Tarantino shares his thoughts about the 1976 martin scorsese film, taxi driver. Hes no travis bickle but seoul cabbie kim manseob is guided by his own strong moral code in a taxi driver, an effective and affecting factbased political drama set against the bloody backdrop of south koreas 1980 guangju democratic uprising. And this week, it is his drivers turn to be recognized. Taxi driver is more relevant than ever in the time of trump inews. The movie rarely strays very far from the personal. Taxi is his third such film and like the other two, had to be smuggled out of the country to be seen. In what is possibly the dreamiest sequence of the film one so apparently disconnected from the rest of taxi drivers timeline that various critics have construed it to be pure hallucination. Taxi driver, a 1975 film directed by martin scorsese is no different. Several hours after id seen martin scorseses new film, taxi driver, last week, someone said to me with the kind of smugness with which pronouncements about the weather are made, well. Taxi driver 1976 as a bicentennial film in the age of intertextuality by frank p. Hinckley, jury watch taxi driver film the washington post. Taxi driver manages to illustrate not only the distinct. To these two, gwangju, under martial law and cut off from the rest of the nation, is a filmic world that they enter.
Todd phillips controversial supervillain origin story joker is a movie whose politics are impossible to parse, which is in line with a comic book character, played by joaquin phoenix, who. Panahi assumes the guise of a taxi driver apparently a nod to fellow iranian director abbas kiarostamis film, ten and drives around a city, much like any other. The film was a product of the post vietnam, post nixon era. Taxi driver homageripoffs are coming around frequently enough almost to count as a whole new genre, and here is the latest travisbicklesploitation picture. It is likely that the films production, which took place during president park geunhyes regime that oppressed leftleaning artists including the taxi driver song kangho, was very aware of that current situation. Taxi driver was later selected by times richard schickel as one of the best.
Our nation has persisted in this state for so long that when we watch taxi driver, we always watch it with john hinckley. Todd phillips joker is a bold and unique take on the origins of the clown prince of crime, but it owes a lot to martin scorseses classic psychological thriller taxi driver. Mean streets, taxi driver, raging bull, goodfellas. In south korea, an unsung hero of history gets his due. Though politics is not the main focus of the film, the director adds just enough political scenes to help the audience understand the political environment at the time. Everything joker steals from taxi driver screen rant. After all, having premiered in montreals own fantasia, a taxi driver serves not only as a. Added to this, the attempted assassination in the films finale evoked painful memories of the public killings of martin luther king jr, john and. One person bothered by the films climactic reckoning was the famous playwright tennessee williams, who served as head of the cannes jury in 76. The original opened in 1976 after winning the palme dor at the cannes film festival. These two forces come to a head in martin scorseses bleak 1976 film taxi driver. Taxi driver still taking audiences for a shocking ride 40 years later.
How taxi driver defied traditional hollywood and exemplified the new hollywood 9 mar largely influenced by the french new wave and other international film movements, many american filmmakers in the late 1960s to 1970s sought to revolutionize hollywood cinema in a similar way. Taxi driver study guide contains a biography of martin scorsese, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Travis bickle is a strange, anonymous taxi driver, drifting through the streets of new york at night, hanging out in porno theaters, and privately raging. It is a film that forces us to listen to the director deliver a racist and misogynist diatribe demanding we imagine what it would look like to shoot a woman in the face and the genitals. London mayor boris johnson has been caught on film swearing at a taxi driver. The masculine oversight of taxi driver film school rejects. This is a conversation that happens early in the film when travis is on a date with betsy cybil shepherd. Taxi driver is widely considered one of the best films ever made and a landmark entry of new hollywood. Hes no travis bickle but seoul cabbie kim manseob is guided by his own strong moral code in a taxi driver, an effective and affecting factbased political drama set against the. Taxi driver is a film fueled by the tension of sympathizing with traviss loneliness while being repelled by his violent, antisocial behavior. While he does not know much about democratic politics or the electoral process, he feels passionately about the. Taxi driver martin scorsese, 1976 political significance. This essay examines taxi driver martin scorsese, 1976 as a bicentennial opus, filled with all the sociocultural contradictions of that era.
The man is travis bickle, exmarine, veteran of vietnam, composer of dutiful anniversary notes to his parents, taxi driver, killer. Mr johnson, who is also a conservative mp, was involved in an. You were never really here updates taxi driver to an even. Rewatching taxi driver in the age of joker vanity fair. One neednt look far to see the films extensive influence on a dystopianobsessed culture tyler durden and rorschach both echo the blueprint established here when they arent quoting it outright, and taxi driver is at least as much a passively incendiary commentary on american media as it is a tortured character study. If your theory is that a film like this might prove dangerous, the associations between joker and taxi driverthus potentially between joker and. Added to this, the attempted assassination in the films finale evoked painful memories of the public killings of martin luther king jr, john and robert kennedy, and other famous figures. He soon becomes disgusted with the people, the politics, and the culture so he resolves to clean up the city by. Written by paul schrader, taxi driver is an homage to and reworking of cinematic influences, a study of individual psychosis, and an acute diagnosis of.
