Analysis Opening Sequence 2*

Era, genre of film and introduction of characters:


Taxi Driver is a 1976 American psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The loction of the film is set in New York City, not long after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle who is the main character and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd.



Story lines, topics and location:


De Niro plays an ex-Marine named Travis Bickle who runs the nightshift, driving his taxi throughout decaying mid-'70s New York City, wishing for a "real rain" to wash the "scum" off the neon-lit streets. Travis is one of those lonely human beings who cannot connect with anyone, not even with other taxi drivers such as blowhard Wizard (Peter Boyle). He falls in love with dull blonde presidential campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), who agrees to go out with him but then rejects him when he cluelessly takes her to see a pornography film. An increasingly paranoid Travis begins to condition and arm himself for his planned mission that changes from assassinating Betsy's candidate, Charles Palatine (Leonard Harris), to violently saving a teenager hooker Iris (Jodie Foster) from her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel). These events turn Travis into a media hero; but has it all really changed his mental state and him as a whole?


Props, sets and iconography:


I think it was a good idea for the close up shot of the taxi to be shown driving down a dark lit street of New York City at the beginning of the opening sequence as it is symbolised as the main object in connection with the main character, Travis Bickle.

The scenery where Travis goes to look for a job as a taxi driver looks run down and the print shirt he and the old man behind him wears are 1970's style.

Sound-dialogue, music, and editing styles, features and camera, movements, framing:


The close up of Bickle's eyes at the beginning slowly moving side to side shows the uncertainty of the character as if he is thinking where to go in the taxi and has been driving round for hours before making a stop to ask for a job as a taxi driver.

From the dialogue at the beginning between Bickle and the man, the audience learn or can gather he suffers from insomnia and he hopes to become a taxi driver to cope with it. At 3:00 the remark about him working Jewish holidays could be a reference to the large Jewish community in New York. The man questions him and he gives personal information away about himself such as his age, education and that he is an honorably discharged marine.

This film involves diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Later on the non-diegetic music builds up a haunting atmosphere while a voice-over of the main character's thoughts situates us in the mind of a character en route to destruction. This technique by the director Scorsese makes highly effective use of diegetic and non-diegetic elements placed deliberately in a state of confusion to defamiliarise the audience.