History Film / TaxiDriver

* BoringButPractical: The .38 snubnose revolver that Easy Andy sells to Travis as opposed to the [[HandCannon .44 Magnum]] who he notes is too big for concealment and everyday use.

* CelebrityParadox: Betsy is a fan of Creator/KrisKristofferson...who was in Scorsese's previous film ''Film/AliceDoesntLiveHereAnyMore''.

** The shot of Travis putting a tablet into a glass of water and the overhead angle watching it slowly dissolve is an allusion to a famous scene in Creator/JeanLucGodard's ''Two or Three Things I Know About Her''. Likewise the opening sequence of Travis driving with his eyes reflected in the rear-view mirror is a ShoutOut to Creator/NicholasRay's ''Film/InALonelyPlace''.

The film was written by Creator/PaulSchrader and inspired by a CreatorBreakdown he'd experienced in the mid-1970s which he hoped to get out of by "exorcism through art" (his words). Creator/BrianDePalma was originally tabbed to direct, but the film's producers decided to go with Scorsese instead after seeing ''Film/MeanStreets''. It's notable for containing both one of De Niro's most iconic roles and Creator/JodieFoster's breakout role, as a child prostitute (she was twelve years old at the time).[[note]]The same year Foster was playing a pubescent hooker in this film, she was appearing in the Disney family film ''Film/{{Freaky Friday|1976}}''.[[/note]]

Made on a low budget but with heart and passion, the film was shot extensively on location in New York City in the 1970s and remains the defining portrait of TheBigRottenApple through capturing the pre-Dinkins era of the city. Its shots of Times Square's seedy porn district, the Alphabet City area where the movie ends and the fairly accurate chart of geography (rare for its time) made it a defining portrait of an American city. It won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for several Oscars, and was a box-office success, making roughly 15 times its budget back in revenue.

While controversial in its release, it became positively notorious when [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hinckley_Jr John Hinckley, Jr.]] cited it as the source of his obsession with star Jodie Foster and indirect influence on his failed assassination of [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan President Reagan]]. Knowing this, makes several scenes, including where Bickle appears to be about to shoot Senator Palantine, [[HarsherInHindsight a different experience to watch]].

!!"Are you troping to me? Are you troping to me? I don't see anyone else here, so you must be troping to me!":

* DyingDream: A common theory about the ending, since [[spoiler:Travis is let off for brutally murdering multiple people in front of a 12-year old girl, reunites said 12-year-old girl with her parents, gets his brief girlfriend back, and ''keeps his job with the cab company''.]] Word Of God says no, however.

* RealityEnsues: The final shootout is about an unglamorous a depiction of gun violence as you'll ever see.

* BungledSuicide: [[spoiler: Travis tries to shoot himself after killing the three thugs. He fails, as he has run out of bullets.]]

* ImportantHaircut: Travis has two. For most of the film, he has relatively short hair for the 1970s, slightly untidy but in no way hip. Around about the scene where he starts stalking Palantine, he has it cut shorter to something like a military crew-cut. When he's finally ready to go on the rampage, he gets the famous mohawk. After the final showdown and his convalescence we see him return to his first hair-style.

* MoralDissonance: Thanks for shooting up that den of prostitutes, you heroic rogue. Screenwriter Schrader said on DVD commentary that the fact that Bickle was worshipped as a hero was meant to be ironic, and that he would ''not'' be a hero when he snapped again (the cymbal crash and the look in his eyes in the rearview mirror at the end implied that he was as unstable as ever.).

** In RealLife, the ''very'' loony John Hinckley Jr. was inspired by this film to attempt to assassinate UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, as detailed above.

The film was written by Creator/PaulSchrader and inspired by a CreatorBreakdown he'd experienced in the mid-1970s which he hoped to get out of by "exorcism through art" (his words). Creator/BrianDePalma was originally tabbed to direct, but the film's producers decided to go with Scorsese instead after seeing ''Film/MeanStreets''. It's notable for containing both one of De Niro's most iconic roles and Creator/JodieFoster's breakout role, as a [[JailBait child prostitute]] (she was twelve years old at the time).[[note]]The same year Foster was playing a pubescent hooker in this film, she was appearing in the Disney family film ''Film/{{Freaky Friday|1976}}''.[[/note]]

* AuthorAvatar: Travis for Paul Schrader, though Schrader obviously never went on a shooting spree (that we know of anyway).

* HollywoodPersonalityDisorders: This movie is often used to show the schizotypal one.

Creator/CybillShepherd, Creator/HarveyKeitel, Creator/AlbertBrooks, and Creator/PeterBoyle also appear in the film, and Music/BernardHerrmann composed the music score (his last).[[note]]He died just hours after completing the last recording session.[[/note]] Both De Niro and Foster received Oscar nominations.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guy_peellaert_taxi_driver.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''[[{{Tagline}} On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.]][[note]]Original poster by Guy Peellaert.[[/note]]]]

One of Creator/MartinScorsese's most famous movies, made in 1976, ''Taxi Driver'' is the story of Travis Bickle (Creator/RobertDeNiro), an insomniac and depressed New York City [[TheTaxi cab driver]] who becomes obsessed with [[TheScourgeOfGod cleansing the city of human "trash"]] and goes insane.

