Title: Taxi Driver
Director: Martin Scorsese
Year: 1976
Language: English (USA)
At 13 years old, Jodie Foster was not the first pick for the young prostitute role of Iris. There were other contenders, many who are now as famous such as Melanie Griffith, Linda Blair and the star wars convention lovers centerfold choice Carrie Fisher. Fortunately for Ms Foster, Scorsese eventually landed on herself for the role which proved to be a wise choice. She won two BAFTA awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Newcomer alongside an Academy Award nomination. During the time of filming, due to the nature of the film and concern for the actresses mental well-being while on set, she was subjected to psychological testing to make sure she was not emotionally affected by what she saw.
This film centers around Travis Bickle, a young Vietnam vet who has returned to New York city after doing his time in the war. He clearly suffers from insomnia and takes up a job as a cabbie where he works long hours in order to keep himself busy. He's somewhat troubled, perhaps from his time serving for his country and now sees the streets of his town as a dirty washed up mess. With open eyes and perhaps pushed too far he soon discovers that in life there are no heros to count on.
Trying to put my finger on why this film is so highly rated is difficult, not because I don't agree, but because I simply don't know the exact reason that I love it. Perhaps it's Robert De Niro's character. He plays the main character Travis Bickle to perfection and he oozes the realness of what it is like to be human. The way he struggles with life and understanding is portrayed in such a true to life way. It reminded me of the philosophical viewpoint that Albert Camus wrote about and how from time to time, we sometimes pull ourselves back to see the true absurdities of life and it's shortcomings.
My favourite character by far was Harvey Keitel's pimp daddy, Sport. This character was purely entertaining. Keitel does not play a huge part in the film but his pimp style and the way he changes his persona from when he is on the street to when he is alone with his young girl prostitute (Foster) is brilliant. The man can act and even if he wears high pants, he's a stylin' pumped pimp.
Scorsese messes about with what seems like hand held camera shots that add to the seedy style of the film and helps promote the 'filth' that Travis Bickle (De Niro) talks of in the streets of New York. The colour of the film and style is dark and dirty which adds to the portrayal of an washed up city. The music and soundtrack lay over the sounds of what you would expect New York to sound like if it were to be laid down onto an album.
I read that a lot of the lighting for the cab scenes were done with as much minimal light adjustments possible. Crew of the film sat in the boot of the car while Scorsese sat squished up behind the seat to make sure the right shot was created. That's filmmaking right there. When a director challenges themselves and has a vision that must be pertained, only good can come from determination and the taxi cab shots are fantastic. The way they are shot make you feel as though you are living in Bickle's world.
When you don't notice transitions and scene changes in a film, then the editing must be credited. It's smooth and unnoticeable which gives props to the editor. One thing I thought was funky and showed it's dated appearance was the font style used in the credits of the film, very retro. They looked like something Tarantino would have killed to use in one of his films. There is no way of cloning that old school typography style.
There is one scene that is spoken of enough so I don't really want to overdo it. All I'll say is "Are you talkin' to me?" Of course it needs to be mentioned but we should all know the scene so well that no further discussion is necessary. This film rocks because it challenges our perceptions on life's reason for being. It gives us a character that we don't see too often in films, someone we are curious of but also weary of at the same time. Scorsese deserves props for this film just because it made me sit through the whole thing without a single thought of scene skipping. Nice one!
This film centers around Travis Bickle, a young Vietnam vet who has returned to New York city after doing his time in the war. He clearly suffers from insomnia and takes up a job as a cabbie where he works long hours in order to keep himself busy. He's somewhat troubled, perhaps from his time serving for his country and now sees the streets of his town as a dirty washed up mess. With open eyes and perhaps pushed too far he soon discovers that in life there are no heros to count on.
Trying to put my finger on why this film is so highly rated is difficult, not because I don't agree, but because I simply don't know the exact reason that I love it. Perhaps it's Robert De Niro's character. He plays the main character Travis Bickle to perfection and he oozes the realness of what it is like to be human. The way he struggles with life and understanding is portrayed in such a true to life way. It reminded me of the philosophical viewpoint that Albert Camus wrote about and how from time to time, we sometimes pull ourselves back to see the true absurdities of life and it's shortcomings.
My favourite character by far was Harvey Keitel's pimp daddy, Sport. This character was purely entertaining. Keitel does not play a huge part in the film but his pimp style and the way he changes his persona from when he is on the street to when he is alone with his young girl prostitute (Foster) is brilliant. The man can act and even if he wears high pants, he's a stylin' pumped pimp.
Scorsese messes about with what seems like hand held camera shots that add to the seedy style of the film and helps promote the 'filth' that Travis Bickle (De Niro) talks of in the streets of New York. The colour of the film and style is dark and dirty which adds to the portrayal of an washed up city. The music and soundtrack lay over the sounds of what you would expect New York to sound like if it were to be laid down onto an album.
I read that a lot of the lighting for the cab scenes were done with as much minimal light adjustments possible. Crew of the film sat in the boot of the car while Scorsese sat squished up behind the seat to make sure the right shot was created. That's filmmaking right there. When a director challenges themselves and has a vision that must be pertained, only good can come from determination and the taxi cab shots are fantastic. The way they are shot make you feel as though you are living in Bickle's world.
When you don't notice transitions and scene changes in a film, then the editing must be credited. It's smooth and unnoticeable which gives props to the editor. One thing I thought was funky and showed it's dated appearance was the font style used in the credits of the film, very retro. They looked like something Tarantino would have killed to use in one of his films. There is no way of cloning that old school typography style.
There is one scene that is spoken of enough so I don't really want to overdo it. All I'll say is "Are you talkin' to me?" Of course it needs to be mentioned but we should all know the scene so well that no further discussion is necessary. This film rocks because it challenges our perceptions on life's reason for being. It gives us a character that we don't see too often in films, someone we are curious of but also weary of at the same time. Scorsese deserves props for this film just because it made me sit through the whole thing without a single thought of scene skipping. Nice one!
