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Summary: Taxi Driver: How to lose your mind in 2 hours. :-)
Review: Taxi Driver, though many would disagree, is what I believe to be Deniro's finest performance. The extensive research he put into his role before ever stepping in front of the camera is commendable, not to mention rare. If you've seen Mean Streets, also directed by Scorsese, you know how effectively Deniro can portray losing his mind on screen. I strongly identify with this movie, in that I feel extremely anti-social now and then. I think most of us do occasionally. The soundtrack is another item worth purchasing on CD. Written and conducted by Bernard Herman, the music seems to slowly simmer, then crash, only to return to sweet melody again. If you listen closely, you can sense Herman tuning in to the mindstate of someone slowly descending into madness, moving between states of faltering calm and violent bursts. Simply put, it is my favorite of all movies, and I recommend it to anyone who likes to become immersed in a characters life. There's plenty of humor, sincerity, violence, sexiness, and above all the dialog between Deniro and Foster in the restaurant is priceless. Deniro's performance is flawlewss and completely surreal. Definitely not a party movie, Taxi Driver is best when viewed alone (at least for the first time.) You can't help but evaluate where you stand mentally when you watch this movie. Don't bother renting it, just buy it! Also, if you can find them, there are posters available of Deniro as Travis Bickle, a gun raised up in each hand, smiling that insane laugh of his, complete with the mohawk. The poster's black and white, and is a must have once you've seen this movie. Well, hope you buy it,watch it, and love it! P.S. "You talkin' to me?"
Rating:
Summary: Probably THE most powerful film I have ever seen
Review: And I really don't think I'm overestimating this incredible movie in saying that, because nothing has ever drawn me closer to my own inner worst feelings than this. Robert De Niro, the greatest screen actor of our time, brings to life the harshest and most depressing character to ever be depicted on the cinema screens. Its the disturbing depth that is brought out in this wanderer and drifter that causes you to identify with him. I applaud what Forest from New York said in the review before mine in which he commented on the thoughts and actions of Travis and how the film "never leaves him." Its true. Everything we as the audience see is what he sees and every feeling the movie has is his feeling. The people that immediately call him a sick man and a psychopath and leave it at that, I think, are just afraid to relate to him. They think if they find themselves understanding the emotions and frustrations of such a disturbed man that it makes them a sicko so they're afraid to admit it. You cannot watch this film with such a closed mind, and you cannot watch this film as "just another movie" because it is so much more than that. It desperately needs to be seen and understood in the same way that Travis in the film so desperately needed to be accepted. His relationship with Betsy was his attempt at finding someone who could make him feel better about himself. He drives the cold and heartless streets of a grimy and cynical New York finding no one looking for purification. He doesn't understand why nobody but himself seems to be troubled and frustrated by the scum on the streets. Betsy was his attempt at rediscovering his soul, and, in the same way, it was his downfall. His own naivety (taking her to a porno theater as a first date) caused her to reject him and even she didn't bother to discover why she was brought here. She just immediately wrote him off. It is the exact same thing that viewers like Leonard Maltin and jcack below have done with this movie. They haven't bothered searching deep enough to come to a better understanding of this dark, violent film and have merely dismissed it as something cold and unredeeming. When Travis sees that Betsy is "just like the others...cold and distant" he is disillusioned and left all alone. All he sees everywhere he turns is people doing horrible things to themselves and each other. It disgusts him and rightly so (How would you feel if you saw a drugged-out perverted man in a doorway pimping for a twelve-year-old girl?). He sits in his cab and listens to the rants and raves of a passenger (director Martin Scorsese in a small but disturbingly effective role) who gleefully talks about getting a .44 magnum and sooting his wife and her lover. When Travis purchases guns from a local street guy and arms himself to the teeth, the man tries to sell him drugs like the sleazy con that he is. When Travis later saves a convenience store clerk from an armed robbery by shooting the culprit, the clerk pummels the dead body with a pipe. There's no hope for this city is what Travis thinks. I believe that when he makes it his purpose to get the twelve-year-old hooker Iris off the streets and back to her home it becomes his way of cleansing himself (If he can just save one person from this life he will have succeeded). This is one of the most important works of all time and it is not recognized nearly enough by its audience. Watch this film and do NOT avoid your own feelings of guilt, frustration, anger, and violence that Travis may bring out. Because for him it was all that was left.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most powerful films ever made
Review: I feel very sorry for all the people like Leonard Maltin that can look at a film like Taxi Driver and not understand it. These people say things like "an ugly, gory decent into violence". And they're right. But they can't seem to see the difference between this movie's violence and the violence you normally find in movies. The film is violent, but it is not about violence. It's about loneliness ("You talkin' to me? I'm the only one here"). Some people can say that Travis is a sick man (i.e. Leonard Maltin)or a psycopath (i.e. jcack)(which is completely inaccuate) and look away from the film. These people I feel sorry for because they don't dare to let the movie inhabit them and that's what it's supposed to do. What makes it one of the best films ever made is the fact that it never leaves Travis. It makes you relate to him. Every single one of us has looked in the mirror and said similar things. And we've all had some thoughts along the same lines as him (feel like a pimp that has a twelve year old girl hooking for him should be shot). We don't all act on them, and that's what makes this such a powerful film. It has us go along with Travis and we care for him (we start to say "oh no, don't take Betsy to the porno theater!"). We feel the rejection when he is dumped. We feel the fear disguised as hate and it makes us uncomfortable. And it should. It takes our thoughts to the next level as he purchases guns and we wonder, but we still relate to him. And then at the end there is a violent, graphic shootout that is brilliant because by that point we are Travis. It scares us to know what we are all capable of. Most people won't admit it and that's why the film is so brave. As for the ending (many people think it's hard to believe Travis wouldn't be in jail), who's to say it happened or not. It could be a dream or a halucination after he has died, or it could be real. It doesn't matter. That ending is very important. It is of great significance that we see Travis at ease and then reconciling with Betsy before he looks up and is frightened by his own reflection. As for the people who don't appreciate this film, I strongly suggest that you watch it again with an open mind. After all, you've only got one brain, it would be ashame to waste it.
