Review for Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver's acting, writing, editing, direction and music (the final score by the legendary composer Bernard Herrmann) all go together to create possibly one of the best films I have ever seen. Yes I am talkin' to you!Taxidriver is possibly one of the greatest film to have never won an Oscar for Best Picture. Thirty-Five years on and I still wonder how the voters chose Rocky over Martin Scorsese's masterpiece. Even after all these years, the film's influence and critical acclaim has not diminished in fact it has only gotten stronger with many people citing the film as an influence on their work. Robert DeNiro stars as Travis Bickle, a Vietnam veteran who drives a taxi at night.

During his shift he encounters the dregs and 'scum' of society on the streets of New York. He feels isolated, unable to communicate with his fellow taxi drivers, or anyone for that matter. A relentless monologue goes through Bickle's head of his observations and thoughts throughout his day 'Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets'. He encounters Betsy (Cybil Shepherd) who he attempts to date, with disastrous results. Then he tries to help out Iris (Jodie Foster), a 12-year old prostitute, who Bickle wants to save from her pimp Sport (Harvey Keitel). Unable to control any aspect of his life, he decides to take it into his own hands and attempt to shoot his way into infamy. This film is amazing and I doubt there is a person who does not know the 'You talkin' to me?' scene.

What I love about this film is the utter bleakness of it all and also how timeless it is. This film could be remade in a modern day society (Note: Please don't attempt this!) and you would not need to change a single thing. Many films suffer from age or they reflect a society that no longer exists, but sadly the world that Bickle existed in is still in existence. Performances by the cast are perfect. DeNiro (in his first leading role) is able to carry the picture by himself and was rewarded with an Oscar nomination for it. However this isn't just a one many piece as he is aided by wonderful performances by Shepherd, Kietel and of course Jodie Foster's Oscar nominated performance as Iris. Even Director Martin Scorsese gets in on the act with a wonderfully crazy cameo.

There was much controversy over the use of Jodie Foster as a prostitute (at the time only thirteen) and many thought this would ruin her career. Of course with two Oscars under her belt, it did no such thing. Her scenes with DeNiro are easily the highlights of the film, showing a softer side to Bickle finally finding something in the world to take try and take care of amidst the bleak life he leads. When Martin Scorsese won his Best Director Oscar for The Departed in 2006 it was seen by many as 'long time overdue'. He wasn't nominated for Taxi Driver, which many saw as a snub and even when he was producing masterpieces like Raging Bull and Goodfellas, he was still overlooked. Looking back at this film shows just how good Scorsese always was and it was this period with Mean Streets, Raging Bull, amongst others that he proved just how great he was.

The film itself only received four Oscar nomination for Best Picture, Best Actor for DeNiro, Best Supporting Actress for Foster and Best Score. However, it did win the Palm D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a number of other awards. Though I never did think that a 'great film' can be measured by Oscar wins... otherwise I may have to question why Titanic isn't in my 'Best Film' list and there's no way I'm doing that! The Blu-ray comes jam-packed with extras, including the original 1986 Laser Disk commentary by Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader, a separate scene by scene commentary by Schrader, a number of behind the scenes featurettes, a modern day look at Travis Bickle's New York and the character himself.

There is also a look at the influence of the film and Scorsese, which is fascinating to see so many people including Oliver Stone paying tribute to him. One of the best features that I have ever seen is a 'Script to Screen' feature that allows you to watch the film with the original screenplay on view too. Anyone who has ever wanted to write a screenplay or wanted to direct may be interested to see just what went into it. The disk is rounded up with a photo gallery and trailers.