Taxi Driver

“You talkin’ to me?” As relevant and powerful today as it did upon its release 50 years ago, Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver is a riveting neo-noir psychological drama that has stood the test of time. Robert DeNiro plays lonely and disturbed Travis Bickle, a Vietnam veteran who spirals inward as he spends his nights on the gritty, rain-soaked streets of a dirty, crime-riddled New York behind the wheel of his cab. Director Scorsese masterfully uses camera movement, lighting, sound, and editing to bring viewers inside Bickle’s darkness, desperation and urban isolation. The film also stars a 12-year-old Jodie Foster, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, in an unsettling but brilliant performance as a child navigating exploitation in a complex adult world. Taxi Driver was nominated for four Academy Awards and received the Palme d’Or at Cannes. — Keri Moe