Taxi Driver (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
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DVD details
Actor: Cybill Shepherd, Jodie Foster, Robert De NiroBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Limited Edition, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 113 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-08-14
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Reviews of Taxi Driver (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
DVD Review: An Unforgettable Movie and Lead Character
Summary: 5 Stars
"Travis Bickle" has to be one of the most fascinating characters ever put on film, and this has to still rank as one of the best post-film noir era "noirs" ever made.
Yeah the story is a bit seedy but it's an incredibly interesting portrait of a mentaly unbalanced cab driver (Bickle, played by Robert De Niro) and his obsessions with "cleaning up" New York City.
In addition to De Niro's stunning performance, we see a young and gorgeous Cybill Shepherd and a very, very young (12 years old) Jodie Foster. I've always wondered what kind of parents would allow their 12-year-old daughter to play a role like this, but that's another subject. Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel (with shoulder-length hair!) and Peter Boyle all lend good supporting help.
Bickle's transformation from a "disturbed" cabbie to a fully-deranged assassin is fantastic to watch, and includes one of the classic scenes in all film history: Bickle talking to the mirror and repeating the question, "You talking' to me?" That scene, and seeing De Niro in a Mohawk haircut later at a political rally are two scenes people never forget.
The more times I've watched this, the more I appreciate the cinematography and the music in here. There are some wonderful night shots of the city's oil and rain-slicked streets. Also, Bernard Herrmann eerie soundtrack is an instrumental part of the success of this film and should never be neglected in discussing this film.
I hope a good Blu-Ray, (high-defintiiom) transfer of this film will come out soon.
DVD Review: A disturbing masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Travis Binkle (Robert DeNiro), a Vietnam veteran, takes a job as a taxi driver because he can't sleep at nights. While driving around, he becomes obsessed with "cleaning the scum from the streets", and in particular, with saving a 12 year old prostitute (Jodie Foster).
It's sometimes hard to remember that Robert DeNiro was once a serious actor and not a semi-comedian who has sunk to the level of self-parody. However, watching "Taxi Driver" makes you realize how DeNiro gained his reputation in the first place. It is DeNiro's performance that makes "Taxi Driver" and without it, this film would have been long forgotten. That's not to say that the script, directing and other acting aren't also great. It's just that, the focus of this film is on one man's descent into madness and obsession, and without a convincing actor in the lead role, this film would not have worked. The intensity of DeNiro's performance translates well into Binkle's own intensity in his crusade.
"Taxi Driver" has a reputation for the levels of violence that it contains, but with the exception of the final 10 - 15 minutes, it is actually surpringly non-violent. Having said that, this is a very disturbing film. Watching DeNiro practice pointing a gun made me wonder if this is what mentally unstable killers are like just before they commit a crime, and it comes as no surprise to hear that this is the film that inspired John Hinckley to attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan.
This film well deserves it's place on many "greatest films" lists and hopefully it will continue to remain on such lists for many years to come.
DVD Review: Different take
Summary: 4 Stars
*Taxi Driver* is an excellent movie featuring superb acting by DeNiro, Foster, and Keitel. The cinematography is fantastic in that its combination of lighting and location sets perfectly the mood. The story is important in that it served as a warning when American society began changing drastically (i.e. nuclear familial breakdown) from the late 1960s - mid 1970s. Its ultimate message is correct in its asessment of spiritual isolation's consequences (as well as the results of unjustified violence).
The movie, however, goes too far in its acceptance of youth exploitation. Keitel's character, a child's pimp, is portrayed as somewhat caring and paternal. As another reviewer noted, "he is not a monster." Such is dangerous acceptance (even if only intellectual for the movie's sake) of a vile practice which should never be tolerated under any circumstances.
Anyone who abuses children in any way (especially sexually, physically, or emotionally) for any reason (especially in a rational way for financial gain) is nothing short of a monster. While vigilantism is also not acceptable, those who hurt children should be prosecuted to the fullest legal extent. They should never be portrayed as anything other than what they are; selfish, abusive, and cowardly.
Foster's character portrayal has a serious flaw; while she is supposed to be 12 years old, she is actually depicted as an adult. This film would have viewers think Foster's character is not really being abused or exploited, as she independantly decided to begin prostituting herself. The film further implies that attempts to rescue her are in vain, as she has already lost her innocence and cannot return to a normal girl's life.
That characterization fails to consider an extremely important premise; 12 year-old children do not have the maturity, experience, or soundness of judgement to decide they want to be prostitutes. Such is the entire basis for all minimum age laws (be they sexual consent, alcohol purchase/consumption, driving, or voting related). As children cannot rationally decide they want to be prostitutes, any adult who partakes of this activity in any way is an accomplice at the very least.
