187. TAXI DRIVER (dir. Martin Scorsese, 1976) (Hong Kong International Film Festival) What is there left to say about Scorsese’s seminal tale of urban alienation and misguided vigilantism? Robert De Niro gives one of his most iconic performances as Vietnam veteran-turned-insomniac cabbie Travis Bickle, whose attempts to integrate back into society and play nice with Cybill Shepherd backfire horribly, sending him on a murderous crusade to wash the filth off New York City’s streets. Seeing the film in its newly restored form in front of a packed crowd of both adoring fans and - from the reactions it was getting - a good percentage of first-timers was a revelation. Already one of my absolute favourite films, Scorsese’s Palme D’Or winner revealed itself to be funnier than I had remembered, as well as brooding, brutal and just flat-out incredible in almost every department. A masterpiece in the truest sense of the word.
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187. TAXI DRIVER (dir. Martin Scorsese, 1976) (Hong Kong International Film Festival)

What is there left to say about Scorsese’s seminal tale of urban alienation and misguided vigilantism? Robert De Niro gives one of his most iconic performances as Vietnam veteran-turned-insomniac cabbie Travis Bickle, whose attempts to integrate back into society and play nice with Cybill Shepherd backfire horribly, sending him on a murderous crusade to wash the filth off New York City’s streets. Seeing the film in its newly restored form in front of a packed crowd of both adoring fans and - from the reactions it was getting - a good percentage of first-timers was a revelation. Already one of my absolute favourite films, Scorsese’s Palme D’Or winner revealed itself to be funnier than I had remembered, as well as brooding, brutal and just flat-out incredible in almost every department. A masterpiece in the truest sense of the word.