Taxi Driver

by Amy Taubin

Book Overview

Paul Schrader was in meltdown in 1972. Drinking heavily, living in his car, he was hospitalised with a gastric ulcer. There he read about Arthur Bremer's attempt to assassinate Alabama Governor George... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0851703933
• ISBN13: 9780851703930
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: British Film Institute
• Length: 79 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.4" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Compelling

I thoroughly enjoyed this insightful little book, especially it's satisfying psychological portrait of Travis Bickle, "Taxi Driver's" disturbed and fascinating protaganist, deftly played by Robert De Niro. Amy Taubin is a gifted writer, whose acute sensitivity--perhaps a bit too acute regarding some of her comments about Bremmer--makes for an engrossing read. It's inconceivable to me that anyone who reads this work could put it down without a deeper appreciation of this seductive, volatile film.

Inside Travis Bickle

This is a very good look at "Taxi Driver." Taubin covers the making of the film (the money Scorsese got for making it might buy one day's worth of catering today) and gives the movie a very close analysis. She touches on key issues such as 1)how it stays close to and deviates from Arthur Bremer's experiences as he tracked George Wallace 2) the interplay between Bernard Herrmann's score and the images 3)how "Taxi Driver" can be seen as borrowing from the horror film 4) how Travis Bickle relates to black people. These are topics that, to me, have not really been covered in such depth before."Taxi Driver" is very well done, one of the best in the BFI series.

One of the better BFI Film Classics

With this entry in the BFI Film Classics collection, Amy Taubin has written a very well-researched, entertaining and informative examination of this indisputable American film classic. In addition, this book isn't too literate or hard to understand, as some of these type of film analyses can be. It is written clearly and with a great deal of detail. A must for any fan of this film, anyone interested in American cinema of the 70's, or fans of legendary director Martin Scorsese. Excellent!

Yet another BFI success

I have been collecting a lot of the BFI Film Classics Books, and was looking forward to adding TAXI DRIVER to the collection as it is one of the best movies of all time. After waiting almost a year for it to come out at last, the book is well worth the wait. It is written very well, concisely and easy to understand, goes through and touches on a variety of aspects on the film and includes a number of beautiful color photos. It is a great book, as are all of the BFI Film Classics books, perfect companions to your favorite movies.