With the tagline: "On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody," De Niro captures the essence of a mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran to a unnerving point and proves he is anything but "square." The film, which has managed to keep growing in popularity since its release over 30 years ago, has put some huge names on the map. Robert De Niro plays crazy as the troubled Vietnam vet, and Cybill Shepherd offers a little bit of eye candy. The all-star cast includes: Harvey Keitel, Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, and an underage Jodie Foster giving stellar performances as a prostitute.
Film Facts:
- The scene where Travis Bickle is talking to himself in the mirror was completely ad-libbed by Robert De Niro. The screenplay details just said, "Travis looks in the mirror."
- Harvey Keitel rehearsed with actual pimps to prepare for his role.
- Jodie Foster was 14 years old in 1976, so she could not do the more explicit scenes. Connie Foster, Jodie's 21-year-old sister, was cast as her body double for those scenes.
- Paul Schrader was inspired to write the script after reading the published diary of Arthur Bremer, the man who was convicted of shooting presidential hopeful George Wallace.
- Paul Schrader wrote the script for Taxi Driver in five days. As he was writing, he kept a loaded gun on his desk for motivation and inspiration.
- Jeff Bridges was considered for the part of Travis Bickle.
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