Fantastic Study Of a Man Losing His Grip on Reality

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2001)

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Travis Bickle is an icon of the 1970s in the same way that Norman Bates is an icon of the 1960s. He is a fascinating and scary character. Travis Bickle is perfectly played by Robert De Niro. De Niro's role as Travis Bickle is a role that should be put up there with the likes of Peter Lorre's Hans{M}, Anthony Perkins Norman Bates{Psycho}, Carl Boehm's Karl Lewis{Peeping Tom}, and Michael Rooker's Henry Lee Lucus{Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer}. By the end Travis Bickle is closer to the point of being someone like Henry Lee Lucus from Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer.

The Wrong Man(1958) is one of the main influences on Taxi Driver(1976). Especially true in the POV shots of Travis Bickle. Also, like in Alfred Hitchcock's film, the camera follows the eyes of Bickle in a tight close up shot. Has the same feeling of Paranoia that plagues the main character of The Wrong Man(1958). An example of this is the moment when Henry Fonda is placed between two Policemen in the back of a small car.

The theme of alienation plays an important role in the personal world of the narrator. The other Scorsese film where alienation is an essential part of the film is the underrated Last Temptation of Chirst(1988). Alienation affects many of the male characters in the director's movies. The more alienated Bickle becomes the more deranged he acts. One of the realistic portrait of alienation and loneliness on celluloid.

The direction is great because Martin Scorsese films many scenes which are memorable and powerful. What makes the direction great is the way the movie goes from scene to scene without any major problems. I know that a master is a work with the sheer brilliance of the important sequences. He brings out the best in actors like Cybill Shepherd. Its the closet thing to a horror picture Martin Scorsese has ever done.

Excellent in showing that the line between hero and assassin is extremely blurry. Ironic that Travis Bickle is branded a hero for killing a pimp after being a trigger away from assassinating a politican. Shows the difference between being a hero or murderer is based on who Society sees as acceptable or not acceptable. Travis Bickle is seen as a hero because he's in a time period where people crave for heros. In this regard Travis Bickle is similar in some ways to Pechorin of Mikhail Lermontov's novella, A HERO OF OUR TIME.

One of the most recognizable lines and scenes belongs to Taxi Driver(1976) in the memorable mirror scene. The most famous of all De Niro's acting moments. Takes an eerie look in the dual mind of Travis Bickle. Tour de force job for an actor who gives many great performances like this in almost every film he has appeared in. Lots of improv was done by De Niro because he does not act the same way twice.

The meeting with Betsy and Iris in a coffee shop are an interesting contrast. First, Travis is compelled by what Betsy has to say and repelled by the things Iris says. Second, Betsy is seen as conservative while Iris is looked up as rebellious. Third, Betsy and Iris have different ideas on the meaning of life. The only thing the two meetings in a coffee shop have in common are they both follow up in disaster.

One scene which impressed is when the camera moves away from Travis talking on the phone with Betsy and stands still into an empty hallway. Illiustrates that its too painful for the camera to watch Travis being rejected by Betsy. More painful for the camera to see than the carnage in the hallway of the Pimp's place during the climatic scene. Symbolic of the emptiness and shame felt by Travis Bickle during this one moment. Makes the viewer for a moment sympathize with Travis Bicke.

The shootout in the climatic scene is very bloody and gory. The desaturation of the color of blood is the only reason Taxi Driver(1976) wasn't given an X rating. What disturbs many is not the violent content when first previewed but the high emotional intensity of the color red. The make up effects are effective and filled with a little stark realism. As intense in colors as the murder scenes from Mario Bava's classic giallo, Blood & Black Lace(1964).

The final scene feels like a dream in progress. Some terrific acting is given by the supporting cast including Cybill Shepherd, Peter Boyle, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Harvey Keital. Taxi Driver(1976) is an modern take of the masterful John Ford western, The Searchers(1956). Fantasticly written by Independant writer and director, Paul Schrader. Martin Scorsese feature that definitely is influenced by the horror pictures Mario Bava did in color during the mid 1960s to early 1970s.