Taxi Driver (1976), directed by Martin Scorsese

What can you say about a movie that has become a piece of history? Ever since John Hinckley used the "Jodie Foster" defense, this film has taken on extra importance: it isn't just a portrait of an angry loner, it inspired an angry loner.

It cannot be denied that this film has many great performances. Robert De Niro's performance as Travis Bickle is, of course, greatly admired. It is remarkable that an actor who can be so hammy in other movies (two words: The Untouchables) could portray such a spiritually empty character here. Jodie Foster is unbelievable as the young prostitute Iris. How could such a young actress portray such world-weariness? This is probably the greatest performance by a child in the history of the movies.

Cybill Shepard and Leonard Harris are also very good as the condescending campaign worker and the candidate. Shepard's role called for someone with unearthly beauty, which she can certainly supply. She also supplies a certain reserve to her character, a certain distance which she maintains from the other characters. Harris is appropriately slippery as a politician. Only Albert Brooks seems to not fit in with the film. Brooks is such a tremendously comic actor, that he seems straightjacketed in his limited role in the film.

Still, the characters from this film matter little. What is important are the images. New York at night becomes hell; he images of the taxi driving at night are unforgettable. I found myself wishing that any scene set during the daytime would end, so that we could explore the city with Travis.

A word or two about the music used in the film: Bernard Herrman was a genius and a great figure in the history of movie music. His scores for Citizen Kane, Vertigo, and Psycho will survive forever. Taxi Driver was, of course, his final film score, and there are many great moments in it: the saxophone tune that makes up the main theme of the score is lovely and haunting. The score, however, seems too bombastic, too dramatic for the movie. For me, the score unfortunately detracted from the enjoyment of the film.

Copyright 1997 by Dale G. Abersold 1