Taxi Driver
Synopsis: A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
My Rating: 10/10
I have seen this movie at least a dozen times and this is the first time I have given it a 10. It was close the last time I watched it but I'm giving it a 10 this time. Again I watched the movie twice in a row, and it holds up extremely well every time.
This is Martins 2nd best film imo (Goodfellas) but you can make an argument it's #1. Martin himself has a very small role in the movie where I thought he was excellent in. He might be the best example of a director doing a excellent job acting in the film he is directing. This is the one thing Tarantino is terrible at.
Harvey Keitel also has a small but very memorable role as Jodie Foster's pimp. I think this is in De Niros top 3 performances with the other 2 being Raging Bull & Godfather II.
I really liked how Travis was a few seconds away from being a "bad guy" by assassinating the senator, to being a "good guy" by killing a pimp and a few gangsters to save Jodie Foster.
Once Travis becomes a "hero" we see him looking exactly the same as he did in the beginning of the film which means to me the ending was shot before De Niro shaves his head into a mohawk.
The ending is debated by some whether it was a dream or if Travis really lived, and I think it's obvious he lived after the shooting. I was always curious as to why Travis looks into the rear view mirror and then looks again all of a sudden sort of angry, and from what I have read it's to show Travis isn't cured, he's still the same guy who will snap again and maybe this time he won't be the "good guy"
This is why the music and visuals are exactly the same, the story loops from the ending back to the beginning which shows Travis will do the same thing over again and it also means the movie could loop right back to the begining of the movie and it could play endlessly.
Very deep film that holds very well on multiple viewings. Also I'm glad they never went thru with the sequel back in the early 00s.