Taxi Driver

Insomniac and socially adrift, Travis Bickle spends his nights behind the wheel of a taxi, drifting through a buzzing, bruised New York inverted by neon. The job feeds his growing sense of alienation as he observes the city's neglected corners and the people who inhabit them. He begins to fantasize about cleaning up what he sees, a fixation that blurs the line between judgment and violence. As his thoughts tighten around Betsy, Iris, and the world he believes is rotten, he drifts toward actions that threaten to fracture his grip on reality. The film follows his uneasy, increasingly dangerous observations. The film captures the grit of late 70s Manhattan and the strain of a city that feels intimate and indifferent.

Directed by Martin Scorsese and released in 1976, Taxi Driver grew from an original screenplay by Paul Schrader. The collaboration helped establish Scorsese as a fearless, influential voice in urban drama. The film's soundtrack and on location shooting are notable. Its imagery and dialogue still feel stark and immediate today too.

It received four Academy Award nominations, notably for Best Picture and Robert De Niro, with supporting nomination for Jodie Foster and for Bernard Herrmann's score. It did not win any Oscars, but the nominations helped cement Scorsese's rising prestige and Foster's breakout status.

Taxi Driver left a lasting mark on cinema and popular culture. Its portrayal of urban isolation and moral ambiguity helped redefine the anti hero, inspiring many filmmakers to probe the psychology of marginalized figures. The film's stark urban imagery and strong performances have become touchstones in modern screen storytelling today.

Critics have long debated the film's rough edge and moral ambiguity. At its core, Taxi Driver looks at loneliness in a crowded city and the allure of vigilante fantasies. Scorsese's sharp direction and De Niro's restrained, piercing performance anchor the film's tense mood. Its influence lingers in modern thrillers.