Brooks--Taxi Driver Review

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 2014)

Taxi Driver was the film that made actor Robert De Niro, director Martin Scorsese, and screenwriter Paul Schrader household names. This film is a trip into one mans hell. The movie stars Robert De Niro as lonely ex-marine Travis Bickle. The movie takes place in New York, and the movie seems to act like a character. Right as the film opens as we see a cab drive through clouds and hear Bernard Hermann's wonderful score we know this movie will be a dark film.
About twenty minutes into the movie, Travis meets Betsy (who is played by Cybill Sheperd). Travis is immediately attracted to Betsy and makes a great effort to be his girlfriend. Betsy plays a very key role in this movie because she is the one woman in Travis' life who he is close to, and even though she obviously doesn't want to be close to him, makes a heavy effort for her to be close to him.
About forty-five minutes into the movie we meet Iris (who is played wonderfully by 12 year old Jodie Foster). When we meet Iris it is kind of a surprise, her walking in front of Travis' cab forcing Travis to slam on the breaks and right as he does this, Bernard Hermann's great score comes in. It is a jumpy moment and a strange way to introduce her as a character, yet this brief encounter makes Travis learn more about her.
The ending is wonderfully done by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and Special Makeup Artist Dick Smith. It is a wonderful yet dark movie that will disturb some. De Niro gives a great performance in his second out of eight team-ups with Scorsese. A landmark in cinema and an unforgettable movie experience will make you want to watch this again. An important film. 10/10.