Some of the most influential movies in history take years to come together. Taxi Driver was not one of them.
The 1976 psychological drama, directed by Martin Scorsese, was famously written in just 10 days by screenwriter Paul Schrader, yet it went on to become one of the most acclaimed films ever made. Decades later, the movie was included in British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound roundup of The Greatest Films of All Time.
Starring Robert De Niro as lonely Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle, Taxi Driver follows a mentally unraveling cab driver drifting through the crime-filled streets of 1970s New York City. Alienated, angry and increasingly unstable, Travis becomes consumed by violence and his warped desire to “clean up” the city around him.
The film’s dark atmosphere and psychological intensity immediately set it apart from other movies of the era. Scorsese captured a grimy, decaying version of New York that felt deeply authentic, while De Niro delivered one of the most iconic performances of his career.
The screenplay itself has become legendary in Hollywood history. Schrader reportedly wrote the script during a deeply difficult period in his life, channeling feelings of isolation and obsession into Travis Bickle’s character.
“I do not believe that New York, the city, create[s] people such as the protagonist of the film or the center of the film,” said Schrader in a 1976 interview. “I hesitate to call him a hero. He’s a man of a disintegrating self-destructive personality and he is not created by the city.”
Despite being completed in little more than a week, the script would eventually become one of the most studied screenplays in film history.
“I read it, and the character and the precision and power of the prose was like poetry,” Scorsese said in a 2012 interview. “It was so strong, the dialogue, the scene descriptions, but ultimately it was truthful and honest and had many feelings that I certainly identified with later on.”
The movie also introduced one of cinema’s most famous lines, “You talkin’ to me?” improvised by De Niro during the film’s mirror scene. The line has since become one of the most quoted in film history.
Upon release, Taxi Driver sparked both critical acclaim and controversy due to its violence and unsettling themes. Still, it quickly established itself as a landmark of American cinema and earned multiple Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.
Nearly 50 years later, the film’s influence can still be seen across movies, television and pop culture.
Its inclusion among Sight and Sound’s ranking confirms what generations of movie fans already knew: Taxi Driver wasn’t just a hit film, it became a defining cinematic masterpiece.
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