There are some director´s who have proved themselves to be incredibly talented, who can basically go into any genre of films and tell very powerful stories. Just look at legendary director Stanley Kubrick and some of his most classics films. You have so many classics that you simply have to see, so let´s just go through some of the titles. Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining and much more. Movies like these titles will forever be timeless classics, that you can watch over and over again and never get tired of them. Even if Eyes Wide Shut ( his last film to direct ) is not one of my favorites there are still details that i appreciate about this film. Let´s move on and talk about another magnificant director who have given us many classic films. Legendary director Martin Scorsese, this is a man who really knew how to direct incredible movies in different genres. I could mention at least 10 films you should see that he directed in his incredible career, so i decided to pick one title because not many will most likely mention it. I am thinking about the 1982 satirical black comedy The King Of Comedy, a film i fell in love with back at the VHS rental store back in the 90´s. The King Of Comedy really show you the danger of celebrity fans, also showing a portrait of a man named Rupert Pupkin ( brillant performance by actor Robert De Niro ) who desperatley want to be the next big stand up comedy star, just like his idol Jerry Langoford ( played ny actor Jerry Lewis ). Rupert is so addicted to Jerry and being on his show, he will do anything to spend time with his favorite talk-show host and comedian Jerry. We also have another fanatic Jerry fan known as Masha ( brilliant performance by actress Sandra Bernhard ), and they both decide to kidnap Jerry one day. The King Of Comedy capture how dangerous it can be being a TV star, where fans will cross any lines to be with you. Director Martin Scorsese really manage to tell a fascinating story of mentally ill people, as well as the tragedy of celebrity life and how it can affect you in a negative way. Definetely worh a watch. I realised that this year it is 50 years ago since legendary director Martin Scorsese released his cult film classic Taxi Driver. So i decided it would be nice to celebate this 50 years anniversary by doing a review of this film, watching the film on my old DVD copy. Is this just as good as i remembered it to be, or have Taxi Driver aged over the years and lost some of the cinema magic?
In New York City, former Marine and Vietnam War veteran Travis Brickle ( Robert De Niro ) takes a job as a night-shift to deal with his chronic insomnia and loneliness. Travis fall in love with the beautiful woman known as Betsy ( Cybil Shepherd ), who works as a campaign worker for Senator Charles Palantine ( Leonard Harris ). He take her out on a date. The first one goes well and he takes her out on a second date. But this is where Betsy begin to see that Travis have some very serious personal issues, and when his dating night fails his whole life is falling apart. He is tired of all the garbage people he have to face everyday, around the city of New York and decides that he will clean up some of the trash himself.
Even if Taxi Driver is 50 years old i can tell you, not much have changed on the streets of larger cities. You have drug addicts, hookers, criminals and mentally insane people found in many street corners, and this film manage to bring a lot of different characters that could easily be seen even today on the streets. Of course this film is especially telling us the story of mentally unstable taxi driver Travis Brickle, and it´s no wonder why his life is falling apart. No sleep, not feeling loved by anyone, the hate he feels towards the lower class in society. I also feel that this film really does a good job capturing a realistic portrait of misery among many people in society, where there doesn´t seem to be any hope. You survive in the streets, pay bills and exist basically. Now, i loved legendary actor Robert De Niro in his earlier films as well, but in Taxi Driver he may have done one of his most iconic acting performances as the character Travis Brickle. If you have met mentally unstable patients like i have in my health care jobs over 27 years, you know how they can behave and express themselves. Robert De Niro does an absolutely brilliant acting performance capturing the disturbing personality of Travis. Even if he may have some good side of him in the past, all of that will soon be completely gone when Travis had enough of all the trash in the sreets. There is a sweet scene between Travis and the young prostitute Iris ( played really good by a very young actress Jodie Foster ). Travis don´t want to see this young sweet girl being harmed anymore and want her to be safe, so he really does care for her. I think this is where we especially see that Travis is not all evil, it´s just his mental problems are taking over too much for him to control himself. I have to mention a young Harvey Keitel as the pimp Matthew, a perfect match for this character. Taxi Driver really capture the 1970´s with the colorful night scenes, how horrible it can be working in these conditions in the worst areas of town, while showing why certain people have certain jobs they probably shouldn´t be hired to do. Director Martin Scorsese capture a very realistic chaos from a mentally disturbed man and capture those images through a very brutal reality. You also get a sense that director Martin Scorsese touch on the subject of PTSD from Travis experience in the Vietnam war. This is one of those timeless classics that will always remain a masterpiece, where evereything is right with brilliant acting, beautiful cinematography, an outstanding sountrack and dialogue so well written you will feel the impact. Taxi Driver is among the Top 20 best films that i have ever seen and will always be my personal favorite Martin Scorsese film. A must own on physical media and is one of those film´s that you simply have to see.
Rating: DDDDD
