Taxi Driver of course is one of Martin Scorsese’s early classics. It starred Robert De Niro as New York City taxi driver Travis Bickle, Jodie Foster as a young teen prostitute named Iris, and Cybill Shepherd as a campaign worker named Betsy. The movie is about the moral decay of 1970s New York. Travis just got out of the Marines and returns home and is sick of what he finds. He looks at most people he picks up with a level of contempt. He comes to believe that he the working man is the savior that New York needs and that becoming a vigilante will right some of the wrongs he sees in the city. The movie poses the question of whether his actions were correct or not.

Travis does a voiceover narration of his daily journal entries that gives a glimpse into his psyche. He talks about all the animals he sees on the streets at night in New York. he hopes that someday a flood will occur and wipe the scum away. This explains his moral outrage and his black and white view of the world.

Scorsese and De Niro made Travis the quintessential man apart. He lives alone in an apartment. In his time off he goes to see porn movies. He has insomnia. He feels like he has nowhere to go. There’s an angst about him which leads to his actions later in the film.

There’s some iconic scenes like when Travis gives himself a mohawk, builds himself a sliding gun brace for his arm and starts talking to the mirror asking, “You talking to me?” in his imagined future confrontation with the scum he wants to eliminate. He believes that by saving one of these women he can make a difference. It’s another insight into the mind of Travis and will ultimately lead to the ending which questions his actions.

To this day this is an outstanding piece of art created by Scorsese.
C

TAXI DRIVER is an iconic film, considered by many to be a masterpiece and the crowning achievement of both Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. Whatever your opinion this is a powerful film that starts strong and never lets up that has also stood the test of time. Everything in the movie is done so realistically that the story could still be told today. Robert Deniro plays Travis. We know little about him other than that he is an ex marine and a deep insomniac. He also sees the world as a dirty place that needs to be cleaned up. He becomes a taxi driver in the city of New York which takes on a realistic role of its own here. We see the two sides of everything and the same goes for New York. Nothing is held back on showing the realistic gritty underside of the city.

But what of the transfer of this movie classic to blu ray. Seems like all the classics are being brought to blu ray, some more succesfully than others. The questions are always how does it look, is it an improvement over the dvd and does it bring the film to new life. TAXI DRIVER was the first film to receive an enhanced 4k restoration and what it does is perform magic on a decades old film. The video presentation is purely amazing. It is funny for when the film starts the Columbia logo is very fuzzy and then the movie starts. It is clear, crisp with colors strong. The film is very definitive in that scenes are either nighttime or daytime, dark or light. The blacks and dark colors are brilliant and all color ratios amazing. Whites contrast perfectly. No matter what the scene everything pops. The night scenes are very realistic and when colors are introduced they are vibrant and real. Nothing is overenhanced. Instead the film looks the way it must have when released originally in theaters. It is leaps and bounds over any dvd version. The climactic scene at the end is brought to new devastating life with this new restoration. Flesh tones are also perfect. Blu ray is put to amazing use here restoring this classic film to all its glory. The graininess here is meant to be here. It represents New York City in full detail. And the audio is just as perfect. The DTS 5.1 audio allows the amazing soundtrack to fully blossom and soar over the entire film. The score here tells the story as much as any character or visual. And dialogue is strong and present. Nothing is wrong here. The film itself is told in a way that it is open to many different interpretations but the blu ray itself needs no debate. It is spectacular. I will reiterate again. The film looks as pure and original as when in the theaters restored to its true glory. Do not hesitate to double dip if you own the dvd. This blu ray shows the movie as a whole new experience. I give this blu ray my highest recommendations.

I'd heard Taxi Driver was a great movie, and with Scorcese at the helm and all kinds of famous actors in it to boot, I was expecting good things. Nor was I disappointed. Taxi Driver is a special movie. It's a character study on one hand, a philisophical treatise on the other. It simultaneously entertains with it's sultry shots of 1975 NYC, lots of good dialogue between the characters, and a story line that unfolds naturally - people who appreciate photography will especially like Taxi Driver - it's a joy to watch Scorcese tell this tale.

The movie is accessible on many levels, the acting is fantastic and the story itself, subtle, violent, occasionally funny - and finally, something to think about for those that are paying attention.

SPOILERS

The thing to notice is when he's trying to decide if he should 'do a bad thing' and he's talking to one of the other taxi drivers asking for advice. One of the things the guy says as he tries to talk him down is that we are what we do.. like you do a job, and that becomes who you are. This movie is never very 'in your face' about it's message if it could be said to have one at all. But what does happen? Either way, Travis is kind of a sick puppy with the desire to kill. When that desire is aimed at the politician, he's a wacko (he wants to whack him because the girl he loves and who rejected him, is working on his campaign - this would be a kind of revenge, showing who 'has the power' - in his twisted mind).

On the other hand, he meets the underage prostitute (Jodie Foster), devolops a protective streak towards her and ultimately ends up offing her pimp and other would-be enablers of her profession. This happens somewhat by accident. His first mission was to off the politicician. He takes up Jody Foster's mission as kind of a side inspiration and does the deed before he gets a chance to kill the politician. When the smoke clears he's a hero. An accidental hero. Again, the words of the older taxi driver are fulfilled: 'You are what you do'.

