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Reviews
Taxi Driver (1976)
One of greatest, still holds up.
I first saw this film in college earning extra money via the student work program. One of my jobs at the time was the projector operator for whatever movie was being shown. One of the films projected was "Taxi Driver". At the time, I had no idea what I was going to see. Had no idea who Robert DeNiro was, nothing. From the first slow motion frames underscored by Bernard Hermann's genius soundtrack (his last), I was stunned; I knew that I was in for the ride of my life. I watched it then immediately ran home to retrieve my girlfriend, returning to fire up the projector and experience it again.
I have seen the film countless times over the subsequent years, and it holds up as one of the greatest American films of post WWII America. It is a perfect film, and like another great DeNiro/Scorcese collaboration, "King of Comedy", has moments of pure prophetic energy embedded into the narrative. A brilliant script, musical score and cinematography with equally brilliant performances by every actor in the piece, it never fails to deliver. Leading the cast, Robert DeNiro was a revelation. Amazing performances top to bottom. Out of the superlative ensemble of taxi drivers, Harry Northup always stands out as Dougboy. An actor's actor, Harry is spot on.
An absolute must see for any serious student or fan of film, "Taxi Driver" cannot be recommend highly enough.