Taxi Driver
Initial
Today I will review a classic of yester year, Taxi Driver. It stars Robert De Niro and a young Jodie Foster. This movie won best picture at the '76 Cannes film festival, and got Oscar nominations for best film, best actor (De Niro) and best supporting actress (Foster) - not bad a thing to write on a case of a DVD
Movie
Where to start, the firs
Initial
Today I will review a classic of yester year, Taxi Driver. It stars Robert De Niro and a young Jodie Foster. This movie won best picture at the '76 Cannes film festival, and got Oscar nominations for best film, best actor (De Niro) and best supporting actress (Foster) - not bad a thing to write on a case of a DVD
Movie
Where to start, the first thing I must say is this movie is a classic. It is about a man driven over the edge. The film is gritty and real, it does not hold back, for example Foster plays a prostitute, this may sound ok, but Foster is only 13! The film contains a real look at the outside world, from our prospective of De Niro, and De Niro's at the rest of the world.
People may watch this because of the controversy about it, when it was first released. But this is not a controversial film, it is a powerful, fierce look at the world, its a shame not more Hollywood films can be as honest as this. After all, if art is an imitation of life, then this is a Picasso. How did this film get 3 Oscar nominations, instead of 3 wins, I'd love to watch what beat this, but it would probably just show us that Hollywood is afraid of this kind of film. Unsurprisingly for the film itself it rates a 5/5.
Picture
As I look at the back of the DVD case, I read it is a 1976 movie. Well, the clean up job, is fantastic on the print. I'll be honest it looks nothing like LOR, but come on its 2 and a half decades older, people who remember the original release will be pleasantly surprised.
Sound
I was disappointed with the sound, it's mono. Even though it feels right with this sort of movie, its hard to tell what difference 5.1, could have made. To be fair it's digital mono, so at least from the speakers the sounds come out is crisp.
Extras
People demand a lot out of extras and so they should, but instead of looking at quality they look at quantity. Here’s a quick list : Documentary (70 minutes long!!), Gallery with commentary, original screenplay, storyboards, trailers and filmographies. The documentary is wonderful, a real joy. For example you learn Foster learnt off a real prostitute, and the real prostitute makes an appearance in the film.
It also includes De Niro and director Scorsese, I can't praise it enough. Even though the list is not long what you get are quality extras, I also personally liked the Storyboard, especially when compared to the brutal ending.
Overal
This is a classic movie that should at least be watched by all, De Niro's performance has never been bettered; he makes you at one with his character. Also I forgot to mention Harvey Keitel is in it, and he does a great job too. The DVD breathes new life into an old classic.
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