Taxi Driver

Started by Keener, April 25, 2003, 08:49:16 PM

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©brad

Quote from: Lucinda BryteI still think I am missing something. Usually I am so good at understanding films but...

It seemed like Taxi Driver had no story whatsoever and it was just about his isolation from society and then it ended. It just seemed like the film had no point. I DO like how it was shot though.

Someone please prove me wrong.. Or agree with me or something. I just keep hearing how great this film is and I watched it again and I either didn't get it, or didn't like it.

well first off, u shouldn't feel as if u have to luv the movie just because its a staple in film enthusiasm 101 or whatever. u don't have to luv the canons, but u can find things in them that r redeemable. as u said, u like the way it was shot.

im hesitant to recite one of the umteenth papers ive written on taxi driver and scorsese. (ill be happy to forward them to u, or better yet, link u to professional pieces on the film that do it far more justice than i could) point being, u need not fret over not liking the film simply b/c u feel that u have to.

Alexandro

Quote from: Lucinda BryteI still think I am missing something. Usually I am so good at understanding films but...

It seemed like Taxi Driver had no story whatsoever and it was just about his isolation from society and then it ended. It just seemed like the film had no point. I DO like how it was shot though.

Someone please prove me wrong.. Or agree with me or something. I just keep hearing how great this film is and I watched it again and I either didn't get it, or didn't like it.

Maybe it would help if you read Roger Ebert's review of Taxi Driver...is on his site under the Great Movies section...

Lucinda Bryte

Hello person, I love you too!

And yeah it's not so much that I feel like I have to like it (well actually it sort of is) ... I just feel like I am out of the loop BECAUSE I don't like it.

Crash

Sigur wrote:
Quotefuckin' love this film. I've never seen a better De Niro.

i'd have to say that i liked de niro alot in Casino and his most bodacious cameo in the Godfather!! rock on buddy boy!![/quote]
"Drum roll please...I'm gonna be a screenwriter! Like you!"

Just Withnail

Quote from: CrashSigur wrote:
Quotefuckin' love this film. I've never seen a better De Niro.

i'd have to say that i liked de niro alot in Casino and his most bodacious cameo in the Godfather!! rock on buddy boy!!
[/quote]

No way you can call his genious turn in Godfather pt.2 a cameo, it deserves more than that.


Taxi Driver is to me is a story of how a superhero would function in the real world. It's the most realistic superhero flick, ever. Not that I rank it alongside X-Men and Spider-Man (or worse: Daredevil and the Schumacher Batmans) - no way in hell will I belittle this genious piece of art to that, but it bears many recemblance's with the genre. It's the classic origin story: We meet the guy with the special gift; he doesn't sleep at night. He utilizes his powers for something trivial and unimportant; driving a cab. Whilst doing this, he slowly discovers wrongs waiting to be made right, so he decides to use his "powers" to serve the common good. He's Peter Parker with a mohawk  :wink:  :twisted: Hell, in the end he even makes his own cosume (mohawk and army jacket) as well as a personalized arsenal, before embarking on his final battle. What it also shows is how the superheroes of fantasy could never work. To elevate themself from the scum of humanity in order to defeat its evils, you'd have to distance yourself from it completely, anything else would be hypocrisy. Travis recognizes that there are evils to defeat everywhere, and thus he isolates himself from society completely. This would never work in reality, which is why it doesn't work in Taxi Driver. Taking his date to a porn flick is probably the best example of this.

BUT with the genious of Scorsese behind the camera and DeNiro in front, this is of course not comparable to any superhero flick, this is a classic merger of direction, performance and story. The movie that comes once in each directors career, where his directing abilities meet the script that perfectly articulates them. It's a masterpiece.

ElPandaRoyal

Quote from: Withnail
Quote from: CrashSigur wrote:
fuckin' love this film. I've never seen a better De Niro.

i'd have to say that i liked de niro alot in Casino and his most bodacious cameo in the Godfather!! rock on buddy boy!![/quote][/quote]

No way you can call his genious turn in Godfather pt.2 a cameo, it deserves more than that.


Taxi Driver is to me is a story of how a superhero would function in the real world. It's the most realistic superhero flick, ever. Not that I rank it alongside X-Men and Spider-Man (or worse: Daredevil and the Schumacher Batmans) - no way in hell will I belittle this genious piece of art to that, but it bears many recemblance's with the genre. It's the classic origin story: We meet the guy with the special gift; he doesn't sleep at night. He utilizes his powers for something trivial and unimportant; driving a cab. Whilst doing this, he slowly discovers wrongs waiting to be made right, so he decides to use his "powers" to serve the common good. He's Peter Parker with a mohawk  :wink:  :twisted: Hell, in the end he even makes his own cosume (mohawk and army jacket) as well as a personalized arsenal, before embarking on his final battle. What it also shows is how the superheroes of fantasy could never work. To elevate themself from the scum of humanity in order to defeat its evils, you'd have to distance yourself from it completely, anything else would be hypocrisy. Travis recognizes that there are evils to defeat everywhere, and thus he isolates himself from society completely. This would never work in reality, which is why it doesn't work in Taxi Driver. Taking his date to a porn flick is probably the best example of this.

BUT with the genious of Scorsese behind the camera and DeNiro in front, this is of course not comparable to any superhero flick, this is a classic merger of direction, performance and story. The movie that comes once in each directors career, where his directing abilities meet the script that perfectly articulates them. It's a masterpiece.[/quote]

If you ever run for president of the world, I'll vote for you.
Si


Bruce Lee

If this film was personified i would make love to it until my happy sack fell off.
This is what eyes and ears were invented for.

SoNowThen

Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

ElPandaRoyal

Quote from: Bruce LeeIf this film was personified i would make love to it until my happy sack fell off.
This is what eyes and ears were invented for.

You, sir, are the most interesting pervert I've ever seen in my whole life. And believe me, i have seen pervs...
Si

meatball

So, is there going to be another special edition DVD for this with Scorcese commentary, etc. now that he's releasing special editions for his other films?

MacGuffin

Quote from: meatballSo, is there going to be another special edition DVD for this with Scorcese commentary, etc. now that he's releasing special editions for his other films?

http://xixax.com/viewtopic.php?t=4794
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

brockly

De Niro And Scorsese Discuss Taxi Driver Sequel
Screen legend Robert De Niro has reunited with iconic director Martin Scorsese to work on a sequel to their classic movie Taxi Driver. The Oscar-winning actor, who starred as disturbed Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle in the 1976 film, has confirmed the movie veterans are mulling over script ideas for a follow-up to the gritty original. Apart from his comedy turn in Meet The Parents and its recent sequel Meet The Fockers, De Niro has starred in a series of flop films - and critics are hoping Travis Bickle's resurrection will restore his reputation as one of the greatest dramatic actors of all time. De Niro, 61, says, "I was talking with Martin Scorsese about doing what I guess you'd call a sequel to Taxi Driver, where he is older."

cine

Quote from: brocklyDe Niro And Scorsese Discuss Taxi Driver Sequel
This is a TERRIBLE idea. Anyone else have thoughts about this?

ono

Taxi Driver SPOILERS
I always assumed Bickle died at the end.  I mean, WTF?