February 08, 2021
'Taxi Driver'
Are you talking to me? The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey are joined by actor Bill Hader to talk about Martin Scorsese's 1976 classic 'Taxi Driver,' starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, and Cybill Shepherd.
Cast
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle
Jodie Foster as Iris
Cybill Shepherd as Betsy
Harvey Keitel as Sport
Albert Brooks as Tom
Peter Boyle as Wizard
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: Paul Schrader
Music by: Bernard Herrmann
Notes
- $1.9 million budget, grossed $28.4 million.
- De Niro only made $35,000 (his pre-Godfather II rate) – honored his original deal, which helped get the movie made.
- Bernard Herrmann's final score – he died after only two days of recording sessions at age 64. His last instruction was about the final sting: 'play it backward.'
- The 'You talkin' to me' sequence was originally 10 minutes long, filmed in one shot; smartly split in editing.
- Scorsese wasn't supposed to be in the movie – the original actor got hurt.
- De Niro's Mohawk was not real – a bald cap with individually placed hairs by makeup artist Dick Smith. The hairpiece is on display at the Museum of the Moving Image.
- De Niro's preparation: 15-hour days driving cabs, studying mental illness, recording conversations with Midwestern soldiers, losing 35 pounds.
- The shootout had no music – a deliberate choice that was shocking.
- The movie got an X rating initially; Scorsese desaturated colors to get it down to R.
- 'Rocky' beat 'Taxi Driver', Network, and All the President's Men for Best Picture. De Niro lost Best Actor to Peter Finch (Network).
- John Hinckley Jr. tried to assassinate President Reagan in 1981 after watching the movie obsessively to impress Jodie Foster.
- Jodie Foster's sister Connie (age 19) was the body double for any inappropriate scenes.
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“Taxi Driver is a hell, from the opening shot of a cab emerging from stygian clouds of steam to the final bloody shootout.”
Ebert said it was one of the greatest films he'd ever seen. Gene Siskel gave it a thumbs down, said it was 'spoiled by the climax.'
Most re-watchable scene
- They decided not to pick a single most rewatchable scene because 'that would be weird for this movie'.
- Candidates: Travis driving around explaining NYC, asking Betsy out, 'You talkin' to me,' the breakfast with Iris, the final shootout.
What aged the best?
- Mid-70s seedy New York City as captured in the film.
- 'Loneliness has followed me my whole life' – Schrader writing about loneliness after nearly losing his mind.
- Harvey Keitel's look as the pimp Sport.
- Travis telling Wizard 'I got some bad ideas in my head'.
- The 'You talkin' to me' catchphrase.
- De Niro's preparation – 15-hour days driving cabs.
- Bernard Herrmann's brass-heavy score.
What aged the worst?
- John Hinckley Jr. trying to assassinate Reagan after watching it obsessively.
- The porno theater scenes – hard to explain to people under 25.
- Jodie Foster playing a 12.5-year-old prostitute – the Keitel slow-dancing scene is uncomfortable.
- Taking your date to a porn theater.
Casting what-ifs
- Paul Schrader originally wrote Travis for Jeff Bridges.
- Dustin Hoffman was talked to but thought it was too crazy.
- The pimp was originally written as Black; studio lawyers insisted on white to avoid riot liability.
- Tatum O'Neal was reportedly offered Iris while Foster was offered Bad News Bears – they swapped.
Best "that guy"
- Leonard Harris (Palantine) – only had two roles ever, the ultimate 'that guy'.
- Joe Spinell – the cab company hiring manager; also in Godfather II, 'Rocky'.
- Vic 'Argo' – the bodega guy; in every Scorsese movie.
Over-acting award
Martin Scorsese as the crazy cab passenger – dialed it up for his five-minute scene.
Best "heat check" performance
- Albert Brooks – his first movie ever; improvised/wrote material; the beginning of the Albert Brooks persona.
- Steven Prince (gun salesman) – 'ain't that a little honey?'
Apex Mountain
- Not De Niro – Godfather II, Raging Bull still to come.
- Not Scorsese – 'Goodfellas' is his apex.
- Disgusting mid-70s New York City – no movie captured it better.
Picking nits
Would Betsy really flirt with Travis? She's gorgeous and must have been swatting away guys for years.
(Probably) unanswerable questions
- Is the ending a dream sequence/fantasy? Schrader and Scorsese say definitively no, but it's debated.
- What is Travis Bickle in 2021? He'd just be on the internet 19 hours a day – connects to the incel movement.
What memorabilia would you want (or not want!) from the movie?
- The Bickle green jacket (Bill Simmons).
- A 'We Are the People' Palantine campaign poster (Sean Fennessey).
- The postcard to his parents – 'A couple of good scouts' (Bill Hader).
Who won the movie?
- De Niro – 'You talkin' to me' is the most memorialized element (Sean Fennessey).
- Jodie Foster – her performance at age 12 is unreal (Bill Hader).
- Scorsese – after this movie, anything seemed possible for him (Bill Simmons).