The film was written by Creator/PaulSchrader and inspired by a CreatorBreakdown he'd experienced in the mid-1970s which he hoped to get out of by "exorcism through art" (his words). The project was originally going to be directed by Creator/BrianDePalma and languished for years until it attracted the attention of Scorsese and Creator/RobertDeNiro. It's notable for containing both one of De Niro's first massive roles and Creator/JodieFoster's breakout role, as a [[JailBait child prostitute]] (she was twelve years old at the time).[[note]]The same year Foster was playing a pubescent hooker in this film, she was appearing in the Disney family film ''Film/{{Freaky Friday|1976}}''.[[/note]]

Cybill Shepherd, Creator/HarveyKeitel, Creator/AlbertBrooks, and Creator/PeterBoyle also appear in the film, and Music/BernardHerrmann composed the music score (his last).[[note]]He died just hours after completing the last recording session.[[/note]] Both De Niro and Foster received Oscar nominations.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[{{Tagline}} On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody]]. Original poster by Guy Peellaert.]]

One of Creator/MartinScorsese's most famous movies, made in 1976, it's the story of Travis Bickle (Creator/RobertDeNiro), an insomniac and depressed New York City [[TheTaxi cab driver]] who becomes obsessed with [[TheScourgeOfGod cleansing the city of human "trash"]] and goes insane.

The film was written by Creator/PaulSchrader and was inspired by a CreatorBreakdown he'd experienced in the mid 1970s and which he hoped to get out of by "exorcism through art" (his words). The project was originally going to be directed by Brian De Palma and languished for years until it attracted the attention of Scorsese and Creator/RobertDeNiro and is notable for being one of De Niro's first massive roles and for Creator/JodieFoster's breakout role, as a [[JailBait child prostitute]] (she was twelve years old at the time).[[note]]The same year Foster was playing a pubescent hooker in this film, she was appearing in Disney family film ''Film/{{Freaky Friday|1976}}''[[/note]] Cybill Shepherd, Creator/HarveyKeitel, Creator/AlbertBrooks, and Creator/PeterBoyle also appear in the film, and Music/BernardHerrmann composed the music score (his last).[[note]]He died just hours after completing the last recording session.[[/note]] Both De Niro and Foster received Oscar nominations.)

Made on a low-budget but with heart and passion, the film was shot extensively on location in New York City in the 1970s and remains the defining glimpse of TheBigRottenApple pre-Dinkins era of the city, its shots of Times Square's seedy porn district, the Alphabet City area where the movie ends and the fairly accurate chart of geography (rare for its time) made it a defining portrait of an American city. It won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for several Oscars, and was a box-office success, making roughly 15 times its budget back in revenue.

Made on a low-budget but with heart and passion, the film was shot extensively on location in New York City in the 1970s and remains the defining glimpse of TheBigRottenApple pre-Giuliani era of the city, its shots of Times Square's seedy porn district, the Alphabet City area where the movie ends and the fairly accurate chart of geography (rare for its time) made it a defining portrait of an American city. It won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for several Oscars, and was a box-office success, making roughly 15 times its budget back in revenue.

See also Film/TheKingOfComedy, another Scorsese-directed film about a mentally-ill loner, now in BlackComedy flavor.

* {{Adorkable}}: In a different setting, Travis might be this but his awkward personality just makes him off-putting here. Some of it still shines through though, particularly when he's trying to court Betsy or attempting to convince Iris to change her ways.

-->'''Travis:''' Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I am God's lonely man.

* AssholeVictim: We're not supposed to cheer the carnage but Travis' victims (Robbers and pimps) do fall under this category.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Using a [[HandCannon .44 Magnum]] for self-defense, [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded by Easy Andy]] who recommends a [[BoringButPractical snubnose .38]] instead. [[spoiler:True to Andy's warnings it proves to be pretty useless in the climax. Travis only gets off one shot and a non-fatal one at that. His other guns prove to be much more practical.]]

** Travis somewhat, by the end of the movie (of course to a much lesser extent than the above example).

** The conversation between him and Wizard is the ultimate example where Wizard more or less provides existentialist ideas as the word on the street picked it up in the 70s, and Travis more or less sees that as bull-shit and Wizard shrugs and admits he isn't Bertrand Russell and tells him YouNeedToGetLaid.

One of Creator/MartinScorsese's most famous movies, made in 1976, it's the story of an insomniac and depressed New York City [[TheTaxi cab driver]] (Travis Bickle, played by Creator/RobertDeNiro) who becomes obsessed with [[TheScourgeOfGod cleansing the city of human "trash"]] and goes insane.

** Confirmed InUniverse. One of the news articles at the ending of the movie states that Travis was apart of a Special forces unit while in service.

The film was written by Creator/PaulSchrader and was inspired by a CreatorBreakdown he'd experienced in the mid 1970s and which he hoped to get out of by "exorcism through art" (his words). The project was originally going to be directed by Brian De Palma and languished for years until it attracted the attention of Scorsese and Creator/RobertDeNiro and is notable for being one of De Niro's first massive roles and for Creator/JodieFoster's breakout role, as a [[JailBait child prostitute]] (she was twelve years old at the time).[[note]]The same year Foster was playing a pubescent hooker in this film, she was appearing in Disney family film ''Film/{{Freaky Friday|1976}}''[[/note]] Cybill Shepherd, Creator/HarveyKeitel, Creator/AlbertBrooks, and Creator/PeterBoyle also appear in the film, and Music/BernardHerrmann composed the music score (his last). Both De Niro and Foster received Oscar nominations.)

Not to be confused with ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'', an AwfulBritishSexComedy that came out at about the same time.