If you've lived in a city for any length of time, you already know it is a completely different place at night. Every year, during our annual trip to Los Angeles for E3, we always manage to stumble upon this very topic. Sure, it is an amazing city during the day, but at night I think we're all a bit on edge, even if we don't want to admit it. It is dark and creepy, the perfect conditions for the city's more unique citizens to come from out of hiding and do their thing.
Los Angeles is creepy, but New York can be outright surreal. It is an interesting place, but for Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), it is a cesspool and a playground for the "buggers, fairies, dopers and junkies." Of course, Travis isn't a shining beacon of sanity either. He's a Vietnam vet still reeling from the horrors he witnessed while in the war. As a result, he's become an anti-social mess unable to make any sort of real connection with anyone. As a social outcast, he has to resort to taking the night shift for a New York cab company. Although the graveyard shift seems like a good fit, it only helps to reinforce his skewed view of New York.
The lone beacon of hope is Betsy (Cybill Shepard), a senatorial aide who befriends Travis. The two hit it off and Travis eventually asks her out. However, Travis is so damaged socially he isn't able to make a normal connection with Betsy. The relationship is doomed from the start, further sending Travis into a downward spiral. The final straw comes when he meets Iris (Jodie Foster), an underage prostitute. The meeting is enough to send Travis plunging further into psychological darkness, leaving him with one option - arm himself and start a one-man crusade to clean the streets of New York.
One of the more striking aspects of Taxi Driver is how open the film is to interpretation. There are multiple ways to look at Travis and his actions. Is he a product of his environment, or is he the only person in the world that actually understands what's going on? This is in no way a defense of Travis's decision, and I hope no one reads it as such. At the same time, as deplorable as Travis's actions are, it's hard to not like the guy. We've all shared Travis's feelings towards societal ills at one point or another, but most of us have the mental capacity to either find a solution that doesn't involve violence or, at the very least, ignore the problem. Travis lacks this ability, instead taking the most extreme of all solutions. He's a tragic figure, not to mention a psychoanalyst's dream case.
Travis's journey into darkness is highlighted by Scorsese's visual prowess. Taxi Driver is a clinic in how to use visuals to emphasize thematic elements. The visuals, such as the film's use of light and dark, completely meld with Travis's mental state. He's a troubled, uncomfortable loner and Scorsese does an amazing job of providing just the right amount of visual contrast to reinforce his mental state. In fact, nearly every element in the film - from the excellent performances to the smallest of props - fits perfectly into the overall picture being weaved by Travis's haunting narration.
Several of the features from the Limited Collector's Edition have made the trip to the Blu-ray version along with a one neat Blu-ray exclusive. Each is designed to either further immerse viewers in the world of Taxi Driver or offer some sort of insight into either Travis or the making of the film.
If you're a fan of commentaries, Taxi Driver has you covered. First off, there's the 1986 Criterion Collection commentary featuring Scorsese and Paul Schrader, the writer. The track is engaging and really peels back the layers on the film's production. Among other topics, Scorsese discusses the unpleasant process of putting a film together, as well as his creative influences and how he tried to use certain camera movements to mimic horror movies. For aspiring filmmakers, or people interested in the process, this is a must listen.
Schrader isn't as verbose on the 1986 track, sticking primarily to how the film was based on his personal experiences. He does, however, have much more to say on his solo commentary track. While the first track sticks to the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, this one is a master class in scriptwriting. The entire track is peppered with advice about writing, his personal influences and how he sees writing as a sort of "self-therapy."
Finally, there's a solo track featuring author Robert Kolker, who offers a broader, academic look at the film. He gets into comparisons with other films and covers some of the storytelling techniques. Of the three tracks, this is the weakest. There's some interesting information, though it is a bit dry. Unlike the other two, it is less of a story and more of a report.
Next up is "Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver," a 2007 interview with Scorsese focusing on the process of getting the film made. It is hard to think of a luminary like Scorsese at one time being an unproven talent, so it is neat to listen to him reflect on making his way into the business. The feature ties in nicely with "Producing Taxi Driver," which is producer Michael Phillips's side of the story. He gets into finding talent and the money to produce the movie.
Schrader and Kolker show up again in "God's Lonely Man," another examination of Schrader's writing process as it extends to Travis. He goes through his entire writing process in detail, paying close attention to Travis' evolution as a character. Kolker interjects a few academic thoughts on the process as well. Schrader's comments lead into "Taxi Driver Stories," a collection of stories from real New York cabbies. They discuss the job in detail, offering some of their more interesting experiences. Both commentaries also tie into "Travis' New York" and "Travis' New York Locations," which look at the locations used in the film and how they've changed since 1975.
Martin Scorsese narrates a great feature on the importance of storyboards in production and how he likes to use them when crafting his vision of a film.
After hearing about pre-production, it is only natural to jump right into the production-focused feature. The best of the bunch is the feature-length "Making of..." from 1999. Nearly everyone associated with the film shows up to share stories from filming. The feature goes over every aspect, right down to props and costumes.
The new features include Sony's movieIQ, which is essentially an in-movie IMDb database as well as BD-Live, an online portal featuring up-to-date trailers and other material relating to new Sony releases. There's also "Interactive Script to Screen," which is easily one of my favorite features on the disc. As the film plays, a smaller window scrolls through the script. You can also stop and restart certain sequences on the fly. Really, the only thing missing is some sort of dual-screen set-up (feature on the big screen, featurette on a smaller screen, like an iPad) similar to what we've seen in more recent Disney Blu-ray releases. This is another must watch for aspiring filmmakers. There are a number of differences between the script and what's on film, showing that every word in a script isn't as sacred as we'd like to believe.
Unless Sony unearths some new footage or features, the Blu-ray version is the definitive version of Taxi Driver. The 4K restoration is absolutely amazing. I can't imagine the film looking any better than it does here. With the exception of the added film textures, there isn't a hint of film degradation anywhere. No dust, dirt or even so much as a scratch. If you're still trying to convince your friends to make the jump to Blu-ray, add this to your arsenal. Add in a fascinating character and story, and you've got what is, so far, one of the top Blu-ray releases of the year.
