and a curious ring sounds as Travis quickly adjusts his mirror, before the credits roll on the background of the bright and distorted city lights seen from the cab's perspective. Director Scorsese comments on this final moment in his Laserdisc commentary, mentioning that the "mirror glance" could be a symbol that Travis might fall into depression and violent rage once again in the future. However, it is still open to interpretation like the ending of The Wizard of Oz. It has been compared to Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange,[citation needed] in which Malcolm McDowell's Alex DeLarge seems to revert to his old, sociopathic self at the end: "I was cured, all right."
Roger Ebert has written of the film's ending,
"There has been much discussion about the ending, in which we see newspaper clippings about Travis's 'heroism' of saving Iris, and then Betsy gets into his cab and seems to give him admiration instead of her earlier disgust. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts? Can the sequence be accepted as literally true? ... I am not sure there can be an answer to these questions. The end sequence plays like music, not drama: It completes the story on an emotional, not a literal, level. We end not on carnage but on redemption, which is the goal of so many of Scorsese's characters."[6]
However, James Berardinelli, in his review of the film, argues against the dream or fantasy interpretation, stating "Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader append the perfect conclusion to Taxi Driver. Steeped in irony, the five-minute epilogue underscores the vagaries of fate. The media builds Travis into a hero, when, had he been a little quicker drawing his gun against Senator Palantine, he would have been reviled as an assassin. As the film closes, the misanthrope has been embraced as the model citizen -- someone who takes on pimps, drug dealers, and mobsters to save one little girl."[7]
[edit] Critical response
Taxi Driver was a financial success and was nominated for several Academy Awards and received the top honor at the Cannes Film Festival.[8] In later years, the film was ranked #47 on the American Film Institute's list of "100 Years, 100 Movies",[9] and #22 on its "100 Years, 100 Thrills".[10] Bickle was also named as #30 on their villians list.[11] It is consistently in the top 50 on the Internet Movie Database's list of top 250 films,[12] and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.[13] Roger Ebert has added Taxi Driver to his list of "Great Movies."[14] The film earned $28,262,574 in the United States.[15]
[edit] Awards
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Wins
- Cannes Film Festival – Palme d'Or
- New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor – (Robert De Niro)
- BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role – (Jodie Foster)
- BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer – (Jodie Foster)
- BAFTA Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music – (Bernard Herrmann)
Nominations
- Academy Award for Best Picture
- BAFTA Award for Best Film
- BAFTA Award for Direction – (Martin Scorsese)
- DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures – (Martin Scorsese)
- Academy Award for Best Actor – (Robert De Niro)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama - (Robert De Niro)
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – (Jodie Foster)
- Academy Award for Original Music Score – (Bernard Herrmann)
- Grammy Award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture – (Bernard Herrmann)
- BAFTA Award for Best Editing – (Marcia Lucas, Tom Rolf, Melvin Shapiro)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture – (Paul Schrader)
- WGA Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen – (Paul Schrader)
[edit] Proposed sequels and spin-offs
In an interview on Inside the Actor's Studio in 1999, Robert De Niro stated that he and Martin Scorsese had discussed the possibility of making a sequel to this film. According to De Niro, the two agreed that it would be interesting to see where Travis Bickle ended up 30 years later. But during Scorsese's interview on the show in 2002, the director stated that he would never make a sequel to any of his films.
In May 2005 Majesco announced that it was going to publish a video game sequel to Taxi Driver, developed by Papaya Studios. [2] In January 2006 the game was canceled due to financial problems. [3]
[edit] Influence
[edit] John Hinckley, Jr.
Taxi Driver was reportedly part of a delusional fantasy on the part of John Hinckley, Jr.[16][17] which triggered his attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981, an act for which he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.[18][19] His stated reason was that the act was an attempt to impress Jodie Foster by mimicking Travis' mohawked appearance at the Palantine rally.
[edit] Music
Travis Bickle is referenced in various songs, including ReDimoni's song ”Terminating Rain”, The Clash's song "Red Angel Dragnet", Lou Reed's "Doin’ The Thing That We Want To" (as part of a broader series of references to Scorsese films), Carter USM's "Travis", Smog's "37 Pushups", Beastie Boys' "High Plains Drifter", and Rancid's "Travis Bickle." Rancid also showed scenes of the film in performances on their 2006 tour. Audio from the film is sampled in West-Coast rapper Xzibit's "At the Speed of Life", Psycho Realm's "A War Story: Book 2", Tub Ring's "Alexander in Charge," Benefit's "My Story," Poison Idea's "The Badge," and Earth Crisis' "Firestorm."
The "Cursed Female" video by the band Porno for Pyros makes reference to Taxi Driver.
The ”I'm Afraid of Americans” video by David Bowie is influenced by Taxi Driver. In that video Trent Reznor stalks David Bowie. In that song they both sing.
Apollo 440's song "Krupa" samples the street drummer's patter as he plays - "Now back to Gene Krupa's syncopated style" - the reference is to jazz drummer Gene Krupa.
