... Taxi Driver was one of the independent films that marked the beginning of this era.
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is an ex-army veteran who spends most of his time wandering aimlessly around New York. When he gets a job as a taxi driver, he goes to the most dangerous parts of the city, ... Read review
Taxi Driver provoked fierce controversy when it was released, running into censorship ... more
problems in America as some of the scenes of violence were described to be as gory as Clockwork Orange and Straw Dogs (Evening News 76). In addition there was outcry ...
Jump into your Taxi and run throughout the streets of the city looking for passengers and ... more
dollars! Super Taxi Driver will allow you to drive the craziest taxis in the world. Fight against the time to get as many passengers as possible and collect the largest amount of tips that you can.A city can hide thousands risks the traffic benches phone booths dead end streets and the streets themselves may represent a dangerous obstacle as well. The taxi can be driven with different styles and the gameplay that will fit your needs: you can have access to the manual gears or the automatic gears that will change depending on your usage of the accelerator and the brakes. Try to use the taxis handling requirements at the maximum to avoid the dangers. In addition the environmental obstacles such as the darkness of the night snow and fog will increase the difficulty of your job. Super Taxi Driver The Original: the latest extreme driving experience.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
Drama - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Shelagh Fraser, Barbara Flynn, Keith Drinkel, Felicity Kendal, Pam Ferris, Colin Douglas
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Pat O'Connor - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over, 15 years and over - Starring: Geraldine O'Rawe, Colin Firth, Saffron Burrows, Minnie Driver, Chris O'Donnell
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: De Niro becomes Bickle; deeply psychological; gritty, raw and authentic; superb direction and cinematography; timeless Disadvantages: Too meandering for some; graphic and seedy, so not to all tastes
...exchange for raw independent films. Taxi Driver was one of the independent films that marked the beginning of this era.
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is an ex-army veteran who spends most of his time wandering aimlessly around New York. When he gets a job as a taxi driver, he goes to the most dangerous parts of the city, witnessing first hand the sleaze of the New York underworld. He becomes obsessive and idealistic, his loneliness ... ...part in "cleaning" the streets. Taxi Driver is a film whose story meanders, following the exploits of Travis more than keeping to a specific plot. It revolves around Travis' solitude, and how he thrives on the environment around him despite hating it. We witness his obsessions go from porno films, to a woman, to guns, gradually watching his lifestyle radically change, but whether for good or for bad remains to be seen.
Independent, low-budget films are usually pieces of work that develop a cult rather than appeal to the mass market. The 1970s was a decade that -- after the Hollywood glamour of the previous three decades -- saw film really coming into its own, going beyond big names and a big director in exchange for raw independent films. Taxi Driver was one of the independent films that marked the beginning of this era.
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is an ex-army veteran who spends most of his time wandering aimlessly around New York. When he gets a job as a taxi driver, he goes to the most dangerous parts of the city, witnessing first hand the sleaze of the New York underworld. He becomes obsessive and idealistic, his loneliness feeding his hate, and slowly he progresses into madness. Then, when he strikes up a relationship with a twelve-year-old prostitute, Iris (Jodie Foster), Travis decides to play his part in "cleaning" the streets. Taxi Driver is a film whose story meanders, following the exploits of Travis more than keeping to a specific plot. It revolves around Travis' solitude, and how he thrives on the environment around him despite hating it. We witness his obsessions go from porno films, to a woman, to guns, gradually watching his lifestyle radically change, but whether for good or for bad remains to be seen.
Taxi Driver is dominated by Robert De Niro, and rightfully so, as he gives one of the best performances of his career as the obsessive, lonesome Travis. He brings such depth and complexity to the role that's beyond anything most actors are capable of doing. Despite the fact Travis is an outcast, De Niro gets under the skin of his character, and brings a sympathetic element of an anti-hero to the role, much like his performance as Jake La Motta in Raging Bull four years later. In Travis the viewer sees both a psychopath and sociopath, but De Niro humanises him. Deep emotion and rage bubble beneath his eyes, a menacing, brooding quality festering within him; however, at the same time, Travis is patient, reserved, strangely ethical, as well as carrying a bizarre, anxious charm. It makes him unpredictable, but while on paper Travis may seem like a completely unlikable character, it's difficult not to feel sorry for him. Travis Bickle is one of the ultimate film characters to be analysed and studied, De Niro's personification of him absolutely electrifying in its impact. His appearance shifts like a chameleon, initially seemingly a nobody, to the threatening Mohawk haircut that has become a cult symbol. The sheer power and quality of the performance, and the obsessive effort that went into it, serves as a sad reminder of how the peak of De Niro's career is over.
