2. Taxi Driver (1977)
This film has been imitated, spoofed, defiled and copied so much that its actually quite hard to imagine that this film was once unlike anything else out there. Taken from an original screenplay by Paul Schrader (which is, scarily, semi-autobiographical and based on Schraders experiences of being alone in New York), it has become the benchmark for the lonely, dangerous man films since its release in 1977, and will endure for many more undoubtedly. The story is simple, which probably accounts for its impact; one man, Travis Bickle (De Niro in arguably his best role), is a lonely Vietnam veteran disgusted with the world he sees around him. He goes around, trying and failing to connect with any human being, and eventually tries to save a 13 year old prostitute called Iris. Its a cinematic delight, however, and Scorsese employs a number of clever cinematic tricks (the fizzing tablet in the water) to give us a real first person view of Travis alienation; we almost, although never fully, sympathise with him, but we at least begin to understand why he is as he is. A seminal, wholly original film.