by Taxi Driver Review:
Although Robert De Niro had some great roles, most notably in the movies Raging Bull, Once Upon A Time In America, Mean Streets, and The Deer Hunter, his role as Travis Bickle hasn’t been topped. 
Playing an unstable Vietnam vet, De Niro, as Bickle, gets the urge to do something big. He feels like he went from someone very important (a man defending his country) to a nothing NYC cab driver who has to deal with the filth of a dirty, immoral, and corrupt city. He feels he is made for something better and decides that he will assassinate a senator.
Through forces beyond of his control, he is thwarted from becoming one of the most infamous men in American history. Scorsese (director) and Schrader (writer) show the duality in human nature by having De Niro, afterward, save a 13-year-old hooker (Jodie Foster) from the filth she is involved with and of which Bickle hates so much.
Where Bickle is evil in his plot to kill the senator, he is good trying to get Iris out of the prostitute business and back to her parents. The greatness of the film is its blatant irony. Given the right circumstances, a hero can be a villain or vice versa.
In this case, Bickle becomes the hero by killing Iris’ pimp as well as other scumbags and almost loses his life in the process. Iris goes back to her parents and Travis gets his name in the paper. A great film and arguably Scorsese and De Niro’s best.
Taxi Driver Trailer:
Taxi Driver Gallery:
- Yell! Rating (x/5 Skulls):
- [rating:5.0]
- Year Released:
- 8 February 1976
- Director:
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast/Crew
- Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks
- Genre
- Drama, Thriller
- Official URL:
- none
Stay Connected