7. Taxi Driver - "You Talkin' To Me?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzPBUGUM7KQ Easily one of the most iconic and parodied scenes in film history, Robert De Niro's mirror dialogue in Martin Scorsese's superb Taxi Driver has been referenced in everything from children's cartoons to the WWE, and it must make De Niro feel pretty smug that he can up with it all by himself. It wasn't Paul Schrader's superb script or Scorsese's influence that precluded this cracking turn of phrase; all Scorsese did was tell De Niro to talk to the mirror, and with that instruction, De Niro crafted a certifiable slice of cinematic gold. At once hilarious, cool, and a little bit scary, kids have made bad attempts at looking badass in their bedroom mirrors every since, a tradition that will no doubt continue for as long as film is alive.
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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