The 'Dark side of the moon' of movies !!

Rating: 10/10 (24 June 2006)

There is great acting.........and then there is Robert De Niro's portrayal of a lone soul in this movie. There is great direction........and then there's Martin Scorsese's direction of this movie. History has it that some of the greatest and most intense works of art are often a positive result of an artists' despair, an outcome of his/her depression. I cannot find a better example of this then this movie.
To me 'Taxi Driver' is what Pink Floyd's 'Dark side of the moon' is to music connoisseurs.
Taxi driver is the story of a few weeks in the life of Travis Bickel a lonely cab driver in new york city who literally goes insane as a chain of events unfold in his life. The movie is narrated almost exclusively from Travis's view point, giving a 'panoramic' view of his character. Especially riveting to me is how Scorsese captures his utter abhorrence for the new york street life by giving the audience an extended slow motion of his footpath views as he drives.......and the effect is further heightened by the simultaneous background narration. An important part of this movie (and thats true for all Scorsese movies) is the beautiful soundtrack of Bernard Herman that ranges from soothing to intense, molding the complete emotion of the scene, the movie would definitely not be the same without it.The character of Travis Bickel was conceived when script writer Paul Schrader was going through a miserable phase. He was unemployed, heart-broken from his recent relationship, financially broke,and perhaps most 'importantly' .......... he was all alone. Locked in a room for weeks together, he plunged into the abysmal darkness of his heart. Diligently introspecting and in the process forming an unusual outlook to the world around him. He decided to put his feelings into a fictional script that would one day fall into the magic hands of Scorsese......the rest his history.
This amazing combination of Schrader's flawless script, Scorsese's unmatched portrayal of the dark streets of new york city , and DeNiro's almost scary 'so called acting' is a must watch for all appreciators of true art........