Wow. What a movie. I really liked it. I was a little reluctant to see it at first because I’ve heard some people say it was boring, but they were totally wrong. I haven’t seen many movies that I could just sink into like that. And the music was wonderful! I found myself right away afterward wanting to listen to something with a similar feel, so I’m listening to the Jackie Brown soundtrack.
I’m going to spoiler the rest of this post, since someone who hasn’t seen it might be interested after reading this thread.
I found the portrayal of violence near the end made me laugh more than it was supposed to. I guess that part didn’t age well.
Was the last scene something that really happened, or was Travis hallucinating it while in his coma? I have a hard time believing that he’s be able to go back to normal life like that. Wouldn’t he still have to go to jail? Plus I’m sure the secret service guys would have identified him as the guy who tried to shoot Palantine after seeing him in the newspaper.
Are there any movies any of you would recommend that I might like since I liked this?
An amazing film in every way. Robert DeNiro’s performance is, imo, the greatest screen portrayal ever. And, I agree, the music by Bernard Hermann added a quality to the film that must be see (?heard) to be appreciated.
I’m sure you’ll like Raging Bull. Another DeNiro tour-de-force.
I LOVE Taxi Driver. If you like it, I’d recommend DeNiro and Scorsese’s other collaborations: Goodfellas (my favorite gangster movie), Casino, Mean Streets, and of course Raging Bull.
Another movie that I’ve always felt used Taxi Driver as an inspiration is True Romance, a 1993 movie written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. Like many Tarantino movies, it has some really funny parts and then some shocking moments of extreme violence. But it’s one of those great movies with EVERYONE in it: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gandolfini, Tom Sizemore, Chris Penn, Bronson Pinchot…
My first take on the last scene was that it was some sort of comment on society at that time, that someone could be so fucked up and do such a fucked up thing and be perceived as a hero by the popular press, and society at large.
I later read that the last scene was, indeed, intended to be a depiction of Travis’s ongoing delusion, while presumably hospitalized.
For me, either explanation provides a fitting end to a gripping film. Anyone who could find it boring is, themselves, chronically bored, deadened to reality.
Well, you could try the remake of “Cape Fear,” another Scorsese/Deniro collaboration. Damned near a flawless film, IMO.
If you liked “Taxi Driver” definitely check out “The King of Comedy,” another Scorcese/DeNiro collaboration. The two movies share a similar theme, really.
Yeah, “The King of Comedy” makes you even more uncomfortable than “Taxi Driver”. A great movie, though. I’ll also second Mean Streets, which is more similar to “Taxi Driver” than “Raging Bull” (which is definitely worth seeing).
I’m bookmarking this thread. Thanks for the recommendations, folks. The one’s I’ve seen:
Seven Samurai- I actually like The Magnificent Seven better.
Goodfellas- It was a good movie. To be honest, I didn’t like it as much as others did because the main characters are so unlikeable. I know that’s part of the point, but it still bugged me.
True Romance- Great movie. I did find it hard to believe that a comic book store worker could be so good at killing gangsters. I started wondering if he was supposed to be a more badass version of Tarantino. But I still liked it a lot.
I should see more Scorsese movies. The only ones I’ve seen besides this and Goodfellas are The Last Temptation of Christ (loved it, but like the violence in Taxi Driver, the scene where Jesus ripped his heart out made me laugh) and No Direction Home, a documentary about Bob Dylan that I saw on PBS.
Something else I had in mind about film recommendations was that the film had a noirish feel with it’s pacing, narrative and music, and I was also hoping for maybe some older movies that might also be similar.
I always thought True Romance’s Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) was a direct homage to Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle (DeNiro), down to the ragged green Army jackets both characters wear. They were both quirky loser/loners who were weird, but mostly harmless – until both of them met hookers and took it upon themselves to “save” their respective “damsels in distress,” and become vigilante heroes like they always fantasized about. While I like both of them very much (even Bickle), I realize they’re not exactly stand-up guys or knights in shining armor or role models.
BBVL, the Travis Bickle/ Clarence Worley connection didn’t occur to me but that sounds interesting. I had forgotten about the scene where he killed the pimp in that movie, but now that I think about it that scene did disturb me in a similar way.
I’m not entirely sure that Travis Bickle was otherwise mostly harmless. I got the impression that if he hadn’t killed Iris’ pimp and those other people, he would have done something worse instead.
ftg, that actually sounds like a good idea. If I ever have a chance I might do that.
I just saw Vertigo for the first time (aren’t you all jealous that I get to see all of these for the first time?) and liked that one too. I was really liking the music during the beginning credits and it kind of reminded me of the music from Taxi Driver, then I saw it was by the same guy.