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Reviews
STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED
Unmissable 5 Stars
Excellent 4 Stars
Good 3 Stars
Poor 2 Stars
Tragic 1 Star

FILM DETAILS
Certificate
18
Cast
Robert De Niro
Cybill Shepherd
Jodie Foster
Harvey Keitel.
Directors
Martin Scorsese.
Screenwriters
Paul Schrader.
Running Time
114 minutes

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Taxi Driver
Scorsese's Big bad apple


Plot
Travis Bickle drives cabs all night. He can't sleep. But what he sees whilst cruising the NY city streets he finds so disgusting that it drives him to a climactic moment of violence, which some may deem equally disgusting.

Review
Taxi Driver
Many years have passed since nutjob cab driver Travis Bickle (De Niro) first washed the scum off the street, and the intervening years have done little to diminish his power to unnerve and rivet.

Bickle's odyssey, which sees him date a blonde angel (Shepherd) and save a kid hooker (an astonishing Foster), remains filmmaking at its most electric a tight, darkly funny Paul Schrader script, allied with Scorseses directorial fireworks and anchored by a wired De Niro working at the top of his game.

Bickle's yellow box cruising New York (this is the underbelly of the Big Apple that gives Woody Allen nightmares), Scorsese's backseat cameo, Bickle trying on guns, Bernard Herrmans brooding soundtrack, the OTT bloodbath at the finish - everything in this movie gets under your skin and stays with you like fever.


Verdict
The blend of Schrader's script, Scorsese's direction and De Niro's performance is both riveting and unnerving. A film that will stay with you forever.


Reviewed by


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Your Reviews

Average user rating for Taxi Driver
Empire Star Rating

Brilliant. Still relevant after all these years. De Niro's best performance and Scorsese's first masterpiece. So real you feel like you need to take a shower when you watch it. Great work by Foster, Boyle, Keitel, and surprisingly Shepherd who plays a nothing woman desperate to attach herself to something or someone big. Excellent movie. Profound metaphor and portrayal of modern life. ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by lynnshep at 21:59, 16 April 2007 | Report This Post


RE: Taxi Driver

Ya, fantastic movie-what he said.... ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by ednamode at 18:38, 23 February 2007 | Report This Post


RE: Taxi Driver

Life is full of difficult 'which is better?' scenarios. The Beatles or The Stones? Ferrari or Porsche? Salt or sweet? Kylie or Dannii? One eternal musing that often surfaces in the world of cinema concerns the greatest performance of Robert DeNiro. Following much debate, the choices are always whittled down to two clear standouts; Travis Bickle and Jake LaMotta. It's a difficult one to call but one thing that is certainly clear; Travis Bickle is the more unique of the two, possibly more so than... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by Biggus at 16:34, 22 February 2007 | Report This Post


A classic

Casino is better,but this is still a masterpiece. ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by jcallan at 19:32, 13 February 2007 | Report This Post


brilliant movie not as good as casino or goodfellas but still a brilliant classic ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by casino at 21:01, 18 January 2007 | Report This Post


This was Robert De Niro Martin Scorsese's first major picture, and in this single film they paved a film career for both of them. The film is gripping and effective in it's twisting of morals; constantly asking the question when does the hero become the villian and vice versa. De Niro holds the focus of the film at all time - taking in his stride and totally captivating the audience from the opening credits. New York city has never been shot so well, yet looking so terrible, the camera work is s... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by ukedge87 at 12:31, 07 January 2007 | Report This Post


This was Robert De Niro Martin Scorsese's first major picture, and in this single film they paved a film career for both of them. The film is gripping and effective in it's twisting of morals; constantly asking the question when does the hero become the villian and vice versa. De Niro holds the focus of the film at all time - taking in his stride and totally captivating the audience from the opening credits. New York city has never been shot so well, yet looking so terrible, the camera work is s... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by ukedge87 at 12:31, 07 January 2007 | Report This Post


"you talking to me, who the fuck you talking to."

The "you talking to me" scene is enough to give this film five stars. It is one god damn good film. The film gets off to a slow start but boy is it worth a watch. Watch out for the exellent peformrnces from Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Jodie Foster. ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by solid snake at 19:58, 19 October 2006 | Report This Post


u talkin to me?

This is cinema at its best, scorcese's finest hour, De niro plays the fantastically twisted Bickle with aplomb, the supporting cast down to Peter Boyle as th 'wizard' is inspired, it casts a dark shadow over the seedy, steamy street of New York that will haunt you forever, Even down to the superb score from Bernard Herrman, i have watched this film a dozen times & it still leaves cold at its climax, amust for any film fan's collection, watch it! ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by jaysonski at 16:16, 17 July 2006 | Report This Post


u talkin to me?

This is cinema at its best, scorcese's finest hour, De niro plays the fantastically twisted Bickle with aplomb, the supporting cast down to Peter Boyle as th 'wizard' is inspired, it casts a dark shadow over the seedy, steamy street of New York that will haunt you forever, Even down to the superb score from Bernard Herrman, i have watched this film a dozen times & it still leaves cold at its climax, amust for any film fan's collection, watch it! ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by jaysonski at 16:16, 17 July 2006 | Report This Post


this film is a collosus in the movie industry. the acting is pure genius and have never looked at NY in the same way as i used to: famous actors and nice hotels. Travis Bickle is such a good character and the story is just about one bum in the world and what he does to try and help one other person with problems. genius ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by dazz at 19:30, 05 June 2006 | Report This Post


The Best Film Ever Made! ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by Naweed_1 at 17:03, 11 March 2006 | Report This Post


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