Taxi driver [DVD]

Robert de Niro plays Travis Bickle, a Vietnam veteran who takes up driving a cab at night in New York City. The job brings him into contact with what he calls the “scum and sewerage, the pimps and pushers” of the city. He attempts to find redemption through love, first for the politically ambitious and sophisticated Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), and, when he is rejected, by rescuing a 12 year old prostitute (Jodie Foster) from her pimp. When love fails Travis, he is provoked into an act of savage violence as his judgement on the world. The film is infamous for having influenced American President Reagan’s would-be assassin John Hinkley, but it is more significant for portraying the paralyzing decay and resultant psycho-pathology of American urban life. Scripted by Paul Schrader, “Taxi Driver” is one of Scorsese’s masterworks. Cast also includes Harvey Keitel.