By: Pari Heidari, 'Larry King Now'
Debatably one of the most complex movie characters of all time, "Taxi Drivers’" Travis Bickle has become a modern icon for the pained vigilante, a stereotype for the angry New Yorker and a symbol of pathological loneliness.
A deeply distressed ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran, insomniac Travis Bickle works as a night time taxi driver in a run-down, seedy New York City. Through the movie, we follow Bickle as he becomes consumed with the idea of saving the world and cleaning up The Big Apple.The American classic, starring a young Robert de Niro alongside a 12-year-old Jodie Foster, was nominated for four Academy Awards, including a nomination for De Niro in the category of Best Leading Actor. Part of an ensemble of films including "Goodfellas," "Raging Bull" and "The Departed", saying "Taxi Driver" remains one of Scorsese’s most memorable works. The world-renowned director said he was drawn to Paul Schrader's script as he could relate to the tormented protagonist. Scorsese says he connected “with the anger and the rage, and the loneliness—not being part of a group,” and that he himself was "always on the outside.”
A staple of American cinema today, "Taxi Driver" elevated both Scorsese’s career and De Niro’s, catapulting them into fame and etching their names into the pages movie history.
See what was said when Hollywood legends Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline & Mary Steenburgen got together with Larry on "Larry King Now!"
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