30.) The Mohawk
More than any poetic shot or dialogue, it is Travis Bickle's mohawk which is the clearest sign that he has completely lost it.
31.) Jodie Foster
The then 12 year old actress put in a fantastic, mature performance which saw her Oscar nominated. She gained insight into her role by hanging out with a real life prostitute who we see walking alongside her in the film. Foster shows the tragic nature of a sweet and likeable young woman who is trapped in a dark and ruthless profession. The fact that she seems to want to stay in this environment is one of the most deeply troubling aspects of the film. She has become accustomed to a lifestyle where she is in a very sickening way a star and we get a sense of an attention depraved child who wanted to feel loved and turned in the wrong direction.
32.) Travis Writes to His Parents!
There is an interesting mirroring effect in Taxi Driver where we see Travis writing to his parents and lying about how he has an important job in the government and about how things are progressing nicely with his girlfriend Betsy. We are painted a picture of a man who has not seen his parents for quite some time and so his motivation for wanting to help Iris return home is as much about doing his bit for society as it is about him using Iris as a way of making up for his own guilty conscience. When we hear the thank-you note from Iris's parents Travis is able to feel for a second as his own parents are praising him something that he probably hasn't experienced a lot of during his life.
33.) QUOTE
"June 29th. I gotta get in shape now. Too much sittin' is ruinin' my body. Too much abuse has gone on for too long. From now on, it will be fifty push-ups each morning, fifty pull-ups. There'll be no more pills, there'll be no more bad food, no more destroyers of my body. From now on, it will be total organization. Every muscle must be tight."
I once wrote down this quote on my wall for motivation to work out more. Turns out a pizza was more inspiring.
34.) Martin Scorsese
Scorsese's handling of the film's drama is admirable. Although he was inexplicably lacking an Oscar nomination for Best Director in 1976, he is responsible for making so many moments stand out through his use of space and unusual camera movements which help to both distort and enlighten our view of the action. He has claimed that Taxi Driver was in many ways his most personal film and it certainly shows on screen.