But while De Niro is very much at the forefront, the film wouldn't be the same without Scorsese's direction and Paul Schrader's script. The dialogue is as raw and authentic as is possible to get in film, whilst the direction captures New York like no other film. We don't see the famous landmarks and locations are largely nameless, lost in the maze of the city. The sleaze and seediness of the underworld looms, and soon the viewer is as immersed in New York as Travis is. Bustling streets, greasy diners, shabby apartments, rundown corner shops, gloomy midnight cinemas, and most prominently, the taxi itself are all major supporting protagonists that Scorsese doesn't hesitate to include. The atmosphere is ominous and mystical, expertly established by the fact that we view it through Travis' eyes, from inside the safe haven of the taxi. Many classic elements of Scorsese are in the film - tracking shots and monologues, for example - and his attention to detail exceeds his other work, but it's one of his most original and least self-indulgent piece. He leaves behind the familiarity of Little Italy and the larger-than-life characters and produces something very different. Indeed, he doesn't rely on a soundtrack to drive the scenes, routing for Bernard Hermann's famous score, and one or two obscure but effective songs. Scorsese's true talent, most prominently seen in Taxi Driver out of all his films, is how they don't age; Taxi Driver is timeless, and not in the least part old-fashioned. Its direction and acting, as well as the grit and authenticity, ensures this. It's difficult to fault Scorsese's direction, as he simultaneously combines fine acting with the backdrop of a colourful city punctuated by staggering atmosphere.
Some of the characters that populate Scorsese's New York further this. Harvey Keitel's pimp, Peter Boyle's profound cabbie, Albert Brooks' sardonic campaign worker, Cybill Shepherd's radiant blonde, Martin Scorsese's homicidal passenger are all testament to the energy and brilliance of the film. Jodie Foster's twelve-year-old prostitute adds a lot of charm and emotional backing, her performance so accomplished that not only does she standout from the rest of the supporting cast, but it also inspired drifter John Hinckley to shoot Ronald Reagan as a result of his obsession for her. Nonetheless, the film is dominated by its two main characters; Travis and New York.
It's rare that a film can't be faulted, but as a piece of direction and acting, Taxi Driver is flawless. While not to everyone's taste in its plodding pace and graphic but inexplicit content, it's inspired filmmaking. Disturbing, meandering, gritty, raw and mystical, as well as low-key, brooding and minimalistic, Taxi Driver is one of the films that was the pinnacle of the 70s, and is one of the amazing achievements of movie history.
...one of my favourite films. Taxi Driver.
THE CINEMA EXPERIENCE
What is it about going to the cinema that I like so much? According to some people my wife included, cinema going is a very antisocial experience. You turn up sit in silence, can't speak to each other, can't stop the film and go and make a cup of tea or go to the toilet without missing some of the film, on the face of it not a great night out. However this is missing the point, watching ... ...Schrader Taxi Driver was made in 1976 when I was just 12 years old and as it was an 18 (or X as they used to say in those halcyon days!) certificate I wasn't able to see it until a few years later. I eventually saw it at the local cinema in 1980, I remember this well because it was the first X rated film I went to see, the local cinema was very lax about letting in under age viewers and since I was reasonably tall for 16 and could ask for my ticket ...
Mauri 15.07.2002 (07.03.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Taxi Driver (DVD)
Advantages: De Niro and Martin Scorcese at their very best. Disadvantages: Violence is very graphic, and could upset some viewers.
...occasions while cruising in his taxi he comes across a very young prostitute, (Jodie Foster) and he develops a fixation with freeing her from the clutches of her pimp Michael, (Harvey Keitel) and returning her to her home town and her parents.
