Is'taxi driver'based on a true story?
While Taxi Driver is not based on a true story, Paul Schrader took heavy inspiration from a real person. Arthur Bremer served thirty-five years in prison for attempting to assassinate politician and staunch segregationist George Wallace. Like Bickle, Arthur was a loner and kept a detailed diary.
Is taxi driver a good movie?
“The taxi driver‘s shift from lonely neurotic to killer is yawningly predictable—no more informative than a Sunday supplement piece on the mind of the assassin,” Schickel wrote, noting that the film’s realism sometimes overshadowed its narrative potential.
Who is the writer of taxi driver?
"I am Paul Schrader, writer of Taxi Driver, writer/director of American Gigolo and director of The Canyons. AMA!". Reddit. Archived from the original on January 31, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2013. ^ Lim, Dennis (October 19, 2009). "Vigilante films, an American tradition". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015.
How many moviegoers did'a taxi driver'attract?
" 'A Taxi Driver' attracts 10 million moviegoers; 15th Korean film in history". The Korea Times. Retrieved 21 August 2017. ^ Jin Min-ji (2017-08-28).
See more
Was Robert De Niro a real Taxi Driver?
Robert De Niro got a real cab driver's license in preparation for his role in Martin Scorsese's classic, Taxi Driver. Over a month, in the lead up to filming, the actor worked 12 hour shifts at a New York cab firm and would pick up and drop off passengers when he had the time.
Who is Travis Bickle based on?
Arthur BremerTravis Bickle is ranked #30 on AFI's list "100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains". Travis is loosely based upon Arthur Bremer, who in 1972 attempted to assassinate Alabama Governor George Wallace.
Is Iris actually 12 in Taxi Driver?
Iris is only twelve and a half years old—a fact advertised by her pimp, Sport, in order to entice customers. (This is one of the many plot points in Taxi Driver that will make you want to gargle with dish detergent and wash your eyes out with bucketfuls of Visine.)
What is Taxi Driver Kdrama based on?
Model Taxi) is a South Korean television series starring Lee Je-hoon, Esom and Kim Eui-sung. Based on the webtoon The Deluxe Taxi by Carlos and Lee Jae-jin, it premiered on SBS TV on April 9, 2021, and aired every Friday and Saturday at 22:00 KST until May 29.
Was Travis Bickle real?
Travis Bickle is a fictional character who is the protagonist of the 1976 film Taxi Driver directed by Martin Scorsese. The character was created by the film's screenwriter Paul Schrader. He is played by Robert De Niro, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance.
What mental illness did Travis Bickle have?
Those with schizotypal personality disorder tend to feel uncomfortable and have a difficult time in social circumstances, although they may still be friendly towards others. In the film Taxi Driver, Robert De Niro's character Travis Bickle seems to be suffering from this disorder.
What did Travis see in the rearview mirror?
In the last seconds of the film, Travis looks into his rearview mirror and sees his own wild eyes looking back. We get one last glimpse of his insanity, churning under the surface, and there's suddenly a harsh, strange note on the soundtrack as Travis adjusts his mirror and looks away from his reflection.
How old was Jodie Foster when she played Taxi Driver?
12 years oldTaxi Driver (1976) At just 12 years old, Jodie Foster delivered one of the defining performances of her career as a child prostitute in Martin Scorsese's grueling portrait of social dysfunction on the streets of 1970s New York.
How did Jodie Foster feel about Taxi Driver?
Jodie Foster still looks back fondly on her most controversial role.
Is Taxi Driver 2021 a true story?
The character is loosely based on real-life taxi driver Kim Sa-bok, who ferried Jürgen Hinzpeter to Gwangju.
Was the end of Taxi Driver a dream?
Both Scorsese and Schrader have confirmed that Travis does indeed survive and what we see is 'real-life'. On a Reddit AMA, Schrader said, “The epilogue is not a dream sequence, it's just the restarting of the movie.
Why is Taxi Driver so famous?
His movies are beautiful to look at, edgy, and have an in-your-face style of filmmaking, “Taxi Driver” would become Scorsese's greatest achievement because it would go on to set the tone for the type of visual excitement and gritty material that Scorsese would create for the next 40 years.
What year was the movie Taxi Driver made?
This article is about the 1976 film. For the occupation, see taxicab driver. For other uses, see Taxi Driver (disambiguation). Taxi Driver is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster (in her breakthrough role), Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, ...
Who wrote the epilogue for Taxi Driver?
James Berardinelli, in his review of the film, argues against the dream or fantasy interpretation, stating: Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader append the perfect conclusion to Taxi Driver. Steeped in irony, the five-minute epilogue underscores the vagaries of fate.
What inspired Paul Schrader to write Taxi Driver?
