Taxi Driver: How Scorsese and De Niro Created a Masterpiece

Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver stands as one of cinema's greatest achievements, born from screenwriter Paul Schrader's personal descent into loneliness and despair. Schrader wrote the script while living alone in Los Angeles, enduring a divorce and the end of a new relationship simultaneously. Working as a fried chicken delivery driver, making lonely drives through the city, Schrader channeled his mental anguish into the character of Travis Bickle, using the taxi driver as a metaphor for American male isolation.

Creating Travis Bickle

Schrader originally envisioned Jeff Bridges in the role, but the part ultimately went to Robert De Niro after Dustin Hoffman rejected the script. De Niro's commitment to authenticity was extraordinary. For roughly a month, he obtained a real taxi driver's license and worked 15-hour shifts in New York City while simultaneously filming Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 in Italy. De Niro would shoot in Rome on a Friday, fly to New York to drive a cab, then return to Italy to continue filming. Only one passenger ever recognized him as the Oscar-winning actor.

Scorsese approached the taxi scenes with the same dedication to realism. Rather than towing the cab or using traditional lighting setups, he and his skeleton crew would simply get inside the vehicle, stick the sound engineer in the trunk with battery packs, and drive around the city all night. This low-budget approach paradoxically created some of cinema's most immersive sequences.

The Score and Opening

Composer Bernard Herrmann initially refused the assignment, thinking Taxi Driver was merely a conventional film about an average cab driver. After reading the script and understanding Scorsese and Schrader's ambition, Herrmann agreed. Tragically, he died on December 24, 1975, the day after completing the score. His music, shifting between sensual saxophones representing urban temptation and militaristic drums reflecting Travis's violent impulses, perfectly captures the film's duality.

The opening establishes Travis's isolated universe immediately. His taxi breaks through a shot of empty, smoky New York streets as Herrmann's score plays. A close-up of Travis's eyes, lit alternately by red street lights and white light, telegraphs the film through his warped perspective. The red lighting symbolizes the violent rage bubbling beneath his surface, while also reflecting his dual nature as both a violent and compassionate individual.

The Supporting Cast and Details

Albert Brooks was given freedom to improvise as Tom, Betsy's coworker. Schrader later admitted he struggled writing the character, so Brooks essentially created the role himself through improvisation. De Niro was so committed to disliking Brooks's character that he refused to speak to him between takes, maintaining Travis's contempt even off-screen.

Cybill Shepherd was cast partly because agents were told Scorsese wanted a "Cybill Shepherd type." Producer Julia Phillips later revealed Scorsese hired Shepherd because he found her physically attractive. The tension between De Niro and Shepherd was genuine. He asked her out during filming, and when she declined, he largely ignored her outside of scenes. His coldness during her dialogue-heavy diner scene frustrated her and intensified the uncomfortable dynamic visible in the film.

Travis's military service is referenced through patches on his M-65 field jacket. One depicts the fictional King Kong Company, a deliberate reference to the famous film monster. Like King Kong, Travis eventually scales a building in a violent attempt to protect a woman. Another patch alludes to his parachute training.

The film was shot during New York's 1975 garbage strike, when 10,000 sanitation workers refused to collect trash. The resulting filth decorating the streets perfectly matched Travis's vision of the city as a hellish wasteland, saving the production considerable money on set dressing.

The Iris Subplot

Jodie Foster was cast as 12-year-old prostitute Iris Steensma after other actresses including Mariel Hemingway, Carrie Fisher, and Tatum O'Neal were considered. O'Neal's father forced her to turn down the role due to its inappropriate nature, a decision she later resented. Linda Blair was briefly cast before Foster got the part.

Foster was required to see a child psychologist to ensure she could handle the role's traumatic content. She struggled with trying on provocative outfits, breaking down in tears during fittings. De Niro went to unusual lengths to help her. He found a real-life sex worker and drug addict named Garth Avery who had lived a life similar to Iris. De Niro paid her to stay in his hotel suite and arranged for Foster to spend time with her. Avery appears in the film as Iris's friend and provided authentic details of speech patterns, mannerisms, and behavior that grounded Foster's performance.

The Famous Mirror Scene

Travis's iconic "You talkin' to me?" scene in front of the mirror was entirely improvised by De Niro. Schrader simply told him to play with a gun as if he were a child with a toy. De Niro added the dialogue on the spot, creating one of cinema's most memorable moments. The scene captures Travis's isolation and his practice of self-affirmation before his planned violence.

Travis's Contradictions

Schrader deliberately crafted Travis as someone engaged in self-imposed loneliness, reinforced by contradictory impulses. Travis simultaneously craves connection with Betsy while sabotaging every opportunity. He despises the city's sexual depravity while watching pornography. He desires Betsy's love while bringing her to an adult theater. He judges Tom and other men as unsuitable for Betsy while being emotionally abusive himself.

Travis's coffee date meal of black coffee, apple pie, and melted yellow cheese mirrors the order famously requested by serial killer Ed Gein when confessing his crimes. Though the film doesn't explicitly draw this parallel, the detail underscores Travis's dark psychological state.

As Travis becomes increasingly unhinged, he adopts an increasingly militaristic appearance. He adopts a mohawk and prepares an arsenal of weapons including a .44 Magnum and a .38 revolver. He even carves X-shaped grooves into bullets to maximize fragmentation upon impact. His plan to assassinate Senator Palantine at a campaign rally is directly inspired by Arthur Bremer's 1972 attempted assassination of George Wallace, where Bremer wore one of Wallace's campaign buttons just as Travis does.

The Ending

Though Travis fails to assassinate Palantine due to heightened security, his rage finds another outlet when he encounters Iris and her pimp. In a violent confrontation, Travis kills the pimp and saves Iris from sexual exploitation. Rather than being prosecuted as a vigilante killer, Travis becomes a hero in the media's eyes. He's seen as a protector who rescued a child from exploitation, paralleling his Noah-like vision of purifying the city through violent action.

The ambiguous ending leaves viewers questioning whether Travis has genuinely reformed or simply redirected his violent impulses in a direction society applauds. His final interaction with Betsy suggests he's moved past his obsession, yet his predatory nature remains unchanged. Taxi Driver ultimately presents Travis as a deeply troubled man whose violence, whether directed at politicians or pimps, stems from the same psychological sickness.