It is a little hard to picture Harvey Keitel as a hippy pimp, complete with shoulder length hair and bandana, but he carries off the part to perfection.
The film gradually builds to an extremely bloody and ... ...disturb some viewers even today with its ferocity and scenes of graphic violence, that leave little to the imagination.
~ ~ There are many other golden moments and scenes to savour in this fascinating movie, which I still rate as one of the very best that Martin Scorcese ever directed.
There is a scene where De Niro’s character Bickle hires the illicit services of Foster in order to get close enough to talk to her, and where she is intent ...
the_mad_cabbie 24.04.2001 (21.10.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Taxi Driver (DVD)
...Scorcese and Robert De Niro. Taxi Driver won the Golden Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival and received award nominations left right and centre after its release. It is a deeply disturbing study of a Vietnam veteran's decent into madness after having returned from the war and seeing nothing but scum around him on the streets. THIS is what he fought for? He is an insomniac and spends the night driving his taxi around the filth ridden streets of ... ...of its harshness and depravity. Taxi Driver is a deeply paranoid view of modern day life, aided and abetted by Bernard Hermann's most menacing score since Psycho and dark, grainy cinematography coupled with De Niro's superb performance. We watch fascinated and terrified as he slowly becomes increasingly alienated before finally snapping in the final much maligned scene which Scorcese still claims is a cleansing ritual which exonerates De Niro's character...rather ...
wampyrii 28.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Taxi Driver (DVD)
Advantages: Incredible direction, performances and writing. Disadvantages: None.
...Ford's The Searchers, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver tells the tale of Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro in an iconic, legendary, career-defining performance), a Vietnam veteran serving as a night-shift cabbie on the streets of New York City. An unhinged, socially inept loner, Travis, having been rejected by the woman he has fallen in love - or lust - with, attempts first to assassinate the presidential candidate for whom said woman was working, and then ... ...and Scorsese's own Mean Streets, Taxi Driver helped to cement in the public imagination the image of New York as a dangerous, sin-sodden, nocturnal netherworld populated primarily by pimps, hustlers, hookers, gangsters and psychos. In stark contrast to the New York envisioned by, say, Woody Allen, these films presented a bleak, postmodern inferno of corruption and depravity, a place with no heroes, only twisted simulacrums of such, where the populace ...
DavidJay 10.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Taxi Driver (DVD)
Advantages: Robert de Niro and everything else Disadvantages: Nothing, really
...behind the wheel of his taxi which itself becomes a character in the picture. He contemplates the vision of violent justice handled with a shotgun. He buys a whole arsenal of fire arms on the street, just as a kid would buy sweets behind their parents' back. He keeps a morbid diary and contemplates in the mirror his deviant image of power, wearing his guns as extensions of his body and tormented mind. It is this scene which produced arguably the ... ...scene as one of Bickle's taxi passengers (a stalker determined to kill his unfaithful girlfriend) further contributing to the dark, full-blooded atmosphere of the film. His direction is defining.
But, as I suggested in the beginning, "Taxi Driver" is not best remembered for its subject and direction, but for Robert de Niro's performance. In it, the actor purely and simply redefines acting: he doesn't play a character incredibly well, but IS that ...
C_C_Ryder 24.10.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Taxi Driver (DVD)
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Advantages: An absolute classic, De Niro at his best Disadvantages: None
'TaxiDriver' is a film made in 1976 and is directed by Martin Scorcese.
The film centres around a New York cabbie called Travis Bickle (played by Robert De Niro) that is having some issues with identity.
Travis develops an affection for Betsy (played by Cybill Shepherd) who works as a campaigner for a political candidate. Travis and Betsy have a real connection, but their respective upbringings and social backgrounds present a few problems when it comes to communication. Much to the devastation of Travis, his relationship with Betsy is cut short and she sets about completely ignoring him.
On a routine pick up, a 12 year old girl Iris (played by Jodie Foster) gets in his cab in a rush and very distressed but an older man 'Sport' (played by Harvey Keitel) persuades her not to take the trip to wherever she was headed. Travis is ...
Advantages: Great laughs throughout Disadvantages: ???
in the audience of this dvd include,famous faces from Coronation Street.
The dvd lasts about an hour and a half and contains NO extra scenes.
