the film taxi driver deals with a young man who's deeply disturbed and angry. he calls out to people in the city to show them the way to "rage city". he has killed people in the past and he is going to kill more.

scorsese and de niro, who met in 1975 on a lunch break from working on casino, became friends and worked together on other films. some of the taxi driver story was inspired by an actual incident: de niro's father, struggling to make ends meet, took his son out on a job one night to find out what it was like to work for a living; it caused him to reflect on his own situation. de niro's performance was nominated for an oscar.

the opening scene was shot entirely in new york city, with the members of the cast portraying a group of people walking in their off hours from work. the shot of de niro in his taxi was taken at two different times, the first image being the image that ended up in the film. in the second shot, de niro turns to the camera and gives us a look of horror at what he has seen.

from the beginning of the film, scorsese made sure that the attention was on the taxi, and not on the driver. there are many shots of the taxi from the driver's perspective, and when travis meets the young prostitute he invites her into the back of the cab with him. there, he smiles at her, and she looks back at him shyly. then he tells her he has an appointment with a woman. he is clearly fascinated by her. the image of scorsese and keitel holding the camera is a great and memorable image in the film. (keitel's performance as the cab driver is brilliantly conceived, and it is one of the highlights of the film. ) 81555fee3f