TAXI DRIVER
dir: Martin Scorsese
"All the animals come out at night - whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets." - Travis Bickle
Brief Synopsis
A Vietnam veteran takes night shifts as a Taxi Driver in New York City which exposes him to the underbelly of the city. The sleaze fuels Travis' frustration with society, urging him to take matters into his own hands.
Why It's Here
In a world gone mad, what is left for a sane man to do? This is the question that Travis Bickle is left with when the Vietnam veteran takes up a job as a New York City taxi driver, exposing himself to the dark side of America. It has been questioned for decades whether Travis is a hero, an anti-hero, or an all-out villain. Travis is simply a man who can't take it anymore. He is a spectator to the events of the night, he travels by in his cab as prostitutes are put out on the street by their pimp, some of whom are barely teenagers. He watches killers and stalkers and his co-workers even advise him to carry a weapon. One passenger, played by the over-the-top Scorsese himself, tells Bickle he must think he's insane, all while laughing manically. Bickle has a past of war, and his blood thirst stirred up by combat is only revived by the savage events of the urban nights, which turns Travis into a ticking time bomb.
"Taxi Driver" indulges itself in the sleaze of the city it's set in. Bickle portrays a man whose intentions are good, but his mentality causes him to be seen as just another scum bag who doesn't understand normality, which is why he fails to interest a woman he admires. He shows signs of an outgoing, determined man which is why he earns the respect of his crush initially, but he proves to be an empty vessel in the social world beyond that. Bickle appears as the type you avoid on the street, someone who must have something wrong with them, but as the audience guided by Bickle's internal narration we understand him as someone who sees the world clearly, but simply can not communicate it
Caught between two polar opposite sides of society and no longer able to sit idly by, Travis moves the film's slow but immersive pace into a shocking fast-paced conclusion that is brutal in it's violence and honesty, so much so that it caused an out roar upon it's initial release, despite the violence taking up only a fraction of the running time. "Taxi Driver" raises controversial social questions of vigilantism, asking if sitting by while these sins are committed is acceptable. If believing the empty promises of a politician will ever be effective, or if more immediate and stern action must be taken to save lives and correct the seemingly lost slums of the city.
"Taxi Driver" indulges itself in the sleaze of the city it's set in. Bickle portrays a man whose intentions are good, but his mentality causes him to be seen as just another scum bag who doesn't understand normality, which is why he fails to interest a woman he admires. He shows signs of an outgoing, determined man which is why he earns the respect of his crush initially, but he proves to be an empty vessel in the social world beyond that. Bickle appears as the type you avoid on the street, someone who must have something wrong with them, but as the audience guided by Bickle's internal narration we understand him as someone who sees the world clearly, but simply can not communicate it
Caught between two polar opposite sides of society and no longer able to sit idly by, Travis moves the film's slow but immersive pace into a shocking fast-paced conclusion that is brutal in it's violence and honesty, so much so that it caused an out roar upon it's initial release, despite the violence taking up only a fraction of the running time. "Taxi Driver" raises controversial social questions of vigilantism, asking if sitting by while these sins are committed is acceptable. If believing the empty promises of a politician will ever be effective, or if more immediate and stern action must be taken to save lives and correct the seemingly lost slums of the city.