In my opinion...the greatest film ever made.

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2008)

Everything about Taxi Driver is pure genius. The writing by Paul Schrader is hypnotic, a movie solely told from the point of view of a insomniac, isolated man cannot be told for very long without it becoming boring. Yet Taxi Driver doesn't have that problem, every line, every minute engages you, with lines like "The days go on and on... they don't end. All my life needed was a sense of someplace to go. I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention, I believe that one should become a person like other people." Not only gives you insight to the inner workings of Travis, but gives it to you whether you like it or not.
Scorsese's direction is sublime. Every shot has a purpose and a meaning behind it. Things like, no (or lack of) over the shoulder shots from other characters POV that Travis speaks to over the course of the film, shows that Travis doesn't connect with anybody, and he is slowly falling further and further into madness. Scorsese breaks the "rules" of traditional movies, makes new ones and still gives his tribute to film makers that inspired him like Goddard. De Niro's performance also brings the film to another level, his infamous "You talking' to me?" line was ad libbed, has since become one of the most quoted lines in cinema history.
If you have not yet seen Taxi Driver, get it today. Then smack yourself in the face for not having seen it earlier. If you've heard about the violent climax before hand, yes it is a brilliant scene, but it's more than just a lead up to a 4min violent shooting scene. There are another 98 minutes of sheer brilliance before hand. You may need more than one viewing to understand it completely, but yet, what great film doesn't?