Who directed Taxi Driver and when was it released?
Taxi Driver was directed by Martin Scorsese and theatrically released by Columbia Pictures on the 8th of February, 1976. The screenplay was written by Paul Schrader.
Questions about Taxi Driver
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who composed the score for Taxi Driver?
Bernard Herrmann composed the score for Taxi Driver. He completed the recording just hours before he died on the 24th of December, 1975, making it his final work. The film is dedicated to his memory.
What awards did Taxi Driver win?
Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival and received four nominations at the 49th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Robert De Niro, and Best Supporting Actress for Jodie Foster. In 1994, it was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry.
How did Taxi Driver influence the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan?
John Hinckley Jr. cited Taxi Driver as a central part of his delusional motivation for attempting to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Hinckley said he wanted to impress Jodie Foster by mimicking Travis Bickle's mohawked appearance at the Palantine rally in the film. His defense attorney screened the movie for the jury, and Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
What was the budget for Taxi Driver and how much did it earn?
Taxi Driver was made on a budget of $1.9 million, with actors including Robert De Niro and Cybill Shepherd each taking $35,000. The film grossed $28.3 million in the United States, ranking as the 17th-highest-grossing film of 1976.
What does the ending of Taxi Driver mean?
Writer Paul Schrader has said the ending is not a dream sequence, describing it as a loop where the last frame could be spliced to the first so the film starts over. Schrader also stated on the 30th-anniversary DVD that Travis "is not cured by the movie's end" and "he's not going to be a hero next time." Scorsese has described Travis in the final shot as "a ticking time bomb."