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed and overhyped
Review: I find it really suprising that this movie is listed at #38 on IMDB. I appreciate the idea, trying to get behind the eyes of a psychopath who was driven (or was he already crazy?) to this state of mind. BUT this is the first problem, it NEVER gets behind the eyes of De Niro's character, and there is no character development either, the guy seems mentally unstable from the start, and completely 2D. A good movie puts you inside a character, then shows you the situations that arise, but this movie is always from a 3rd person perspective. The causes for this were twofold, a poor script, and rather bad acting on De Niro's part(don't get me wrong, he is one of my favourite actors, just not in this movie). The script is also flawed, the idea that he would not be sent to jail after killing four people(even if they ARE lowlifes), is ludicrous. To add to that, there was nothing witty, or funny in this script, nor is the directing timeless, it's a typical 70's movie. It was also COMPLETELY uneventful, we could tell from the outset what was going to happen, and there were absolutely no suprises along the way. If you think I'm wrong, please feel free to Email me and explain what you saw in this movie, because for me, it was just a bore.
Rating:
Summary: If I could give more stars it would be here
Review: This movie is cinematicaly brilliant. Deniro at his very best.The screenplay by Paul Schrader is incredible and possibly one of the best in film history. Buy this now and your life will forever be changed.
Rating:
Summary: Taxi Driver
Review: Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, you have all seen what they can create. This is not an exception
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Summary: Ya talkin ta me?
Review: The story of a mans journey into maddness and its one hell of a ride! De Niro wow what a performance as the afflicted Travis Bickle,a cabbie whose job and lonliness are wearing him down, he starts a obbsession with a local senators campaign worker Betsy played by (Cybill Shepherd) he actually gets here on a date and the guy takes her to a ... well I'll leave that out for those of you who hav'nt seen the movie yet. The lines in this movie are classics and people well into the next century will be using the line Ya talkin ta me? Some other memorable characters are Iris the teenage runaway hooker played by (Jodie Foster) as a young girl at the time,and her pimp named Sport played by (Harvey Keitel). The ending is a mind blower seriously,you get to see De Niro in a mowhawk, and here Keitel say (hey pal you better get back to your tribe before I have ta hurt ya! A great one man,the DVD has alot of nice extras too like a script by scene follow along,and a cool storyboard follow along too,a very worthy purchase,I reccomend ya by it.
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Summary: Listen You Screwheads.....
Review: DeNiro, is creepy brillant in this cult classic. Scorsese takes clever to a new level. The misadventures, of a mentally tormented cabbie turned vigilante hero in New York City. There's alot of familar faces, classic dialogue, and infamous imagery. Everyone must see this movie....
Rating: 
Summary: Took a Ride with the Taxi Driver
Review: During the 70's most of us were just trying to get into something. Taxi Driver gave us the deep hole side of something gotten into. Realizing that perfectionism was an ideal and not necessarily a icon to live by. Robert Deniro demonstrated a surreal exploration into the minds ability to take you where you really want to go. We see a sdubtle begining and the effects of lost efforts and misguided youth turning into the last chance at saving if not one own soul than atleast a soul that is considered worth saving. In these times we reflect more on not taking advantage of youth. Yet youth begins it's advantage of the moment and forgiveness for innocence. There a many Taxi Drivers in todays youth. But the real vocus is not the redemtion but the brutality of the event and then the redemption
Rating:
Summary: Effective, Gritty And Brilliant.
Review: "Taxi Driver" is an effective, gritty work that is both a masterpiece and unforgettable. It is, I believe, the first movie that really showed the brilliance of Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader. This is a dark, disturbing journey into madness, realistically capturing the mean streets in all their realism. Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro), is a deep examination of a man falling deeper and deeper into the abyss of madness. Driven even deeper by what he sees in the world around him. Schrader's screenplay at times has the feel of a documentary, as does Scorsese's adaptation onto film. "Taxi Driver" vibrates with a realism seen in few movies. Maybe that's why it has stood the test of time triumphantly. Seeing this movie once is not enough, because you need to see it more than once to really get what it's saying, to truly understand it. Scorsese's film is gritty and at times, shocking, but not dumb or bloody just for entertainment. "Taxi Driver" explores through Bickle, the nature of crazy people, really getting into the mind of a lonely man who doesn't know much about the outside world because he seldom goes out to explore it. The film is always interesting, Scorsese brings it to life through the settings, camera angles and cinematography. The shoot-out at the end is one of the most brilliant ever filmed because it seems realistic, but not over-exagerrated, it's shocking, but we understand it. "Taxi Driver" opened doors for more filmmakers who wanted to make movies that didn't hold back, that were realistic in their representation of the dark corners of society. It stands as a brilliant work which will be studied and endured for years to come.
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