Rating: 
Summary: Taxi Driver
Review: I think one of most interesting aspects of this film is the way it treats the thin line between a criminal and a hero. Apparently by accident, this Taxi Driver is a hero by the end of the film, but I could have been a mere killer as well. This movie is better appreciated if seen after midnight, in an insomniac state.
Rating:
Summary: Ordered Chaos
Review: Taxi Driver has to be one of the seminal films to have come out of America. Blessed with a magnificent cast including Scorsese stalwarts De Niro, Keitel and a young Jodie Foster. The screenplay by Paul Schrader perfectly embodies the disjointedness of Travis Bickles mind, right from the start through to the sanguinary, almost hallucigenic conclusion. Bernard Herrmann provided his last score for this film and it is simply a sensational piece of work that will be stuck in your mind for days. The direction by Scorsese ( who also cameos as the guy in the cab looking at his wife)is masterly who he was not nominated for an Oscar for his work here is a great slight on the Academy. The film has become the ultimate statement against the emasculation of men by women and the rise of feminism. It was also Hinckleys defence for his attempted assasination of Reagan. The plot is quite simple it involves a Vietnam vet who has come home from war and is finding it hard to sleep so he decides he may as well get paid for driving around the city. From here we see random situations that Travis finds himself in. HE is a man that wants to "clean the scum off the streets" and yet he becomes what it is that he despises. Travis is best summed up as Betsy (Cybill Shepard) describes him "a walking contridication" From there Travis finds a young prostitute that he decides to try and take off the streets and such the stunning denouement begins to unfurl. This film is a magnificent experience. A must see for all who truly love cinema. The film was nominated for four Oscars (Picture, Actor (De Niro) Supporting Actress (Foster) and Score) and inexplicably De Niro did not capture the statuette. His performance in this film is one of the finest that you will ever watch. The endlessly parodied quote "you talkin' to me" came from this film. Although this scene is the most remembered from the film the breakfast scene between Travis and Iris is also one of the finest moments that modern cinema as captured. In short the film is a complete masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: A phenomenal cinematic experience
Review: Taxi driver is the best movie I have ever seen. I first saw it five years ago and its impact has never lessened for me.The portrait of disturbed and lonely man, Taxi Driver is more than just a movie- it is an experience. Each scene in the movie contains (or is seen from the point of view of) cabbie Travis Bickle and by the halfway point his persona begins absorb you. You can feel his pain, his isolation and his desperate need to connect with somebody or something. In the hands of a lesser director or actor (De Niro's performance is beyond superlatives), this movie would have been a cold, lurid explotation of a sick mind but, instead, it is a searingly powerful meditation on violence that transcends its audience's desire to judge these characters. By the end of the movie you can feel the inevitablity of Travis's explosion and some of the scenes depicting his growing alienation are truly heart-wrenching. This movie is disturbing, shocking and violent. It is definetely not for all tastes but it is undeniably one of the powerful movies ever made.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best
Review: this movie is directed and acted so well that the first time i saw it i was supprized that it did'nt win more oscars. i watched this movie with another guy and two girls, the guys both liked it but the girls did not. the movie deals with many controversial subjects like prostution and violence. it is amazing and i recomed it to anyone and everyone.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest film about Moral Ambiguity
Review: Is Travis Bickle a villain, an evil person, a 'bad' guy, wicked? Not really. He's a good person through and through who has been pushed beyond his limit and has gone insane. Now that he has gone insane and become a 'villain' or killer as far as the law's concerned--morally he's still in a state of limbo. How much killing three leeches will shade a basically decent person's grayness into the black is very questionable indeed. In fact, certain people might say that his grayness is still shaded towards the white. He's killed 3 people who most people wouldn't mind seeing get run over by a truck anyway. If you you were sitting on a jury, however, and you voted to let Travis off, you would be wrong. Just because someone's killed certain low-life degenerates you don't much like doesn't make him any less of a killer and justice has to be served, even if there are extenuating circumstances. So is it possible to call this guy a hero? Yes and No, but neither in any conventional sense; he's an absurd tragic 'hero' who's had to go insane to act out his 'heroism,' or he's an absurd tragic 'villain' driven to kill who is, in fact, the nicest of men! From one point of view, the whiter shade of his grayness is literally hanging by a thread, and from another, the blacker shade of his grayness is barely visible. If he had killed the politician instead, his grayness would certainly shade enough into black for most people to consider him a villain, but then again, politicians aren't exactly that far above pimps now are they? People have used the term 'anti-hero' to denote this type of absurd 'hero,' but that's as meaningless as labeling him an 'anti-villain.' Take Don Corleone as an example, or better yet, Michael Corleone. A lot of people consider a part of what Corleone does as a sort of 'heroism,' a twisted way of fighting the powers that be, the 'system.' Does this make him an absurd 'villain' or an 'anti-villain' or conversely maybe even an absurd 'hero' like Bickle? Both views are possible but the former can easily be seen to dominate. Corleone's a villain with his grayness shaded way out into the black but with enough sympathetic white elements to make him an extremely tragic figure and therefore interesting. What's special about Travis is what happens after the killings; the extreme difficulty we (whoever 'we' are) have of placing his grayness as either leaning towards the black or towards the white. And even though a lot of people take the easy way out and put him in the black, deep down they still don't believe it.