Pantera sampled dialogue from Taxi Driver on their cover of Poison Idea's "The Badge". The song was featured on the soundtrack to the movie The Crow.
New York hip-hop group The Juggaknots sampled dialogue from "Taxi Driver" in the song "Loosifa," a narrative with similarities to the story of Travis Bickle.
Purification sampled dialogue in the song "Afraid of This World."
Bickle watches an American Bandstand performance of Jackson Browne's "Late For The Sky" on his apartment television set.
[edit] Film and TV
The second season of the Japanese anime Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex features an episode that closely mirrors Taxi Driver, detailing the delusions of a professional helicopter pilot who obsesses about a cyborg prostitute and entertains ideas about killing the Prime Minister of Japan along with other "scum."
In "The Best Christmas Story Never" from American Dad!, Stan travels back in time and takes Martin Scorsese off drugs. As a result, Taxi Driver is never made and Hinckley never tries to kill Reagan. This causes him to lose to Walter Mondale and the country is surrendered to the Soviet Union. Stan goes back in time again to make Taxi Driver, but gets rid of Robert De Niro and casts the role of Travis to John Wayne. Hinckley is then unimpressed by the film and history is saved by Stan shooting Reagan (who is his Republican idol) himself.
In Behind Enemy Lines II, James and Callaghan escape the North Korean compound in a taxi intended to resemble the taxi in in Taxi Driver.
In the episode of "That 70's Show" titled "Hunting", Eric states that he learned to shoot during his "Taxi driver Phase"
[edit] Video Games
In the video game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, an unlockable taxi cab named the '76 Bickle is available after completing 100 fares in the "Taxi Driver" side mission.
[edit] References
- ^ IMDb Taxi Driver: Business http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/business
- ^ a b All Movie Guide - Taxi Driver by Lucia Bozzola. Retrieved 28 March 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g Taxi Driver 1976. Columbia Pictures
- ^ a b c Making "Taxi Driver" DVD Documentary [1]
- ^ Foster interview by Boze Hadleigh (March/June 1992)
- ^ Ebert's Review of Taxi Driver Rogerebert.com 1 January 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/t/taxi.html
- ^ Canes Film Festival Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ AFI's 100 Years... 100 Trills Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ AFI 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villians Accessed 14 March 2007.
- ^ IMDb Top 250 movies as voted by our users Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ Films Selected to The National Film Registry, Library of Congress, 1989-2005 Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ Roger Ebert's List of Great Movies Rogerebert.com Added to the list 1 January 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ Box Office Mojo - Taxi Driver Retrieved 31 March 2007.
- ^ Taxi Driver: Its Influence on John Hinckley, Jr.
- ^ Taxi Driver by Denise Noe
- ^ The John Hinckley Trial & Its Effect on the Insanity Defense by Kimberly Collins, Gabe Hinkebein, and Staci Schorgl
- ^ Verdict and Uproar by Denise Noe
[edit] External links
- Taxi Driver at the Internet Movie Database
- Taxi Driver at All Movie Guide
- Taxi Driver at Rotten Tomatoes
- Taxi Driver at Filmsite.org
- Taxi Driver review by Roger Ebert
- Taxi Driver, critiqued by a former taxi driver.
- Taxi Driver, Collection of Essays & Articles.
Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) • Mean Streets (1973) • The Godfather Part II (1974) • 1900 (1976) • Taxi Driver (1976) • The Last Tycoon (1976) • New York, New York (1977) • The Deer Hunter (1978) • Raging Bull (1980) • King of Comedy (1983) • Once Upon a Time in America (1984) • The Mission (1986) • Angel Heart (1987) • The Untouchables (1987) • Midnight Run (1988) • Goodfellas (1990) • Stanley and Iris (1990) • Awakenings (1990) • Cape Fear (1991) • This Boy's Life (1993) • A Bronx Tale (1993) • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) • Casino (1995) • Heat (1995) • Sleepers (1996) • Ronin (1998) • Analyze This (1999) • Meet the Parents (2000) • The Score (2001) • Analyze That (2001) • Meet the Fockers (2004) • The Good Shepherd (2006) • Little Fockers (2009) •
| Jodie Foster |
|---|
| Filmography |
|
Films: Napoleon and Samantha · Tom Sawyer · Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore · Freaky Friday · Bugsy Malone · Taxi Driver · Candleshoe · Foxes · The Hotel New Hampshire · Five Corners · The Accused · Stealing Home · Catchfire · Little Man Tate · The Silence of the Lambs · Sommersby · Maverick · Nell · Contact · Anna and the King · Panic Room · The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys · A Very Long Engagement · Flightplan · Inside Man |
| Preceded by Chronicle of the Years of Fire |
Palme d'Or 1976 |
Succeeded by Padre Padrone |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | Articles with sections that needed to be turned into prose | Articles with large trivia sections | 1976 films | American films | Cult films | Drama films | English-language films | Existentialist works | Films directed by Martin Scorsese | Films with a pedophile theme | Neo-noir | New York City in fiction | Palme d'Or winners | United States National Film Registry | Urban decay in popular culture
