taxi driver
---Spoilers ahead, for anyone who hasn't seen this 32-year-old movie*---
About three months ago, I took a part time job in order to help maintain my lavish (ha!) lifestyle. One big advantage of the job is that I get all kinds of time to watch movies on my portable DVD player; a glaring disadvantage is that I get a lot less theater time, and a whole lot less blogging time. Oh, well. I gots to pay the bills somehow.
In the course of my moonlighting, I get to sit in my car for hours at a time, next to an alley in a really seedy part of town. So I get to see all kinds of exciting things. Like the drug addict who passed out in the alley and was revived by police this last Saturday night. Or the haggard homeless lady who took it upon herself to do a complete wardrobe change in broad daylight, sans underclothes, in the middle of a parking lot.
Travis Bickle saw a lot of interesting shit on his job, too. For those of you who don't know, he was a cabbie who worked some of the shadier parts of New York City in the seventies... Granted, he was also a RAVING LUNATIC... but here's hoping my vocational experiences don't ever lead me to practice whipping out my gun in front of a mirror.
One of the things about having decided only recently to dive headlong into my movie obsession is that I still have not seen many cinematic essentials. Actually, Saturday night was my first ever viewing of Taxi Driver. And so I've seen all kinds of movies which have obviously been influenced by Scorsese's masterpiece, before I saw the original work. For example, when DeNiro's cabbie shaved his head into that mohawk as he was preparing to go medieval on politicians and pimps, I saw blinding flashes of Ed Norton's hardened, murderous skinhead from American History X. I'm sure this happened in reverse for everyone who saw these movies in the order they were released, but for me it was like seeing a prequel and having the pieces finally fall into place.
Also, I bet a lot of people see Jodie Foster in grown-up roles and have flashes of the little twelve-year-old hooker in Taxi Driver... for me, again, it was the opposite. She was so precocious at that young age, I just saw the adult Foster in her little face. Young Harvey Keitel weirded me out... young Albert Brooks weirded me out, too... and of course young DeNiro was weird. But smokin' hot.**
I've been really remiss in my blogging lately, but I have done my best to keep up with the "Viewed But Not Reviewed" list on the sidebar. So if any of you have been following that, you can see that I've been doing my best lately to catch up on must-sees that I've missed till now. At home now I've got Rushmore, Sophie's Choice, and Dr. Strangelove. Any suggestions as to which one I should see on my shift tonight?
*Like me, as of three days ago.
**Rowr. Yes, I'm talking to you, Bobby.
About three months ago, I took a part time job in order to help maintain my lavish (ha!) lifestyle. One big advantage of the job is that I get all kinds of time to watch movies on my portable DVD player; a glaring disadvantage is that I get a lot less theater time, and a whole lot less blogging time. Oh, well. I gots to pay the bills somehow.
In the course of my moonlighting, I get to sit in my car for hours at a time, next to an alley in a really seedy part of town. So I get to see all kinds of exciting things. Like the drug addict who passed out in the alley and was revived by police this last Saturday night. Or the haggard homeless lady who took it upon herself to do a complete wardrobe change in broad daylight, sans underclothes, in the middle of a parking lot.
Travis Bickle saw a lot of interesting shit on his job, too. For those of you who don't know, he was a cabbie who worked some of the shadier parts of New York City in the seventies... Granted, he was also a RAVING LUNATIC... but here's hoping my vocational experiences don't ever lead me to practice whipping out my gun in front of a mirror.
One of the things about having decided only recently to dive headlong into my movie obsession is that I still have not seen many cinematic essentials. Actually, Saturday night was my first ever viewing of Taxi Driver. And so I've seen all kinds of movies which have obviously been influenced by Scorsese's masterpiece, before I saw the original work. For example, when DeNiro's cabbie shaved his head into that mohawk as he was preparing to go medieval on politicians and pimps, I saw blinding flashes of Ed Norton's hardened, murderous skinhead from American History X. I'm sure this happened in reverse for everyone who saw these movies in the order they were released, but for me it was like seeing a prequel and having the pieces finally fall into place.
Also, I bet a lot of people see Jodie Foster in grown-up roles and have flashes of the little twelve-year-old hooker in Taxi Driver... for me, again, it was the opposite. She was so precocious at that young age, I just saw the adult Foster in her little face. Young Harvey Keitel weirded me out... young Albert Brooks weirded me out, too... and of course young DeNiro was weird. But smokin' hot.**I've been really remiss in my blogging lately, but I have done my best to keep up with the "Viewed But Not Reviewed" list on the sidebar. So if any of you have been following that, you can see that I've been doing my best lately to catch up on must-sees that I've missed till now. At home now I've got Rushmore, Sophie's Choice, and Dr. Strangelove. Any suggestions as to which one I should see on my shift tonight?
*Like me, as of three days ago.
**Rowr. Yes, I'm talking to you, Bobby.
October 20, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Ugh, Taxi Driver is one of my all time favorites.
Rushmore for sure! And then “Sophie’s Choice,” Meryl Streep gives her best ever performance in that!
October 20, 2008 at 1:35 PM
Yeah, Nathaniel gave a plug for Rushmore, too. It's just that I feel like I have to pay close attention with that one, and I can't always do that on the job. But I'll probably try again tonight.
October 20, 2008 at 5:40 PM
It's been many a year since I last saw Taxi Driver; 10 years I think, so you're first foray has actually reawakened my thirst to see it all over again.
As for what to watch next, oh definitely Rushmore. Just a sublime film and I'd like to hear your take on it.
October 20, 2008 at 6:07 PM
Taxi Driver was one of my first "date" movies. It was a blind date, and I was grateful to see a movie that sparked some great conversation. I have a few DVD recommendations. Dog Day Afternoon is a wonderful classic. If you're not squeamish about the situation in the Middle East these days, Taxi to the Dark Side is an excellent documentary (trying to stick w/ the taxi theme). Son of Rambow is well worth a look. And I saw Harold and Maude for the first time a few months ago, what a gem! Good luck with the extra job, and happy viewing!
October 20, 2008 at 9:08 PM
It's good to see you back. I haven't seen Taxi Driver or any of your pending movies except for Strangelove. For Strangelove, I'd recommended trying out the movie Fail Safe either before or after.
I don't want to seem like a The Center Seat fanboy, Linda, but Nayana has watched and reviewed Taxi to the Dark Side on February 8th of this year.
http://centerseat.blogspot.com/2008/02/taxi-to-dark-side-of-kong-fistful-of.html
October 21, 2008 at 9:29 AM
Oh. My. Lord. My first fanboy. David, you do seem to have the knack of plastering a smile on my face at early hours in the morning. It's a rare gift.
I did review Taxi to the Dark Side, and honestly it still affects the way I think about our (the U.S.'s) role in world affairs. I do appreciate the recommendations, though, Linda. I was on the fence about Son of Rambow... maybe I need to check that one out.
I did take Ibe's and Nick's recommendation; I watched Rushmore last night. I'll do my damnedest to get something up on the site today.