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Taxi Driver (1976)

R  |   |  Crime, Drama  |  8 February 1976 (USA)
8.4
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Ratings: 8.4/10 from 455,995 users   Metascore: 93/100
Reviews: 849 user | 198 critic | 8 from Metacritic.com

A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process.

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Title: Taxi Driver (1976)

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Top 250 Movies #81 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 15 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Concession Girl (as Diahnne Abbot)
Frank Adu ...
Angry Black Man
...
Melio (as Vic Argo)
Gino Ardito ...
Policeman at Rally
Garth Avery ...
Iris' Friend
...
...
Tom
Harry Cohn ...
Cabbie in Bellmore
Copper Cunningham ...
Hooker in Cab
...
Travis Bickle (as Robert DeNiro)
...
Soap Opera Woman
Harry Fischler ...
Dispatcher
...
Nat Grant ...
Stick-Up Man
Leonard Harris ...
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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. Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Crime | Drama

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

8 February 1976 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Taksist  »

Box Office

Budget:

$1,300,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 6,283,970 (Sweden)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (cut)

Sound Mix:

(re-release)|

Color:

(Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Director 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. See more »

Goofs

At the end, (after the police arrive) the camera does an aerial shout over the scene. Sport is still holding his weapon. Whether wounded or dead, the police having passed by, he would not have left the weapon in his hand. See more »

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 »

Connections

Referenced in Anime Abandon: Tokyo Revelation (2014) See more »

Soundtracks

Hold Me Close
Lyrics by Keith Addis
Music by Bernard Herrmann
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Best movie of the Seventies, and one of the greatest of all time.
4 June 2002 | by (Perth, Australia) – See all my reviews

So much has been written and talked about 'Taxi Driver' that it seems almost redundant to add anything more. But watching it again the other night for the nth time I was, as I have been every single time I've seen it, struck by just how perfect this movie is. It is as powerful and disturbing now as it was twenty-five years ago. It has not only NOT aged, it gets better and more relevant every year. This is without doubt a modern classic, and one of the handful of truly great, timeless movies.

Scorsese and Schrader went on to make other great movies after this, both separately ('The King Of Comedy', 'Light Sleeper') and together ('Raging Bull', 'The Last Temptation Of Christ'), but this is easily the best movie of their careers. And Robert De Niro's too. He has yet to top his stunning performance here as the deeply disturbed and alienated Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle, cabbie and would be assassin. This character has not surprisingly entered movie legend.

Scorsese surrounds De Niro with a first rate supporting cast, including small but effective roles from Harvey Keitel ('Reservoir Dogs'), Peter Boyle ('Hardcore'), the underrated Victor Argo ('The King Of New York') and Joe Spinell ('Maniac'). Albert Brooks and Jodie Foster are also very good, and even Cybil Shepherd, the butt of many jokes, is fine as Bickle's obsession.

When you combine these actors, Schrader's outstanding script, and Scorsese's brilliant direction, with the stunning cinematography (Michael Chapman) and haunting score (Hitchcock fave Bernard Herrmann's final effort), you have yourself a truly unforgettable cinematic experience. If you haven't seen 'Taxi Driver' I urge you to do so immediately. It is a masterpiece, pure and simple.


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