Taxi Driver Theme - Bernard Herrmann (1976)

Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, Cybill Shepherd, and a young Jodie Foster. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.
The film gained further notoriety when John Hinckley, Jr. confessed that it was his obsession with Foster's role that made him attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is a lonely and depressed young man and former-Marine living in Manhattan. He occasionally corresponds with his parents by mail, deceiving them into believing that he's living a healthy and successful life as a government employee. He refuses to send them his home address by telling them that it would interfere with the secrecy of his fabricated job. He becomes a night time taxi driver in order to cope with his chronic insomnia, working 12-hour shifts nearly every night, carrying passengers around all five boroughs of New York City. His restless days, meanwhile, are spent in seedy porn theaters. He keeps a diary, excerpts from which are occasionally narrated via voice-over during the film. Bickle claims to be an honorably discharged Marine, and it is implied that he is a Vietnam veteran; he keeps a charred Viet Cong flag in his squalid apartment and has a large scar on his back.
Bickle develops a romantic attachment to Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a campaign volunteer for New York Senator Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris). Palantine is running for President on a platform of dramatic social change. After watching her from his taxi through the windows of Palantine's campaign office, Bickle enters the office asking to volunteer as a pretext to talk with Betsy. Bickle convinces her to join him for coffee and pie, and she later agrees to let him take her to a movie. She says he reminds her of a line in Kris Kristofferson's song "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33": "He's a prophet and a pusher, partly truth, partly fiction--a walking contradiction." On their date, Bickle takes her to see Language of Love, a Swedish sex education film. Offended, she leaves the movie theater and takes a taxi home alone. The next day he tries to reconcile with Betsy, phoning her and sending her flowers, to no avail.
Bickle's thoughts begin to turn violent. The only person in whom he vaguely confides his new views and desires is fellow taxi driver "Wizard" (Peter Boyle), who tells Travis that he's seen all kinds in his time driving cabs, and he believes Travis will be fine. Disgusted by the petty street crime (especially prostitution) that he witnesses while driving through the city, he now finds a focus for his frustration and begins a program of intense physical training. He buys four guns from an illegal dealer, Easy Andy (Steven Prince). Bickle then constructs a sliding action holster for his right arm & the Escort and practices concealing and drawing his weapons. He develops an interest in Senator Palantine's public appearances. One night, Bickle enters a run-down grocery just moments before a man attempts to rob the store. Bickle shoots the man in the neck. The grocery owner (Victor Argo) encourages Bickle to flee after he expresses worry for shooting the man with an unlicensed gun. As Bickle leaves, the store owner repeatedly clubs the near-dead man with a steel pole.
On another night, Iris (Jodie Foster), a 12-year-old child prostitute, enters Bickle's cab, attempting to escape her pimp, "Sport" (Harvey Keitel). When Bickle fails to drive away, Sport drags Iris from the cab and throws Bickle a crumpled twenty-dollar bill. Bickle later meets Iris in the street and pays her for her time, not to have sex, but to try and convince her to quit prostitution. They meet again the next day for breakfast and Bickle becomes obsessed with helping Iris leave Sport and return to her parents' home.

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• 1976
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[IwontConform]

oooh i love this piece.That bernard herrmann was a genius with music scores

[Perico14ful]

ES LA MEJOR PELICULA QUE VI EN MI VIDA. MIENTRAS YO VIVA, SERA PARA MI UNA PELICULA DE CULTO.

[perla51]

By the way I love De Niro.....

[anitashelby]

Such A Great Theme & Movie!!!...5*s Thankyou Joe....Anita..

[fredjmp]

Great music! Wondeful sax!Thanks for sharing!

[flipside1545]

still gives me the chills...great movie though!!

[perla51]

Very great music and splendid movie!!!! Thanks dear Joe for shareing. Big huggies Perla.

[bze2nlz4]

I love how the theme music truly fits the mood of this movie...great post, Joe.