Taxi Driver: An Iconic Film About 1970s New York

The Story of Taxi Driver

• Taxi Driver was directed by renowned New York filmmaker Martin Scorsese in 1976. You’ve likely seen one of his other films: The Wolf of Wall Street, Gangs of New York, Shutter Island, Goodfellas, The Departed, or The Irishman from 2019.
• Taxi Driver follows Travis Bickle, a former Marine working as a night-shift taxi driver in New York. Robert De Niro delivers a brilliant performance as Travis Bickle, himself a New York native.
• Travis is adrift and troubled, with no purpose beyond mechanically driving his cab through monotonous nights. One evening, he picks up Betsy, an aide to a senator running for president, and falls for her. The relationship falls apart. Travis spirals further down. Later, he witnesses a convenience store robbery. The former soldier intervenes, wounding the robber, who is then killed by the store owner. Shaken, Travis seeks meaning in his life. He decides to help a young prostitute escape the streets. In a striking casting choice, the prostitute is played by Jodie Foster in her first major film role.
• One of the film’s most iconic scenes: Robert De Niro’s unforgettable moment practicing with a gun in front of his mirror, delivering the famous line “Are you talking to me?”

New York in Taxi Driver

• Taxi Driver offers a vivid portrait of New York’s darker side in the late 1970s, far removed from typical tourist views of the city. You’ll quickly see how different the crime and atmosphere of that era were from today’s New York. The scenes shot on Times Square serve as a genuine historical document, complete with the numerous adult shops that lined the streets back then.
• Many filming locations have since disappeared. The taxi company headquarters, for instance, stood at the corner of 11th Avenue and 57th Street. The same goes for the taxi drivers’ diner, Belmore Cafeteria, which once occupied Park Avenue South.
• Other locations have changed dramatically. Senator Charles Palantine’s campaign headquarters, at the corner of Broadway and Sesame Street, is unrecognizable today. The Duane Reade at Columbus Circle, where Travis has coffee with Betsy, has also transformed.
• Taxi Driver also takes you to Brooklyn. Travis buys his gun at a shop located at 87 Columbia Heights. Don’t bother looking for it—the neighborhood has completely transformed into one of Brooklyn’s most desirable areas, just steps from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.
• Without spoiling the ending, the final scene was shot in front of the St. Régis Hotel at 2 East 55th Street. Originally opened in 1904, the hotel has endured through the decades—and through many films.
• One last note about Travis’s taxi: the Checker cab from the late 1970s inspired the logo of CNEWYORK, with its distinctive checkered pattern on the body. It’s a fitting tribute to the site’s history, which began in 1999!

The Taxi Driver Trailer

The Movie Poster

What Did You Think of This Film?

Did you enjoy Taxi Driver? What’s your favorite scene? Share your thoughts in the comments below!