Taxi Driver

Bomb Rating: 

Robert De Niro drives around in his taxi. Mr. Cranky drifts off to sleep.

The trailer that advertises the twentieth anniversary, restored version of this film claims that "Taxi Driver" introduced us to the four most frightening words in American cinema: "You talkin' to me?" Frankly, I don't know what moron thought up this ad campaign. Sure, the movie introduces us to four frightening words, but those aren't the ones. The words I'm thinking of are so hideous they'll send a chill up your spine and turn your brain into an ice cube. Here they are:

Cybill.
Shepherd.
Tries.
Acting.

There's a flurry of activity in the last five minutes of this film, but there really isn't a whole lot going on before that. Robert De Niro drives around in his taxi. Robert De Niro sits in his taxi and stares at Cybill Shepherd. Robert De Niro drives around in his taxi and thinks about Cybill Shepherd. Robert De Niro drives around in his taxi some more. Mr. Cranky drifts off to sleep.

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Checker Marathon

zulfie's picture
Submitted by zulfie on Sat, 10/04/2008 - 01:36.

Drove a taxi for three years, not in NYC.  For any cabbie the heartthrobe of this movie is... the Checker Marathon.  Mythical in its stature, the last True Cab, nothing like it in the world since.  Purpose-built for the Industry, a tank, industrial interior, massive rear doors, cavernous trunk, no wimping out here.  My loss that I never drove a shift in one although I got to sit in a restored unit at a classic car show.  (The owner of that particular car never worked as a cabbie.  Sacrilege!)

It is sorely missed by those who spend twelve hours a day inside a cab.  Or in the case of the NYC's notorious Russian Double Shift, 24 hours.

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NYC Cabbies nowadays hustle, hustle, hustle...

TMundo's picture
Submitted by TMundo on Sat, 10/04/2008 - 12:58.

you can just watch them weave in and out of trafffic and wonder if it's worth it to drive like that to make extra fares, or if they are actually making more fares a s a result of driving like that.

I do remember getting behind one when I needed to get somewhere. but woah

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