Which would have been nice,as I know that any extra scenes from Peter Kay would have been hilarious.
Peters main style consists of making jokes about the everyday things that we do.
For example the 'Walking to the Dance Floor Dance',which im afraid the majority of us have probably done,and being at Weddings and family occasions,where a whole host of strange relatives come out of the woodwork!
Kay starts the DVD off,by getting a Taxi with Boltons famous TaxiDriver:Mr Bee.
Mr Bee tries out many jokes and ideas for a catchy slogan for his taxi company on Kay,much to his disbelief.
They also pick up two women who are on their way to see Kay and are worried about missing the show.
Then ...
Advantages: The videos and special features Disadvantages: The layout of the DVD intro selections
' has to be one of the best car chase scenes. This video is about a taxidriver kidnaps Anthony Kiedis (the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers), the guitarist and bassist chase after the taxidriver to try and save Anthony. As we see in the special features of this DVD, the stunt manager had this thoroughly thought out and had to choriograph all the cars on set including a school bus, other taxis, other cars, the taxi being driven by the kidnapper and the car with the guitarist and bassist of the band. I also took a shine to the video of 'Californication' because it is set out like a video game. There are some very comic videos such as 'Universally Speaking' with a Jackass-like character tries to sneak into a Chili Peppers gig and on the other hand there are some sad videos like 'Scar Tissue' where the Chili Peppers are battered ...
Contains strong language, violence and sex references
Video Category
Feature Film
Plot
Martin Scorsese's intense film, a hallmark of 1970s filmmaking, graphically depicts the tragic consequences of urban alienation when a New York City taxi driver goes on a murderous rampage against the pitiable denizens inhabiting the city's underbelly. For psychotic, pistol-packing Vietnam vet Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), New York City seems like a circle of hell. Driving his cab each night through the bleak Manhattan streets, Bickle observes with fanatical loathing the sleazy lowlifes who comprise most of his fares. By day he haunts the porno theaters of 42nd Street, taking his cues from the violent vision of life portrayed in these movies. As badly as Travis wants to connect with the people around him including Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a lovely blonde campaign worker, and Iris (Jodie Foster), a prepubescent prostitute he tries to save his attempts are thwarted and his pent-up rage grows, turning him into a Mohawk-wearing walking time bomb. Paul Schrader's screenplay is filmed with a tragic realism by Scorsese, which brilliantly captures the muck and grime of New York City. De Niro, playing the fragile hero, steps inside his role so far that the results are deeply frightening. Bernard Herrmann's haunting score which turned out to be his last completes the urban nightmare.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Behind The Scenes Documentary, Video Photo Gallery, Original Screenplay, Storyboard Sequence, Advertising Materials, US Theatrical, Filmographies
Aspect Ratio
1.85 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby 2.0, Mono
Dubbing Sound
Dolby 2.0 English Mono French German
Professional reviews
Review
De Niro's performance and the direction of Martin Scorcese make TAXI DRIVER one of the pivotal films of the 70s...disturbing and endlessly watchable (Empire, )
DVD Description
Martin Scorsese's intense film, a hallmark of 1970s filmmaking, graphically depicts the tragic consequences of urban alienation when a New York City taxi driver goes on a murderous rampage against the pitiable denizens inhabiting the city's underbelly. For psychotic, pistol-packing Vietnam vet Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), New York City seems like a circle of hell. Driving his cab each night through the bleak Manhattan streets, Bickle observes with fanatical loathing the sleazy lowlifes who comprise most of his fares. By day he haunts the porno theaters of 42nd Street, taking his cues from the violent vision of life portrayed in these movies. As badly as Travis wants to connect with the people around him including Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a lovely blonde campaign worker, and Iris (Jodie Foster), a prepubescent prostitute he tries to save his attempts are thwarted and his pent-up rage grows, turning him into a Mohawk-wearing walking time bomb. Paul Schrader's screenplay is filmed with a tragic realism by Scorsese, which brilliantly captures the muck and grime of New York City. De Niro, playing the fragile hero, steps inside his role so far that the results are deeply frightening. Bernard Herrmann's haunting score which turned out to be his last completes the urban nightmare.
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