6. USA - Taxi Driver

Around The World In 8mm

Taxi Driver is the story of a deeply troubled man. He can’t sleep despite working all day and spending hours at porn theatres so he decides to drive a taxi in New York at night. He doesn’t have any qualms about going to any parts of the city, just wants to get through the night. He clearly is struggling with PTSD, a term that didn’t even exist at the time the film was written and made. Well of course the disorder existed, we just hadn’t defined it properly. He is deeply dissatisfied with what he sees around him, the streets of New York, the sex and drugs-infused streets of the city after the sun goes down, and wishes for some cleansing rain to clean off all the filth. He is also a lost man looking for a purpose in life, wanting to matter. Title: Taxi Driver Year: 1976 Director: Martin Scorsese Cinematographer: Michael Chapman Producer: Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips Screenplay: Paul Schrader Music: Bernard Herrmann Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks Editing: Marcia Lucas, Tom Rolf, Melvin Shapiro Score: Bernard Herrmann Runtime: 1hr 56m Genre: Neo-noir, psychological thriller Rating: IMDB 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes 96% Awards: Palme d'Or [Cannes, 1977], and more.