'On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody' Oh, come on you didn't really think that there wouldn't be at least one Martin Scorsese film on a list of great seventies films, did you? Marty made some amazing films in that decade and Mean Streets and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore just narrowly missed the cut. Taxi Driver, however, simply has to be included, as it is one of the quintessential seventies films. The Palme d'Or winning movie is a terrifying insight into the mind of an alienated man who wants to 'clean up' the New York City streets. Not with a dustpan and brush mind you, but by rescuing a 12-year-old prostitute and killing her pimp. Taxi Drive is a rich, complex film that sees Scorsese on top of his game. Robert De Niro gives one of the all-time great performances as Travis Bickle. De Niro, ever the method actor, got his own cab licence and did twelve hour shifts while researching the role. No film so expertly captures the seedy underbelly of seventies New York, with all of its porn theatres and debauchery. The film was controversial when it was released, coming into conflict with the MPAA over the bloody nature of the film's climax and the young age of Jodie Foster's character. Like a fine wine, Taxi Driver only gets better with age. If ever you needed proof that the 1970s was the decade for cinema, this is it. Is the '70s really the best decade? What other classic 1970's movies were missed? Get the discussion going down in the comments.
