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About Me:I am a Year 13 student which aspires to be an architect. I am interested in anything I don't yet know, and I mostly write about art, politics , Italian culture and inspirational people, although I will try to write for as many categories possible, just to test myself and get to know more things.
There are films that have found a luxurious place in the history of cinematography. There are films that have settled in the world’s culture and have become iconic, with shots, jokes and famous scenes. There are films that have encouraged the birth of acting geniuses. There are films that have spoken of themselves, of us and of all humanity. There are movies that have just left us ecstatic.
“Taxi Driver” by Martin Scorsese is, in my opinion, all the things listed above. It is a poster of the 70’s inside out, and for someone that has not lived in those times, it is a very pleasing informative experience. “Taxi Driver” is the story of a taxi driver, Travis Bickle; it is the story of, the story of nocturnal New York, of the America from the '70s where the Vietnam War still kills its victims among the urban suburbs, in prostitutes, racists, drug dealers, bigoted politicians. The whole movie’s atmosphere is soaked by the delusion, depression and nervousness of the human mind that the 60’s left behind; and with these very themes the movie unwraps and presents itself to the viewer.
Travis is one of the typical victims of this corrupt and malfunctioning system; he is a Vietnam veteran, and with a lack of hope and joy, despises the city, and society and its people. He does not want anything, nothing appears to make him happy, he only wants to react and fight against this human waste and the concrete jungle that suffocates him in his yellow taxi, in the darkness of the night. He tries to fight against the squalor, the reflection of mirrors, and the reflection of a scarred social structure. Travis observes reality, silently, calmly and he becomes more and more conscious of the disgust that dominates his surroundings; he is not detached from society, but deeply emarginated, almost to the point of being foreign to the wicked humanity that has lost all moral values. He decides, day by day, to oppose to this decline and fight back against this demoralising and unfulfilling life. His look gradually becomes shiny with madness, his giggle with neurotic tone, disillusionment and total anger. He wants to fix and clean "all this s**t" in his own way, and he will. He is a compassionate man, which sees the bad, and tries to find his internal strength to oppose, as seen with his attempt to end the suffering of a young teenager prostitute, Iris “Easy” Steensma.
With this film, Scorsese become to develop in a great filmmaker, and set his pathways to the Olympus of Hollywoodian filmmakers. He breaks through our screens with a disruptive 70’s style, unique and rigorous in its own way, and that makes the atmosphere poetic and intimate in its never-ending melancholy. Scorsese has made Travis a reflection of his reality, which has however found the courage to fight back. With his critical eye, he photographs the life around him, and fascinates the viewer every time.
This movie, and the performance of a young Robert De Niro has become cult, a classic, and one of the films that you must see if you actually want to appreciate the history of filmography. It is a start of a journey, which will make you realise the artistry of movies. “Taxi Driver” is a classic and timeless film, with its iconic mirror scene and the famous "Are you talking to me?!” and at the end of the film, where Travis bathed in blood and mimics with his finger the shot of a gun, he brings it to his temple and mocks the shot: "boom!", repeated several times. This and so much more is delivered to the viewer, along with the performances of many fantastic actors.
And once again I would like to praise the performance of De Niro; “Taxi Driver” has been one of the first movies which I have seen from the young actor, and has started my appreciation in his performances in other films, such as “Raging Bull”, “The Untouchables”, “Goodfellas”, “Jackie Brown” and many more. In this movie, a young De Niro excels at becoming the character, and mutate into Travis body, soul and mind, and becoming, with him, one of the most iconic faces of Hollywood’s best films.
Image credits:
http://orig11.deviantart.net/127e/f/2013/083/e/8/taxi_driver___alternative_poster_by_crisvector-d5z6rnc.jpg
http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2016/02/08/taxi-driver-40th-anniversary
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