Taxi Driver
Martin Scorsese’sTaxi Driverfeatures one of the most memorable scenes and lines in film account , and the inhalation behind it is in reality quite surprising . Martin Scorsese ’s big break arrived in 1973 with the crime movieMean Streets , which set the tone and style for most of Scorsese ’s career . Three days later , he surprised the consultation with another crime movie : Taxi Driver , starringRobert De Niro as Travis Bickle , who went on to become part of pop culture , in big part , thanks to one finical fit and its talks .
Taxi Driverfollows Travis Bickle , an ex - maritime and Vietnam old-timer work as a taxi driver in New York City . Travis suffer from PTSD , live on alone , and conflict with chronic insomnia , and his genial state drop throughout the movie . Travis becomes sick of with the crime and decay that he witness in the city every dark , and dreams of getting disembarrass of “ the trash ” in the streets . In one scene , Travis is front at himself in the mirror , conceive of a confrontation in which he draws his gun , delivering the now authoritative demarcation “ are you talkin ’ to me ? ” . This was extemporize by De Niro , and the source of inspiration was none other than “ The Boss ” himself , Bruce Springsteen .
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How Bruce Springsteen Inspired Taxi Driver’s Most Famous Line
harmonize to Scorsese himself , he drew inspiration for the mirror scene inTaxi Driverfrom the 1967 movieReflections in a Golden Eye , whereMarlon Brando ’s characteris facing the mirror and talking to himself . Later , Taxi Driverscreenwriter Paul Schrader confirm De Niro improvised the dialogue but say he was inspired by the performance of an underground comedian from New York . However , in 2009 , saxophonist Clarence Clemons claimed in his memoir that De Niro explicate the origin of the “ are you talkin ’ to me ? ” line during the production of Scorsese’sNew York , New York , revealing he got it from Bruce Springsteen , who used to say the line onstage at his concerts .
Still , there ’s some dubiousness around the origin ofTaxi Driver ’s most famous seam . grant toVariety , Springsteen used the line during his “ Quarter to Three ” strike at the Bottom Line show , which happened afterTaxi Driverfinished filming . It ’s potential that The Boss used the line before at the Roxy , thus inspiring De Niro to practice it inTaxi Driver , but not even Springsteen himself is certain . During a conversation with Scorsese at a private Netflix event in 2019 , Springsteen said he believes it ’s all an urban myth , with Scorsese replying that it might be unfeigned because they never knew where it fare from – and , of course , De Niro was too busy at that moment to pick up the phone and clear this up .
Why Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle Became So Popular
Travis Bickle gave De Niro an Academy Award nominating address for his performance , and his character as an anti - hero made him wide democratic with the audience . The complexity of Travis ’ characteralong with Scorsese ’s optic tale made the character andTaxi Drivera success and a classic , but the character has also been surrounded by controversy – which , finally , has also added to his popularity . In 1981 , John Hinckley Jr. sample to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan so as to impress Jodie Foster , animate by Bickle ’s actions in the movie . Bickle has also inspired various artistic production installations , song , and other characters in moving picture , most notably Arthur Fleck inJoker . Travis Bickle is experience as the quintessential antihero , and few characters can equate to him .
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