Taxi Driver (1976) is one of the most powerful and influential films in cinema history, a masterpiece directed by Martin Scorsese that still feels strikingly relevant nearly 50 years later. Starring Robert De Niro as the iconic Travis Bickle, the movie is a raw, unflinching psychological drama that dives deep into themes of extreme loneliness, urban alienation, mental breakdown, vigilante justice, and the dark underbelly of American society in the post-Vietnam era.
Plot Overview (with Spoilers)
Travis Bickle is a 26-year-old Vietnam War veteran suffering from chronic insomnia and profound isolation. Unable to connect with anyone, he takes a night-shift job as a taxi driver in the decaying, crime-ridden New York City of the mid-1970s. From behind the wheel, he witnesses the city’s “filth” — prostitution, drug dealing, pimps, and corruption — which fuels his growing disgust and rage. He keeps a diary (voiced over in narration) filled with fragmented, paranoid thoughts: “Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets.”
He becomes infatuated with Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a campaign worker for presidential candidate Senator Palantine. Their brief, awkward romance ends disastrously when Travis takes her to a porn theater, highlighting his social ineptitude. Rejected, his obsession shifts to Iris (Jodie Foster, just 12 during filming), a child prostitute controlled by her pimp Sport (Harvey Keitel). Travis decides to “rescue” her and “clean up” the city, transforming himself into a vigilante — buying guns, training his body, and shaving his head into a mohawk.
The film’s explosive climax is a bloody shootout in a brothel, where Travis kills Sport and others in a violent rescue of Iris. Miraculously surviving, he is hailed by the media as a hero. The ambiguous ending shows him back driving his cab, with Betsy as a passenger — leaving viewers to wonder if he’s truly redeemed or simply waiting for the next breakdown.
Performances and Craft
Robert De Niro delivers one of the greatest performances ever captured on film. At age 33 during the film’s release (and around 32-33 during principal photography in 1975), he fully embodies Travis’s quiet menace, awkwardness, and inner turmoil. The famous “You talkin’ to me?” mirror monologue has become a cultural touchstone, but the entire role — from his vacant stare to his obsessive routines — is hauntingly real. De Niro prepared intensely, even getting a real taxi license and driving shifts in New York.
Jodie Foster’s portrayal of Iris earned her an Oscar nomination, while Harvey Keitel and Cybill Shepherd add layers to the supporting cast. Scorsese shoots the city like a character itself — steam rising from grates, neon lights bleeding into rainy nights, trash-strewn streets — turning 1970s NYC into a hellish mirror of Travis’s mind.
The score by Bernard Herrmann (his final work, dedicated posthumously) blends eerie jazz with tension, contrasting the chaos. Screenwriter Paul Schrader drew from his own loneliness, Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground, and real-life figures like would-be assassin Arthur Bremer.
myhotposters.comTaxi Driver (1976) Movie Poster
Themes and Impact
At its core, Taxi Driver explores:
Alienation and loneliness — Travis is “God’s lonely man,” invisible in a city of millions.
Mental illness and trauma — Post-Vietnam PTSD, insomnia, and unchecked rage.
Moral ambiguity — Society glorifies Travis’s violence, turning a killer into a hero.
Urban decay — New York as a symbol of modern corruption and indifference.
The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, earned four Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and Best Actor), and ranks among the greatest films ever (e.g., #52 on AFI’s list). It has influenced countless works, from Joker (2019) to Drive (2011) and even real-world events — tragically, John Hinckley Jr. cited it as inspiration for his 1981 attempt on President Reagan’s life to impress Jodie Foster.
Yet Taxi Driver doesn’t glorify violence; it dissects it. It’s a tragic portrait of what happens when isolation festers without intervention — a warning about mental health, societal neglect, and the thin line between savior and monster.
If you haven’t seen it, watch it — but know it’s intense and disturbing.
