Martin Scorsese on 'Taxi Driver'

Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver (2007)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

If you're a fan of Martin Scorsese or his film TAXI DRIVER then this interview that was released on the 2007 DVD will certainly be a must-see. At just under 30-minutes the director goes into detail on the making of the film as well as his thoughts on it all these years later. It's interesting to hear the director claim that he never really knew certain meanings in the film until years later when fans and other people started pointing them out to him. He talks about Brian DePalma introducing the screenplay to him and then briefly mentions that Dustin Hoffman was originally offered the role of Travis. From here on out he talks about how he, DeNiro and Paul Schrader felt that no one would watch this movie and how for all three of them this was just a film they had to make. Other topics that are tackled include the various influences on the film including the darkness, which the director credits to film noir titles from the mid to late 40s. Scorsese also talks about the impact certain Jean-Luc Godard films had on him and how you can see some of this in the film. Scorsese is always great to listen to and this expanded interview will certainly entertain fans.