The IRONY is that it could so easily have gone the other way. What would he have been if he'd managed to hit the politician? Had it gone as he'd originally planned, he'd certainly have been nothing less than the 'trash' he despised - from any rational person's point of view. How much of what we do is up to chance, luck, or as fate would have it? The movie seems to unconsciously ask this question. Travis is a 'walking contradiction'. He hates the scum, the sickos, the perverts, but finally, it's only a stroke of fate that distinguishes him from them.

Taxi Driver is a great ride, and there are many reasons to see it.

Loved the mohawk. This movie is hard as nails.

great

We rented this so my son that was home from college could watch a classic that we no longer could play from VHS.
The music or main soundtrack is very repetitive compared to today's movies. And it makes us 50 years and older feel so old when we see how young some of these actors/actresses look in this film.
The movie was a time capsule and highlighted how racial and gay discrimination still exists today.

I'm old enough to remember when Taxi Driver came out - but I never watched it. I don't know why. I finally decided it was time - it has been such an iconic movie - and I never quite know what the references to the movie are about. It was surprisingly still relevant. I was also expecting to be disappointed by the cinemagraphics and it was perfect - and by that I mean - I wasn't distracted by cheesy props or obvious old technology. For as raw and simple as this movie is - it is not simple at all. Robert De Niro - looks so achingly young and plays the "hero" - a burned out vet driving a taxi. I couldn't understand why he royally screwed up his date with the woman of his dreams - but it helped to make it clear just how screwed up in the head his character was. Jodi Foster was heartbreakingly young and I kept thinking about my daughters or myself at that age - and how horrible it was that she was so street savvy and so young. But both of their performances were just stellar - absolutely sucked you in and made you believe in them. If I had watched this then - the message may not have been as clear to me - as it is now. One take away for me - is that this is not such an unlikely scenario for our psychologically wounded vets. We have so many out there - at this point in time - "they" are saying the average number of veteran suicide a day is 22. 22!!! Watching De Niro's performance was like looking inside the head of one these soldiers - you got that he just didn't care about anything any longer - and it was obvious that no one cared about him. I am a veteran myself - and have some of my own fears. I am completely against wars - because they are nothing more than a racket - making money money for civilians and killing young idealistic people - all for the sake of power. This movie solidified those thoughts for me. Overall I enjoyed it - but it was definitely dark and dreary and should only be watched when your own internal system is well enough to handle this kind of misery.

This was the first time I have ever watched TAXI DRIVER. Even though I've become a true movie buff / entrepreneur, I realize that sometimes it's better to never watch these "classic" films and simply imagine what they were like in its place and time, than watching them nowadays for the first time with expectations that won't deliver the goods. There are so many of my favorites that came from this time (the 60's) in film history. But the catch is I watched them back then, which makes me appreciate them more now, rather than watching them now, which appreciates me back then. Am I saying that TAXI DRIVER is a bad film? Not exactly. Did I really watch this movie? Indubitably!

The best part about this flick was seeing younger versions of Rupert Da Nero, Harvey Guitar and Jody "Cannon" Fodder. It's been awhile since I've seen Cyborg Sheepherder too, apparently she's been packing on the chunks over the years, but I haven't seen her myself. It was also great to see Peter Boppins (may he nap peacefully) but I'm beginning to wonder if the man ever had a full skull of working hair follicles. I love Skadaisy's work and own nearly two of his films on HD-DVD. There's no question that what he and Da Nero created here was pure brilliance at the time and again, had I watched this film way back when I was born, I would've understood this stuff much more clearly, but in this day and age a lot about the film just isn't relevant anymore (At one point the guy pays a prostitute with just a twenty dollar bill! The movie about lost me here).

A couple of positive things that really stood out in the movie were the relationship between "Slick" Travis and Ole' Bootsy and the conversation that took place between Travis and the secret service "dude" in Las Vegas. With Travis and Bootsy, well, most people would call Travis a clear-cut hopeless romantic and some of his more colourful ideas he shares with her certainly show this. But this brings me to my first issue, the dude's an underdog taxi driver and she's a successful geologist with options, I just don't see that combo ever cutting the slice. And who in their right mind takes a high society chick (or any chick) around town in a taxi on their first date? But I will say that taking her to a dirty movie was a classy move on his part, even thought she wasn't getting into it like he was. And as for the secret service guy, why did he wait so long to try and apprehend Travis? Red flags galore were going off during their poker game, more than enough to get a dude shot in the face these days, and considering how he gave the guy his real name (Henry Krinckle) and what I think was his real address (123 Fake Street), I don't understand why they weren't beating down his door with handcuffs and tasers.

TAXI DRIVER is an interesting love story, although our main protagonist is clearly supposed to be a likeable character, I had a hard time rooting for him, let alone understanding how things managed to keep working out in his favor throughout the film (except the ending, he totally got what he deserved). I do think they captured the loneliness of working in a factory right on the money, but as far as Travis being a war veteran, well I wasn't completely sold on that. The Hurt Locker was the best journey into the unstable mind of Vietnam Vets for me and I just didn't think Travis came off as that type of person. I will say this though, that all out b/a/l/l/s-to-the-walls dance off at the end was totally awesome. Hip-yeah!

*All fact checking and proof reading was done by Justin Palmure*

It was a good movie, but not one of the greatest.
I'm not going to go into a detailed critical analysis.
Some movies I like, some I don't, some are ok.
This one falls in between I like it and ok.