In writing the script, Schrader was inspired by the diaries of Arthur Bremer (who shot presidential candidate George Wallace in 1972). The writer also used himself as inspiration; in a 1981 interview with Tom Snyder on the "Tomorrow" show, Schrader related his experience living in New York City while battling chronic insomnia, which led him to frequent pornographic bookstores and theaters because they remained open all night. Following a divorce and a breakup with a live-in girlfriend, he spent a few weeks living in his car. After visiting a hospital for a stomach ulcer, Schrader wrote the screenplay for Taxi Driver in "under a fortnight," recalling that "I realized I hadn't spoken to anyone in weeks [...] that was when the metaphor of the taxi occurred to me. That is what I was: this person in an iron box, a coffin, floating round the city, but seemingly alone." Schrader decided to make Bickle a Vietnam vet because the national trauma of the war seemed to blend perfectly with Bickle's paranoid psychosis, making his experiences after the war more intense and threatening. In Scorsese on Scorsese, Scorsese mentions the religious symbolism in the story, comparing Bickle to a saint who wants to cleanse or purge both his mind and his body of weakness. Bickle attempts to kill himself near the end of the movie as a tribute to the samurai 's " death with honor " principle.
How old is Travis Bickle?
Travis Bickle is a 26-year-old honorably discharged U.S. Marine and Vietnam War veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and living in isolation in New York City. Travis takes a job as a night shift taxi driver to cope with his chronic insomnia.
How much did Scorsese get paid to make the movie?
While De Niro and Cybill Shepherd both received $35,000 to make the film, Scorsese was given only $65,000. Overall, $200,000 of the budget was given to performers in the film.
Who composed the score for Taxi Driver?
Production concluded that same year, with a score being composed by Bernard Herrmann in his final score before his death; the film is dedicated to him. At the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, Taxi Driver was awarded the Palme d'Or.
Who was Scorsese's cinematographer?
To achieve the atmospheric scenes in Bickle's taxi, the sound men would get in the trunk and Scorsese and his cinematographer, Michael Chapman, would ensconce themselves on the back seat floor and use available light to shoot.
What is the taxi driver's real name?
However, the taxi driver’s real name was Kim Sa-bok. The only information known about the driver at the time during production was the name Kim Sa-bok. Therefore, most of the character settings, including the "real" name Kim Man-seob , were created for the film. In the film, Kim Man-seob is a self-employed taxi driver.
How many people watched A Taxi Driver?
On the eleventh day since the opening the film recorded more than 7 million viewers. A Taxi Driver became the most viewed South Korean film in 2017 in less that two weeks since its premiere by attracting more than 8 million audience.
What is the purpose of Man Seob and the other taxi drivers in the movie?
Man-seob and the other taxi drivers use their vehicles to barricade the soldiers from further harming the civilians. The soldiers continue shooting, and the two men arrive at a road blocked by soldiers.
How much did Taxi Driver make in 2017?
By August 20, in just 19 days since the film was released, A Taxi Driver surpassed 10 million viewers selling 10,068,708 tickets, earning a total of US$73 million.
What does Man-Seob convince Peter to do?
Man-seob tries to convince Peter that they should return to Seoul, but the latter refuses to pay the 100,000 won unless they reach Gwangju. They manage to enter the city after they lie about Peter being a businessman. In Gwangju, they find that all the shops are closed and the streets are deserted.
Is the taxi chasing on mountain road melodramatic?
Manfred Selzer of Asian Movie Web argued due to the heavy use of slow-motion, repetitions and soundtrack, some scenes of killing seemed too melodramatic; and the exciting scenes that the taxi chasing on mountain road although were some wonderful action scenes, did not work on well with the narrative, which seemed “out of place in the film and aren’t captured that convincing either”.
Is A Taxi Driver coming to China?
Reactions in China. A Taxi Driver is yet to be released in any form in China , though it received a theatrical release on September 21, 2017 in Hong Kong. The film has received warm responses from users on Chinese movie website Douban, where it had a high user rating.
What is the story of taxi driver?
Taxi Driver is a great story and a fantastic showcase of New York in the mid-1970s, filled with interesting stories that went on behind the camera. By Jason Wojnar Published Oct 26, 2019.
When was Taxi Driver released?
Immediately following its 1976 release, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver was hailed as a cinematic triumph. None of the enthusiasm for the intense drama has died down in the more than forty years since, with new generations continually discovering Travis Bickle's complex anti-hero story.
What happens after Bickle screws up his relationship with Betsy?
One minor but vital detail occurs after Bickle screws up his relationship with Betsy by taking her to an adult movie theater. He tries to call her again and secure another date, and while he is talking the camera slowly pans away from him.
