Taxi Driver

"On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody."

Feb 9 1976 R 1h 54m
Crime, Drama

A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feed his urge for violent action.

Plot

Travis Bickle is an ex-Marine and Vietnam War veteran living in New York City. As he suffers from insomnia, he spends his time working as a taxi driver at night, watching porn movies at seedy cinemas during the day, or thinking about how the world, New York in particular, has deteriorated into a cesspool. He's a loner who has strong opinions about what is right and wrong with mankind. For him, the one bright spot in New York humanity is Betsy, a worker on the presidential nomination campaign of Senator Charles Palantine. He becomes obsessed with her. After an incident with her, he believes he has to do whatever he needs to make the world a better place in his opinion. One of his priorities is to be the savior for Iris, a twelve-year-old runaway and prostitute who he believes wants out of the profession and under the thumb of her pimp and lover Matthew.

Written by

Paul Schrader

Directed by

Martin Scorsese

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures, Bill/Phillips, Italo/Judeo Productions

Languages

Español, English

Awards

Nominated for 4 Oscars. 22 wins & 21 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
969,182
Average Rating
8.2 out of 10
Metascore
94
Popularity
NA