Taxi Driver (1976, 114 Minutes)

Playing as a part of Scorsese: More Than a Gangster

It garnered equal shares of controversy and acclaim upon release, and has gone on to become one of the most iconic and beloved films in all of American cinema. Taxi Driver follows Vietnam Vet Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) as he tries to use this titular career in New York City as a way to treat his insomnia. His 24-hour job allows him to sink into 70’s NYC in all of its strange complexity. From its seemingly endless crime and poverty, to a presidential campaign under way for a New York senator who promises reform. The dreamlike storytelling and filmmaking present Bickle’s detachment from reality as he escapes further into a fantasy of brutal vigilantism; a desire that begins to center around an underage prostitute (Jodie Foster) he wants to rescue. With its incredible performances, brilliant screenplay by Paul Schrader, and phenomenal score provided by cinema legend and Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann (in his final project), Taxi Driver is the definitive film of New Hollywood. Its neurotic, haunting depiction of New York City and the alienated rage of a man at its center is forever engrained into the minds of moviegoers. 

Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, and Albert Brooks 

Playing back to back with Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore at 5 PM. Catch both for $20.