TAXI DRIVER
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film[6][7] directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and taxi driver Travis Bickle, whose mental state deteriorates as he works nights in the city. The film also stars Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks in his first film role.
With The Wrong Man (1956) and A Bigger Splash (1973) as inspiration, Scorsese wanted the film to feel like a dream to audiences.[citation needed] Filming began in the summer of 1975 in New York City, with actors taking pay cuts to ensure that the project could be completed on a low budget of $1.9 million. Production concluded that same year. Bernard Herrmann composed for the film what would be his final score; the music was finished just hours before his death, and the film is dedicated to him.
Theatrically released by Columbia Pictures on February 8, 1976, the film was critically and commercially successful despite generating controversy both for its graphic violence in the climactic ending and for the casting of then 12-year-old Foster as a child prostitute. The film received numerous accolades including the Palme d’Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival and four nominations at the 49th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (for De Niro), and Best Supporting Actress (for Foster).
Although Taxi Driver generated further controversy for inspiring John Hinckley Jr.‘s attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, the film has remained popular. It is considered one of the greatest films ever made and one of the most culturally significant and inspirational of its time, garnering cult status.[8] In 2022, Sight & Sound named it the 29th-best film ever in its decennial critics’ poll, and the 12th-greatest film of all time on its directors’ poll, tied with Barry Lyndon. In 1994, the film was considered “culturally, historically, or aesthetically” significant by the U.S. Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.