Achtung! Sooo help me out here... I watched "Taxi Driver" for the first time over the weekend, and I thought it was good BUT I didn't think it was THAT good...

smurfco

smurfco

Meatus McPrepuce
I was flipping around for something to watch and I saw Taxi Driver and thought, hey this is supposed to be a classic and I've never seen it, so I watched it. I thought it was a good movie, but it didn't seem like one of the greatest movies ever made to me. It seemed really disjointed and the guy's motivations made little sense to me (which may have been the point). And the Jodie Foster stuff was gross and made me feel gross for watching it.

So I'm assuming that I'm the problem here since true "movie buffs" must know more than I do, so what is it? Was it groundbreaking for its time or something? Is it the first time DeNiro and Scorsese worked together? Because to me it just seemed like a movie about some unhinged jerk getting increasingly unhinged. I mean it was a good movie sure but I was expecting it to have more to it I guess.

Please share your thoughts.
 
I didn’t like it either. I can understand why movie nerds would watch it to study Scorcese’s evolution as a filmmaker. But If I just want to enjoy a movie I’d rather watch Goodfellas or The Departed.
 
But why? I'm not saying it isn't, I'm saying I don't understand why it is and genuinely want someone more knowledgeable about film to tell me what it is I'm misisng.
 
Lerxst said:
When you watch a pivotal film, years after release, the art has evolved and social norms have changed so that context is missing. In this case, that film was released nearly 50 years ago so it's pretty hard to contextualize that for most of us except Blanchard and Mongooz :wink:
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And I have never seen it. I agree about the context. though. I was thinking the same thing. I remember thinking Donovan's Sunshine Superman album was an amazing recording, and it was for the time. Anyone listening to it now might find it quaint.
 
Count me in, I bought the DVD somewhere around 2000 and told my German wife it's known as one of the greatest films of all time.

She was like "What is this shit?" the whole time as I tried to congnitive dissonance my way into explaining.

I also want an explanation of what I'm missing other than "It's great" .

How the hell was he back driving a taxi right after a huge mental break, shooting up a Bordell and a failed assassination attempt while we're at it.
 
Knox in Box said:
Count me in, I bought the DVD somewhere around 2000 and told my German wife it's known as one of the greatest films of all time.

She was like "What is this shit?" the whole time as I tried to congnitive dissonance my way into explaining.

I also want an explanation of what I'm missing other than "It's great" .

How the hell was he back driving a taxi right after a huge mental break, shooting up a Bordell and a failed assassination attempt while we're at it.
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I assumed everything after the bordello scene was a dream sequence / his dying thoughts / him in a coma. It was too unlikely for it to be the real outcome.
 
De Niro grew as an actor.

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I love Taxi Driver, it's one of my top 10 films, but I can understand why others wouldn't like it.

I'm trying to think how to explain what I like about it. Unfortunately this is going to come across like 'TED Talk direct from the Mojo Dojo Casa House'. So in no particular order, I'll start with the sense of milieu. I'm a huge fan of what I'll call (for lack of a better term) 'shitty New York in the seventies' films. Also in that category we can put Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Panic in Needle Park, French Connection, Cruising, Saturday Night Fever, The Taking of Pelham 123 and a bunch of others. I love the way Taxi Driver portrays New York and an utterly busted and broken hellscape. Trash everywhere, everything is dirty and sweaty, and the steam coming up through vents give the night time city a feeling of hell.

In that hell you've got Travis Bickle, who seems utterly disconnected and out of place. Not just out of place in New York, kind out of place with the human race. He's like an alien that fell to earth and doesn't understand humans. He's a fascinating character, albeit a 'red flag' if young men get too into him (see also the driver from Drive, Heath Ledger's Joker, and TYler Durden). I like the way things aren't spelled out about him, you have to puzzle out his background and thought process (little details like his Vietnam unit jacket patch 'King Kong Company', Scorcese saw him as King Kong 'saving' Fay Wray etc.). The way Scorcese reveals his character is beautiful and evocative. Here's an example: the scene where Travis is watching Soul Train with the gun in his hand, while Jackson Browne's 'Late For the Sky' is playing. Is Travis racist? Maybe! It's not explicitly shown but Scorcese shows us Travis through hints and intimations rather than laying it all on the table. And there's such an uncomfortableness about his interactions with other people. Like he can't just talk to someone like a human. He's 'off'. The mohawk reveal is one of my fsvorite cinematic moments. I remember watching it for the first time and thinking 'oh fuck, here he goes. He's gone full psycho'. Obviously cutting his hair like that doesn't hit as hard today as it did decades ago. From that point onwards there's an inexorable path to the shocking violence of the finale (and I think it is still shocking).

I'm not going to say much about the performances, that would be a whole other borelord TED Talk by itself, but everyone's acting is terrific.

I can't finish this post without mentioning Bernard Herrmann's score. It's a noir blend of the romantic, wistful, foreboding, and disturbing. It's great.
 
You talking to me?

@smurfco I feel the same way every Oscar season about multiple movies. Don’t sweat it.

I enjoyed Taxi Driver 40 years ago. I might not like it as much if I rewatched it now.
 
smurfco said:
I was flipping around for something to watch and I saw Taxi Driver and thought, hey this is supposed to be a classic and I've never seen it, so I watched it. I thought it was a good movie, but it didn't seem like one of the greatest movies ever made to me. It seemed really disjointed and the guy's motivations made little sense to me (which may have been the point). And the Jodie Foster stuff was gross and made me feel gross for watching it.

So I'm assuming that I'm the problem here since true "movie buffs" must know more than I do, so what is it? Was it groundbreaking for its time or something? Is it the first time DeNiro and Scorsese worked together? Because to me it just seemed like a movie about some unhinged jerk getting increasingly unhinged. I mean it was a good movie sure but I was expecting it to have more to it I guess.

Please share your thoughts.
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No your not. I was stationed with guys in 84 who were in love with it said I had to watch it. I did. I said it sucked. Didn’t like the vibe at all and frankly acting was not good or believable. I thought the actors came off as acting like they can’t act. Perhaps it was the point.
 
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