Who played Travis Bickle in The Godfather?
Robert De Niro has a reputation as a method actor. To get into the Travis Bickle role, the New York native spent two weeks working as a taxi driver in the city. Despite his recent success with The Godfather II playing a young Vito Corleone, few people recognized him.
Who turned down the lead role in Taxi Driver?
3 Dustin Hoffman Turned Down The Lead Role. By the mid-1970s, Dustin Hoffman was already a big star and consistently sought out by directors. Martin Scorsese approached him about the lead part in Taxi Driver, but Hoffman wasn't having any of it.
Is Betsy's rejection of Travis embarrassing?
According to Scorsese, Betsy's rejection of Travis is so embarrassing, even the camera has to look away. It is certainly a tragically sad moment, but no one can blame the woman for not wanting anything to do with the main character after the incident at the theater.
Who made the music for the taxi driver?
Taxi Driver' s music was done by Bernard Hermann. Hermann was a legend by this time, having scored such classics like Vertigo and The Day the Earth Stood Still. His first motion picture gig was the influential Citizen Kane. Given Scorsese's reverence for cinema, getting Hermann on board was a dream come true.
Why should history be taught through films?
There has long been a debate as to whether history can or should be taught through film because of conflicts with historical accuracy and truthfulness. Though it seems that even with such issues, there is always something that a person can learn about history through films. Such films could introduce people to aspects of the past ...
Is A Taxi Driver based on a true story?
Like several other recent South Korean Films, A Taxi Driver, is a film based on a true story of a German reporter and a Korean taxi driver trying to safely make their way into the city of Gwangju to expose to the world the truth behind the atrocities taking place against the people of Gwangju. This film was directed by Hun Jang with a cast ...
Who directed the movie Taxi Driver?
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Taxi Driver builds to a bloody climax and concludes with a cryptic sequences of events — events that may be in Travis Bickle's head. When interpreted literally, the 1976 film ends with a lonely taxi driver, Travis Bickle, saving an adolescent prostitute by killing her pimps, and then becoming a New York City hero who ...
Who plays Travis in Taxi Driver?
However, a closer look implies that Travis' life ends in a figurative hell that he references throughout Taxi Driver. On the surface, Travis ( Robert De Niro) represents the prototypical loner who's detached from reality.
Why does Scorsese leave the camera in Taxi Driver?
To reinforce the idea that Travis dies in Taxi Driver, Scorsese's camera slowly leaves the room while the police assess the scene, frozen in shock. The camera ultimately settles in the street to show that a giant mess still exists. The implication: Travis didn't clean up anything but instead contributed to the filth.
What is the sequence that Travis shoots in the head?
First, Travis blasts a pimp's hand and ultimately shoots him in the head. By saving Iris from harm, Travis has eliminated a profane threat and protected a sacred figure.
How old is Iris in Taxi Driver?
In Taxi Driver, everything changes for Travis after he spots a 12-year-old prostitute named Iris ( Jodie Foster ). Now, he's seemingly found a purpose, and plans to help the girl anyway he can. "Suddenly, there is a change," he says, "there has never been any choice for me.". Now experiencing a major existential crisis, Travis prepares for war.
What does Travis wear in Palantine?
When a militarized Travis shows up at a Palantine rally, wearing a mohawk and aviator shades, he's left his real identity behind. Earlier, Wizard explains how a man can become his job (in this case, a taxi driver), and now Travis has fully transformed into someone else — the archetypal Man with No Name.
What happens when Betsy shows up in Travis' car?
When Betsy shows up in Travis' vehicle during Taxi Driver, the two seemingly reunite and re-ignite a possible romance. However, this appears to be another idealized version of events that Travis imagines. The streets are suspiciously clean, and Betsy's hair blows in the wind like an angel. And it doesn't seem coincidental that she wears white. This is Scorsese's sacred ending for Taxi Driver: an angel with the face of Betsy welcomes Travis to heaven.
Where was the taxi driver in 1980?
In the bloody month of May 1980 in Gwangju, South Korea, one such invisible hero was a taxi driver whose name may or may not have been Kim Sa-bok.
Who was the reporter who documented the Chun atrocities?
Hinzpeter was one of the few foreign correspondents to document the carnage, and his footage was seen around the globe. Mr. Hinzpeter , who died last year at 78, has long been celebrated in South Korea for his part in exposing Mr. Chun’s atrocities. A memorial to the journalist stands in Gwangju.
