This consists of interviews with the cast and crew, all of whom have something compelling to add within their area of expertise(and there is a very clear love of what they're working on), clips from the movie and behind-the-scenes footage.
It's 71 minutes long. This is found on the library copy of the DVD release for Taxi Driver. It spoils a lot of the film, and so will this review, so that I can go into more detail.
They talk about how it got made, including writing the screenplay. Scorsese had no track record at the time. Mean Streets proved he and DeNiro made a good team. At first, Keitel was supposed to play Tom, and he was more interested in the pimp role, which he helped develop further, from being 5 lines at first. Shepherd felt like the original script gave her a nothing part, but through improvisation(also how they got to "are you talkin' to me") it was improved. Schrader had Foster meet a real teenage prostitute, who had lived a life similar to the character, and she ended up playing the friend who pulls her away when they step out in front of the car. Martin's storyboards were not very artistic, which really helped get across what he wanted. The camera crew were initially reluctant to move the camera away from the star, and had to grow accustomed to that being the style they're going for. Brooks had to find the fine line that he's not supposed to be funny like a comedian, rather, like a real person, at his job. Cybill liked the challenge of working across from Robert, who underplays masterfully. The director taking on a small role, to replace the actor who had an accident while working on something else. Jodie was wearing clothes and make-up that she never would in real life, which caused her a lot of distress. She had to meet with a psychiatrist, and some suggestive stuff was done by her sister, who was 8 years older. The mohawk was done with a bald cap. How the effects for the climactic killings were done. It was fascinating, some of them say. The pull-out shot took effort. Due to child labor laws, they had to work very quickly, despite how complex it was. The zoom in on the glass with the fizz was made longer, not shorter, which made the audience more invested, trying to figure out why it stayed on it. To get the R-rating, they had to desaturate the colors in the ending, something that the editor thought was unfortunate, and the negative has now deteriorated, so they can't change it for new versions. Hermann's score. They discuss the responsibility to analyze the Travis Bickles of the world, since they exist whether or not art is made depicting them.
I recommend this to any fan of the property. 8/10
It's 71 minutes long. This is found on the library copy of the DVD release for Taxi Driver. It spoils a lot of the film, and so will this review, so that I can go into more detail.
They talk about how it got made, including writing the screenplay. Scorsese had no track record at the time. Mean Streets proved he and DeNiro made a good team. At first, Keitel was supposed to play Tom, and he was more interested in the pimp role, which he helped develop further, from being 5 lines at first. Shepherd felt like the original script gave her a nothing part, but through improvisation(also how they got to "are you talkin' to me") it was improved. Schrader had Foster meet a real teenage prostitute, who had lived a life similar to the character, and she ended up playing the friend who pulls her away when they step out in front of the car. Martin's storyboards were not very artistic, which really helped get across what he wanted. The camera crew were initially reluctant to move the camera away from the star, and had to grow accustomed to that being the style they're going for. Brooks had to find the fine line that he's not supposed to be funny like a comedian, rather, like a real person, at his job. Cybill liked the challenge of working across from Robert, who underplays masterfully. The director taking on a small role, to replace the actor who had an accident while working on something else. Jodie was wearing clothes and make-up that she never would in real life, which caused her a lot of distress. She had to meet with a psychiatrist, and some suggestive stuff was done by her sister, who was 8 years older. The mohawk was done with a bald cap. How the effects for the climactic killings were done. It was fascinating, some of them say. The pull-out shot took effort. Due to child labor laws, they had to work very quickly, despite how complex it was. The zoom in on the glass with the fizz was made longer, not shorter, which made the audience more invested, trying to figure out why it stayed on it. To get the R-rating, they had to desaturate the colors in the ending, something that the editor thought was unfortunate, and the negative has now deteriorated, so they can't change it for new versions. Hermann's score. They discuss the responsibility to analyze the Travis Bickles of the world, since they exist whether or not art is made depicting them.
I recommend this to any fan of the property. 8/10