Joker is a movie with deliberately contradictory politics. How taxi driver defied traditional hollywood and exemplified the new hollywood. A taxi driver is a 2017 south korean historical action drama film directed by jang hoon and written by eom yuna, with song kangho starring in the title role, alongside thomas kretschmann. Travis tells palantine that his only real concern is that the politicians do more to clean up all the filth and scum on the streets.
Taxi driver is martin scorseses frighteningly plausible case history of such a person. Travis implied feelings about blacks, for example, which emerge in two long shots in a taxi drivers hangout, when he exchanges looks with a man who may be a drug dealer. In taxi driver, this psychological profile is explored, and it gets pretty uncomfortable. Based on a reallife story, the film centers on a taxi driver from seoul who unintentionally becomes involved in the events of the gwangju uprising in 1980. The selection was made by a special committee of the korean film council. Rejected by beautiful political aide betsy cybill shepherd after a catastrophic date at one of the ubiquitous porn theatres, travis becomes. Brilliantly written by paul schrader, photographed by michael chapman, and scored. In addition to taxi driver, scorsese has directed over twentyfive films. Released in 1976, both the vietnam war and the watergate scandal were still fresh in the minds of the american people, with the overriding sense of disenfranchisement and distrust of the political establishment reflected in the cynical way in which candidate senator palantines presidential campaign is depicted. Cities are cleaner, but the rage, despair and violence prevail martin scorseses groundbreaking film turns 40 this year, and the 1970s issues that. Taxi driver and the frightening truth about our current political climate. In taxi driver, this central story is surrounded by many smaller ones, all building to the same theme. Sky movies uk 2009 tarantino shares his thoughts about the 1976 martin scorsese film, taxi driver. How joker compares to martin scorseses taxi driver and.
M artin scorseses taxi driver 1976 was last revived five years ago, for its 30th anniversary, but any occasion to return it to the big screen is fine. Watergates legacy and the political corruption is critiqued in taxi driver through the presidential candidate charles palantine and the female. A simplistic sense of political disenfranchisement, innate racism, fondness for firearms, selfdestructive impulses. Four decades later, its vision of murderous rage as cathartic release is still disturbing. But by the films finale, youll remember that martin scorsese is as much as human storyteller as he is a. O ne of the many virtues of martin scorseses taxi driver is how acutely it captures the era in which it was made. In the twisted psychological journeys of both films protagonists, their relationships with women, and the ways the films play on audience expectations, joker and taxi driver seem to share the same dna. In early life and in the years between midway and the last taxi driver, durkee accumulated a veritable trunkfull of grist. Watching taxi driver with john hinckley bright lights.
She says he reminds her of a kris kristofferson song, and emphasizes the line about walking contradictions. It is based on german journalist jurgen hinzpeters interactions with driver kim sabok. A film, a taxi driver, opened wednesday in theaters across the country, telling the story of the uprising from the point of view of. When writing the film, schrader was homeless and depressed. Perhaps the most famous instance of loneliness in the cinematic world was documented in martin scorceses 1976 film taxi driver. As a film depicting a historical trauma, it is fully aware of the position.
On the surface, joker looks like a king of comedy or taxi driver set in gotham city. Politics in taxi driver 1975 martin scorsese accurate. The conclusion of the film has travis being hailed as a hero and local celebrity by the newspapers, and even. There are undercurrents in the film that you can sense without quite putting your finger on them. Mean streets, taxi driver, and new york, new york scorsese then shocked filmgoers with taxi driver 1976, a hellish tour of a disturbed vietnam veterans peculiar madness. You were never really here updates taxi driver to an even colder urban landscape joaquin phoenix stars as a hit man who specializes in rescuing child prostitutes. He goes through the motions of ingratiating flattery, but we, and palatine, sense something wrong. The story takes place during a political campaign, and travis twice finds himself with the candidate, palatine, in his cab. Factbased political thriller a taxi driver takes journalist for a ride in south korea. Boris johnson filmed swearing at taxi driver bbc news. Taxi driver and the frightening truth about our current. Taxi drivers backdrop is one of alienation, disillusionment, political discord, and. Through the character of travis, taxi driver indicts politics as wholly out of touch with their perception of the people.