Overview
Themes and interpretations
Roger Ebert has written of the film's ending:
There has been much discussion about the ending, in which we see newspaper clippings about Travis's "heroism" of saving Iris, and then Betsy gets into his cab and seems to give him admiration instead of her earlier disgust. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts? Can the sequence be accepted as literally true? ... I am …
Plot
Travis Bickle is a 26-year-old honorably discharged U.S. Marine and Vietnam War veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and living alone in New York City. Travis takes a job as a night shift taxi driver to cope with his chronic insomnia and loneliness. He frequents the porn theaters on 42nd Street and keeps a diary in which he consciously attempts to include aphorisms, such as "you're only as healthy as you feel." He is disgusted with the crime and urban decay he witnesses, …
Cast
• Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle
• Jodie Foster as Iris Steensma
• Cybill Shepherd as Betsy
• Harvey Keitel as Matthew "Sport" Higgins
Production
According to director Martin Scorsese, it was Brian De Palma who introduced him to Paul Schrader. Taxi Driver arose from Scorsese feeling that movies are like dreams or drug-induced reveries; he attempted to inculcate within the viewer the feeling of being in a limbo state between sleeping and waking. The director also cites Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956) and Jack Hazan's A Bigger Splash (1973) as inspirations for his camerawork in the movie. In writing the script, Schra…
Controversies
Some critics showed concern over 12-year-old Foster's presence during the climactic shoot-out. Foster said that she was present during the setup and staging of the special effects used during the scene; the entire process was explained and demonstrated for her, step by step. Moreover, Foster said, she was fascinated and entertained by the behind-the-scenes preparation that went into the scene. In addition, before being given the part, Foster was subjected to psychological tes…
Reception
The film opened at the Coronet Theater in New York City and grossed a house record $68,000 in its first week. It went on to gross $28.3 million in the United States, making it the 17th-highest-grossing film of 1976.
The film received critical acclaim. Roger Ebert instantly praised it as one of the greatest films he had ever seen, claiming:
Legacy
Taxi Driver, American Gigolo, Light Sleeper, and The Walker make up a series referred to variously as the "Man in a Room" or "Night Worker" films. Screenwriter Paul Schrader (who directed the latter three films) has said that he considers the central characters of the four films to be one character, who has changed as he has aged. The film also influenced the Charles Winkler film You Talkin' to Me?
Overview
A Taxi Driver (Korean: 택시운전사; Hanja: 택시運轉士; RR: Taeksi Unjeonsa) is a 2017 South Korean historical action drama film directed by Jang Hoon and written by Eom Yu-na, with Song Kang-ho starring in the title role, alongside Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hae-jin, and Ryu Jun-yeol.
Based on a real-life story, the film centers on a taxi driver from Seoul who unintentionally becomes involved in the events of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. It is based on German journalist Jürgen Hi…
Reception
A Taxi Driver received positive reviews upon its release. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 96% based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads "A Taxi Driver brings a ground-level perspective and a refreshingly light touch to a fact-based story with sobering implications." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating based on reviews, the film has a score of 69 out of 100, based on 7 …
Background
The film centers around the Gwangju Uprising that occurred from May 18, 1980 to May 27, 1980 and it is estimated to have led to 2,000 people being killed. The plot in the film mirrors the historical background of the Gwangju Uprisings.
The Gwangju Uprising was a result of a continuous power tug-of-war between the government and the citizens of South Korea – mainly college students – that were advocating for democracy.
Plot
In 1980, Kim Man-seob is a widowed father who works as a taxi driver in Seoul. One day, he overhears another taxi driver talking about a foreign client who has booked him for a trip worth 100,000 won (the Korean equivalent of 100 dollars); the client intends to travel to Gwangju for the day and return to Seoul before curfew. Man-seob rushes off to steal the client.
The client is Jürgen "Peter" Hinzpeter, a West German journalist who wishes to report on the incre…
Cast
• Song Kang-ho as Kim Man-seob
A widowed taxi driver who lives with his eleven year old daughter in a small house. He is an ordinary man from the working class who cares only about his family's livelihood and is uninterested in political issues. The character is loosely based on real-life taxi driver Kim Sa-bok, who ferried Jürgen Hinzpeter to Gwangju. Kim remained out of the public eye until the release o…
Production
Filming began on June 5, 2016, and ended on October 24, 2016.
Release
The film was released on August 2, 2017 in South Korea. On the same day, the film had its international premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, where Song Kang-ho was named Best Actor for his role in the film.
According to distributor Showbox, the film will be released in North America on August 11, Australia and New Zealand on August 24, followed by the UK on August 25. It will then open in A…
Fictionalized elements
A Taxi Driver generally shows good accuracy on the memory of Gwangju Uprising, but several historical events depicted in the film are inaccurate and fictional.
The name of the taxi driver who helps Hinzpeter in the film is Kim Man-seob. He gives a false name, Kim Sa-bok, to Hinzpeter when he asks for Kim's name late…