Taxi Driver is a classic film directed by Martin Scorsese and released in 1976. It tells the story of Travis Bickle, a Vietnam War veteran who becomes a taxi driver in New York City. Bickle is a complex and troubled character, and the film explores the various factors that contribute to his downward spiral.
One of the key themes of Taxi Driver is loneliness. Bickle is a solitary figure, and the film depicts the harsh realities of life in the city for someone who is isolated and disconnected from others. Bickle's job as a taxi driver exposes him to the dark side of the city, and he becomes increasingly disillusioned with the world around him. He feels disconnected from society, and this sense of isolation drives him to seek out ways to connect with others.
Another important theme in the film is violence. Bickle is a deeply troubled individual, and he turns to violence as a means of coping with his anger and frustration. The film portrays the destructive nature of violence, and how it can consume and destroy those who engage in it. Bickle's violent tendencies are fueled by his sense of isolation and disconnection from society, and the film suggests that this cycle of violence and isolation is difficult to break.
One of the most memorable aspects of Taxi Driver is the character of Travis Bickle himself. He is portrayed by Robert De Niro in one of his most iconic performances, and Bickle is a complex and multifaceted character. On one hand, he is deeply troubled and struggling to find his place in the world. On the other hand, he is also a deeply moral individual who is driven by a desire to do good and help others. This dichotomy is one of the most interesting aspects of Bickle's character, and it helps to make Taxi Driver a truly memorable film.
In conclusion, Taxi Driver is a classic film that explores themes of loneliness, violence, and the search for connection in a complex and troubled world. The character of Travis Bickle is a deeply compelling and memorable one, and the film remains an important work in the history of cinema.
The Masculine Oversight of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver
Iris treats Travis like some other john, endeavoring to start sex; however he rejects her come-ons with aversion. He turns them to the bigger picture. He dresses up and walks into the campaign headquarters, introduces himself, and asks Betsy out for coffee. Travis seems unable to get the girl out of his mind, and he puts the bill in a place separate from the rest of his money. Presently, Travis has worked up the nerve to stroll into the battle workplaces and approach her. Travis finally gathers the courage to ask Betsy out.
With no outlet and no one to bounce his thoughts off of, he can only have an echo chamber of increasingly resentful thoughts that lead him down a path to madness. Who else would hack through Bed-Sty or Harlem at night? After a few minutes of the pornographic film, however, Betsy runs off, disturbed and offended. Travis makes no progress in his advice-seeking from Wizard; Travis gets organized—getting his body in shape, training with guns he bought from Andy, etc. Following a couple of minutes of the obscene film, be that as it may, Betsy keeps running off, irritated and outraged. Scorsese got something out of his asthma: he knows how to make us experience the terror of suffocation. In the end, Travis is like any religious fanatic. On their date, Betsy shies away when Travis takes her to a shabby Times Square porno theater to see a X-appraised skin flick.
On the surface he appears good-looking, even handsome; he has a quiet steady look and a disarming smile which flashes from nowhere, lighting up his whole face. The cursory interview that follows tells us a great deal about Travis; even his jacket reveals his name. Daily paper features uncover that the savage shootout has changed Travis in a national legend, and he has stirred from the extreme lethargies that left him hospitalized in the wake of the shootout. He tells the interviewer that he is twenty-six years old, was honorably discharged from the Marines in 1973 indicating to viewers that he served in the Vietnam War , and that he can't sleep at night. Travis's psychotic tendencies shine through in a second theme, characterized by an unresolved, dissonant chord played by trumpets over rhythmic snare drums.
But before long, those first viewers surely realized that they were watching a work of art both more complex and more universal than that. On the right side of the frame: the sacred. As the film concludes, Travis picks up a now admiring Betsy in his cab. Another character is Betsy, a beautiful girl to whom the man has a liking, but in the end, their different social status and views become the cause of failure. His relationships with women are formulaic, few and far between for a reason. He draws nearer to the phase as Palatine is talking and goes after his firearm, yet his appearance has officially drawn the consideration of the Secret Service and however they give pursue, he figures out how to disappear. Discouraged, Bickle goes back to his routine life until he sees a child prostitute, Iris, Jodie Foster and tries to help her out by visiting her.
Taxi Driver (1976) explained: the two faces of Travis Bickle
Analysis of Narrative The story of the film is told dynamically, and the intrigue grows increasingly, without plot jumps and twists. When she takes time out for RnR with Travis, she soon realizes her mistake and abandons him for Palantine again. That same night, a child prostitute gets into Travis's cab begging him to speed away. He tries to pay Sport, her pimp, for time with her. The performances are odd and compelling: He goes for moments from his actors, rather than slowly developed characters.
Work Cited Taxi Driver. Travis gets praised for killing 'bad' lower authorities by 'bad' higher authorities, this shows that the seeking of acceptance is a fake outlet. As the police rush in, he puts his hand to his head and pretends to shoot himself. Related: There are two other Martin Scorsese movies with endings that, though not completely ambiguous, are certainly left to a certain level of viewer interpretation. Travis calls and sends flowers to the campaign office, but cannot get in touch with her. Inside his battle central station, we meet Betsy, a lovely youthful staff member with whom Travis ends up fixated.
The neon reds, the vapors that shoot up from the streets, the dilapidation all get to you the way they get to Travis. . Relationship Story Backstory Both Travis and Betsy have impossibly high expectations in a potential mate. He begins to speak more harshly and vaguely. The King Of Comedy ends with an announcer repeating different, adoring versions of " Ladies and gentlemen, Rupert Pupkin! The movie rarely strays very far from the personal, highly subjective way in which he sees the city and lets it wound him.
Taxi Driver Ending Explained: What’s Real & What’s In Travis’ Head?
Total organization is necessary. He completed his goal, leaving him once again with no purpose. And the look in Travis' eye suggests that he's certainly not in a peaceful place. He has a new autobiography out and has been surprisingly successful in showbusiness since his legal troubles. On the other hand Sister James is a history teacher. When a militarized Travis shows up at a Palantine rally, wearing a mohawk and aviator shades, he's left his real identity behind.
Everyone he notices, or chooses to notice, is accompanied by friends or their partner. The first time I saw this movie, I really sympathized with Travis for the first half of the movie. It's easy to see why this concept is so widely debated nearly 50 years later, but Scorsese's ending is still perfect for the movie. A lot of girls come into my cab, some of them very beautiful. But as he spends more time alone, his violent ideas pivot. Travis repeats himself obsessively in the "You talkin' to me" speech, and here the film itself adopts that same method.
WIZARD: What do ya expect, Bertrand Russell? He is wont to overstep boundaries in his quest for justice. As an actor, he sizzles; he has such concentrated energy that this sequence burns a small hole in the screen. Conscious Relationship Story Signpost 4 As Travis takes Betsy for a taxi drive, there is the implication that each considers renewing their relationship, but it never makes it past a passing fancy. Like the diary, this private show reveals the man Travis really is, or would really like to be. Travis externalizes all his lack of individual control literally he drives other people to their destinations, never driving for himself over the world into a fight against authority. Effect Relationship Story Response Travis thinks that being with Betsy will end loneliness and bring happiness to both of them; that giving her an unopened record will result in being invited to hear it at her place; that sending her flowers will result in her changing her mind about him; etc.