Furthermore, not all those who want to help child victims are deranged lunatics looking for an excuse to shoot people or use violence. Helping the powerless is what being a good person is all about. This movie would have people believe anyone who wants to protect the innocent or offer a helping hand has serious psychological problems. How ridiculous!
Finally, giving up on lost children is not the reasonable answer. While underage prostitutes will have obviously lost much innocence and will not be their pre-street selves if rescued, there is no excuse for allowing their continued abuse. Coal miners trapped for extended periods after cave-ins often must live with serious mental problems if rescued. Would it therefore make sense to argue they should not be rescued because they will not be their original happy selves?
While this is a great movie, please watch it with the understanding that child prostitution is inherently abusive and should never be condoned.
DVD Review: inspiring is an understatement
Summary: 5 Stars
I just bought the 2 disc dvd, and watched it last week. I just thought "there are no actors who can act like that nowadays".
I also thought the humour was good. Trying to chat up Betsie, chatting to the special security services man, chatting to the pimp. He was so natural. Ive been around a lot myself, and you do get bad ideas in your head, and want to do exactly what Travis did. I suppose thats the point of good acting - making you believe it is real. Given that De Niro was only about 30, he really was amazing. Two thumbs up. The Dear Hunter was also in the same league as this.
DVD Review: De Niro standing in front of the mirror practicing his insults ('You talking' to me?') is one of the landmarks of contemporary H
Summary: 4 Stars
The opening images of the yellow taxi cab moving slowly through clouds of steam, seems an authentic vision of the city as netherworld, a landscape of gaudy nightmares... Travis himself is an unnerving combination of psychopath and naive innocent, a victim whose attempts to put the World to Rights produce yet more victims...
Like other troubled heroes of the era, Travis is an ex-Marine, working nights as a New York taxi driver, observing with increasing disgust the human flotsam that comes into his cab... His attempts at human contact are a failure... An icy political worker whom he takes on a date (Cybil Shepherd) is repelled by his taste of porno films... He tries to rescue Iris, a teenage hooker (Jodie Foster), but increasingly his mind is under tension, and, prevented in his attempt to assassinate a Presidential candidate, he murders Iris' pimp Sport (Harvey Keitel) and a client in an orgy of what he intends a redemptive violence...
Scorsese's film: a study of urban alienation, and a restless, fluid camera contributed to a view of New York as hell on earth, and mirrored the protagonist's growing insanity...
Description of Taxi Driver (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
At 26, Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is slipping slowly into isolation and violence on the streets of New York City. Trying to solve his insomnia by driving a yellow cab on the night shift, he grows increasingly disgusted by the people who hang out at night: "Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets." His touching attempts to woo Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a Senator's campaign worker, turn sour when he takes her to a porn movie on their first date. He even fails in his attempt to persuade child prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) to desert her pimp Sport (Harvey Keitel) and return to her parents and school. Driven to the edge by powerlessness, he buys four handguns and sets out to assassinate the Senator, heading for the infamy of a `lone crazed gunman'.
DVD BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:
"Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver" Featurette
"Producing Taxi Driver" Featurette
"Influence and Appreciation" Documentary
Robert De Niro, Oliver Stone, Roger Corman and others pay tribute to Scorsese and the film
"God's Lonely Man" Documentary
"Travis' New York Locations" Featurette
Storyboard to Film Comparisons with Martin Scorsese Introduction
New Feature-length Commentary by Writer Paul Schrader
New Feature-length Commentary by Professor Robert Kolker
"Taxi Driver Stories" Featurette
"Making Taxi Driver" Documentary
Animated Photo Galleries
"Including Scorsese at Work" Photo Montage
Original Screenplay Read Along
Taxi Driver is the definitive cinematic portrait of loneliness and alienation manifested as violence. It is as if director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader had tapped into precisely the same source of psychological inspiration ("I just knew I had to make this film," Scorsese would later say), combined with a perfectly timed post-Watergate expression of personal, political, and societal anxiety. Robert De Niro, as the tortured, ex-Marine cab driver Travis Bickle, made movie history with his chilling performance as one of the most memorably intense and vividly realized characters ever committed to film. Bickle is a self-appointed vigilante who views his urban beat as an intolerable cesspool of blighted humanity. He plays guardian angel for a young prostitute (Jodie Foster), but not without violently devastating consequences. This masterpiece, which is not for all tastes, is sure to horrify some viewers, but few could deny the film's lasting power and importance. --Jeff Shannon
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