Rating:
Summary: NYC cabbie is determined to rescue child from prostitution
Review: Robert De Niro in one of his best roles as New York City cab-driver who meticulously plans the "rescue" of a 12-year old prostitute (played by 13-year old Jody Foster). The authentic view of life in the streets, complete with pimps, Johns and hookers, along with the mere thought of children being caught up in such a life is haunting. The main characters are thoroughly explored, right up to the unexpected ending. In 1976 this film caused considerable controversy, and even today it lost none of its gripp. A definite 5-star film!
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece in spite of itself
Review: First, a phenomenal faux pas on the part of Columbia Tristar Home Video's marketing department: on the cover of my copy of this landmark movie is a quote from Liz Smith: "Jodie Foster is Delightful." If there was a more inappropriate term for anything about this movie, it is "delightful." For anyone who hasn't yet seen this modern REAL horror masterpiece, it is one of the most effective studies of frustration, isolation and suppressed (for the most part) anger in today's world that I have seen on film. And, the movie works brilliantly despite all the strikes against it; Paul Schrader's psychodrama/part pulp creation may have fallen apart, were it not for Martin Scorsese's adept direction and the gritty, committed performances of the lead characters, not in the least Robert DeNiro as the alienated, deadened ex-Marine Travis Bickle. I am always fascinated by movies that have major contrasts in tone and style within them; consider the scenes with Albert Brooks and Cybill Shepherd at Palatine Headquarters, played at a (bad) sitcom level, then contrast them with the hyper-realistic scenes of Travis's customers (Scorsese has a bravura cameo as a murderously jealous husband), Harvey Keitel's greasy pimping duties, the final massacre, and for me the most unexpected and shocking display, the aftermath of the convenience store robbery which Travis is involved in. This is the stuff of nightmares. The movie is also populated with wonderfully odd supporting characters, including Travis's fellow cabbies who have a camaraderie which feels real, and the fast-talking gun salesman who brings his arsenal to Travis's apartment for a sale. After you've viewed it a few times (if you're so inclined!), questions come to mind: Why does Betsy even give Travis the time of day, especially after their incredibly awkward "lunch" together? Why has Travis's character been written as SO clueless, sometimes distracting to the point of amusement? Doesn't Bernard Herrmann's loungy main theme, complete with emoting saxophone, seem at odds with the unadorned realism the movie is presenting us? As it is, though, these aspects, contradictions and all, are what make "Taxi Driver" a unique and unforgettable experience. There are a hundred different things worth commenting on, from the look of the film, to the ironic "message" of the movie, etc. But, for those with the mettle, this is one of the best, and should be seen for those with any interest in contemporary cinema. And, oh yes, Jodie Foster is as delightful as any pre-teen prostitute could possibly be.
Rating:
Summary: Psychological Chaos!
Review: TAXI DRIVER: Robert DeNiro's portrayal of a disturbed, psychotic taxi driver is the most convincing role he ever delivered. When one watches this film they are completely taken over by his performance and literally in Travis Bickle's world. This world is hard, cold, sleazy, unforgiving, and most importantly lonesome. A person like Travis Bickle existing in reality, which he most certainly does, would probably be denounced by society. However, through the magic of Martin Scorsese and company this sadly mentally disturbed person becomes a hero and role model. Most people would find this to be a very frightening concept, but there is a little bit of Travis Bickle in every one of us. Who has gone through life without feeling lonely or unloved at one time or another? Who has never been rejected or experienced relationship problems? Who has not dreamed of doing something that they would consider "really big" in their life? Who has not joked or fantasized about taking the law into their own hands? As bad as it may sound, who has not had a fantasy about committing a gloriously violent act? From a male perspective, who has not helped or wished to save a damsal in distress? I would be hard pressed to believe that anyone could answer no to all of these questions. This movie brings one man's answer to all of these questions to life. It is a tour de force of intense real life psychological chaos.
Rating:
Summary: they... cannot... touch... her...
Review: The most beautiful words ever said in a movie. Greatest actor in film directed by one of the greatest. de Niro manages to let us look deep into the soul of (insomniac vietnam-veteran) Travis. It has all the good ingredients for a really breathtaking classic. I watch it twice a year (except for the first year of course), and never get tired of it. Truly an extraordinary good movie.
Rating:
Summary: BEST MOVIE EVER.
Review: THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER.
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