Taxi Driver (1976)
Released by: Columbia
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriter: Paul Schrader
Historical context
The decade of the 1970s produced some of the most interesting films to emerge from American cinema. The collapse of the old studio system had left the major studios floundering economically, trying to stay afloat financially by mounting one big budget epic after another, a strategy that was producing more box office flops than hits. In the midst of this ocean of red ink, Columbia released Easy Rider (1969), which was made on a shoestring budget and took in millions at the box office. Suddenly, the studios were interested in the work of young filmmakers in a way that they had never been before. At the same time, intense social ferment was leading both artists and their audiences to question everything from basic social structures to the war in Vietnam. This remarkable confluence of events produced a window of time during which creative young filmmakers were, in effect, given their heads. Permitted to produce innovative and challenging films with a minimum of front-office interference, these filmmakers turned out an astonishing quantity of cinema that was often inspired, sometimes dreadful, but always interesting. It was in this historical context that Paul Schrader’s dark screenplay called Taxi Driver found its way to the screen. The producers, Michael and Julia Phillips, had just had a smashing success with the light and very entertaining caper film, The Sting (1973), Scorsese was riding high on the success of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), and Schrader had made a name for himself on the basis of his work on the screenplay of a thriller called The Yakuza (1975). The combination of these talents represented an opportunity that Columbia felt they couldn’t pass up. As long as the filmmakers were willing to keep the budget within reason, they would be allowed to make the movie they wanted to make.
Narrative context
Is Travis Bickle a sympathetic character? Why do we care what happens to him? How does he assess his own life? What does he look to as solutions for the problems he sees in his own life?
Compare and contrast the two women with whom Travis becomes involved during the course of the film. Why is he attracted to each of them? What function does each serve in the narrative?
In what ways does the film make use of foreshadowing?
Travis seems to spend the first half of the film searching for a purpose. Midway through the film, he seems to find a purpose. What is the nature of the purpose to which he devotes himself? How does his view of the impetus that drives him differ from ours?
Aesthetic context
Which scenes in the film show an influence of the French New Wave?
Do you detect any influence of Italian Neorealism?
How does the voice-over narration affect your response to the film, and to Travis?
What aesthetic devices does Scorsese use to reinforce our identification with Travis?
Genre context
Is this a genre film? If so, to what genre does it belong? If not, can you see any genre influences on the film?
Rhetorical context
Does the filmmaker seem to share Travis Bickle’s revulsion over what urban life has become?
Is Travis ultimately presented as a hero or as a menace?
Is this film fundamentally optimistic or pessimistic?
