Movie #4- "Taxi Driver" (1976)

How the hell have I never seen this movie?  Seriously.  When putting a list together of some classic films I've never seen, this one easily makes the top five... maybe top three.  One of the reasons I wanted to do this project was to knock several of those classics off the list.  Several years ago, my wife and I had compiled a list of films that we felt the other person should see, but hadn't.  This was one of the big surprises on the list (I have knocked several off the list since).  I realize that I was maybe too young when "Taxi Driver" was originally released.  But given the myriad of film courses I took in college, one would figure this movie would appear on a viewing list.  Or maybe I somehow avoided it.
I think my biggest surprise in watching "Taxi Driver" was how little I actually knew about the film.  The "Are you talking to me?" scene is iconic and Jodie Foster playing a 12 1/2 year old prostitute was controversial.  Even the plot synopsis offers a bit of misdirection, playing this strictly as a vigilante movie with DeNiro's character violently lashing out against the decadence of New York.  Sure he does, but it's the groundwork leading to his actions that are the driving force of the film.  Scorsese really captures the seedy underbelly of New York City, making the city essentially one of the stars of the film.  Of course DeNiro is incredible, I just wasn't aware of the acting contributions of Cybill Shepard, Peter Boyle, or even Albert Brooks.
One final thing that stuck me was how well Travis Bickle would play in our current entertainment climate, especially with the direction television has taken.  With such characters as Walter White, Nucky Thompson, and Rick Grimes, we have a new batch of anti-heroes, who blur the line and venture into the grey area of good and evil.  Travis would fit comfortably beside these men.


Rating: 10/10
Movies I've previously seen: 1
First time viewings: 3