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chapter11 [ 10.0 ]
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An absolutely harrowing drama about a cabbie (Robert De Niro) tired of the decadent scourge of New York City's streets, "Taxi Driver" is a film that is absolutely worth every iota of praise devoted to it. Robert De Niro's slow burn as the psychotic Travis Bickle is every bit as disturbing and as virtuosic as his turn as Jack LaMotta in "Raging Bull," quite possibly De Niro's OTHER most heralded movie. "Taxi Driver" is the better film though, and likely to be one of the most harrowing soliloquies on violence and personal demons you'll ever see. Packed with unforgettable scenes and imagery, "Taxi Driver" truly is one of the greatest American films of all time, not to mention one of the most disturbing and affecting. From thoughtful exposition to explosive, disturbing, ultraviolent climax, "Taxi Driver" is so forcefully resonant that exorcising this gritty urban drama from your head will be the most daunting task of all.
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Holymoses54 [ 10.0 ]
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After watching this movie, John Hinckley went out and tried to kill Ronald Reagan. This would indicate that "Taxi Driver" is a worthwhile movie. In more basic terms, however, the reason this is such a good movie is because it shows how close the categories of "hero" and "psychopath" are, and indeed, how close these categories are to normal life. Travis(Robert De Niro) is a young, lonely, slightly obsessive taxi driver, who displays in the course of the movie, the two main male passions - sexual love and fatherly love. The first of these is directed towards a young professional, Betsy(Cybil Shepherd), a campaign worker for a Presidential candidate; the second towards a child prostitute, Iris acted by Jodie Foster. the first of these passions brings him into fleeting contact with the cold aloof world of US politics characterized by empty sloganeering and an absence of policies. By actually meeting the candidate, Palatine in his cab, Travis begins to instinctively realize the connection between the messed up New York streets with their pushers and prostitutes and the opportunism and cynicism of those who defile their responsibility. After being misunderstood and rejected by Betsy, these vague political misgivings crystallize around his dented male pride and lead him to plot the assassination of Palatine. As he prepares himself for this, however, his paternal feelings are aroused by the plight of Iris, the child prostitute, whom he resolves to rescue. Already living on the edge, he decides that the best way to do this is by killing her pimp. In his mind these two goals become almost identical. Killing the apathetic. patronizing politician, who is socially or politically responsible, and the pimp, who is individually responsible for the abominations of modern city life, like child prostitution, have little to separate them. Indeed, only the candidate's security guards make the difference. Foiled in his first attempt, it is only the second of these goals that he manages to accomplish. Ironically, the courage that would have had him damned as a sociopath in the first case, allows him to become a hero in the second. This film raises the question: Is someone who takes a gun and tries to blow away a President or one of the other fakirs of the frenetic passivity of ungovernment, a hero? The answer is probably yes.
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kcremer [ 9.5 ]
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There are many reasons to like this film: Robert De Niro is so perfectly creepy - as Travis Bickle, the Vietnam veteran cabbie - he made me laugh during several scenes (which may or may not have been (director) Martin Scorcese's intention); The supporting performances (Jodie Foster as a 12-year-old hooker, Harvey Keitel as Foster's pimp(!), Cybil Shephard as De Niro's initial love interest, and Peter Boyle as "Wiz", a veteran cab driver); And let's not forget Bernard Herrmann's score (without him, the shower scene from "Psycho" would not have been nearly as scary).
But the main reason I like this film so much is that I can genuinely relate to the feelings of loneliness and alienation that De Niro's Travis Bickle experiences throughout the movie (though I have enough sense not to take a first date to a porno movie!) It's a bit too gloomy for me to give it a 10, but it's still one of my favorites.
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Corto [ 10.0 ]
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One of my all time favorite movies! You rarely see such great realisim which was built by Martin Scorsese (the director), Paul Schrader (the writer) and of course Robert De Niro (the actor). Each one of these men did a 1/3 of a masterpiece and when they added their pieces togheter the result was something incredible.
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Love_Spoon [ 7.0 ]
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Absolutely harrowing film. I watched it by myself late at night, and by the time it was over, I was completely freaked out. The story of a man who becomes fed up with cokeheads, teenage prostitutes (one of which portrayed convincingly by a young Jodie Foster), and all other sorts of crime, he decides to take matters into his own hands and stealthily clean things up. This film is the source of the ever-imitated De Niro line, "You talkin' to me?" It does tell an interesting story, but I (like Leonard Maltin) am not sure that it deserves all the praise and recognition that it gets. Difficult to watch, with a reward that doesn't match the effort required.
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Tomcat [ 10.0 ]
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Aguably the best movie ever made and one of the most powerful. Deniro's performance is raw and realistic. I always watch this movie when I am feeling lonely because I seem to always relate to Travis Bickle. It is one of those films that has changed my life.
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| Weighted Rating | : 8.2 |
| No. Ratings | : 42 | |
| No. Reviews | : 14 | |
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