Taxi Driver

A closer look at the story

Taxi Driver tells the story of Travis Bickle, a troubled and isolated Vietnam veteran who cannot sleep. He takes a job driving a cab at night in New York, and in the Manhattan of the 1970s he cruises the streets night after night. The filth of the city disgusts him, and the idea of washing the city clean takes up more and more room in his mind. His path crosses with people utterly unlike him: a young girl working on the streets, a beautiful blonde woman, a senator campaigning for the presidency and a violent pimp. Yet Travis cannot form a genuine connection with anyone around him, and every day he slips further away from reality, until he finally decides to take matters into his own hands. Martin Scorsese directed this 114-minute crime drama from 1976 from Paul Schrader's screenplay. Robert De Niro plays Travis, with Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel and Peter Boyle also in the cast. With its graphic violence, the film is meant for grown-up viewers.