Was Travis Bickle really a Marine?


Was Travis Bickle really a Marine? At least as far as Martin Scorsese is concerned, Travis Bickle is a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War. Scorsese once said in an interview: It was crucial to Travis Bickle's character that he had experienced life and death around him every second in south-east Asia…


Why is Travis Bickle an anti hero?

Travis may think of himself as a hero when he goes out and shoots pimps in the chest, but he's arguably no better than the criminals he seeks to bring to justice. He operates outside the law, based entirely on his own moral compass, killing whomever he believes deserves it.


Is Taxi Driver about masculinity?

Taxi Driver is a film about frustrated masculinity. Although Scorsese's films are usually being associated with male power and gangster world, it may often relate to a frustrated and fragile male rather than a truly masculine and powerful one.


Why is taxi driver so praised?

Scorsese injects a real understanding of the place and a real sense of foreboding into even the earliest scenes. He inserts clever and meaningful shots into scenes that other directors might just have filmed straight and his choice of scene and shot compliments the script is depicting Travis descending into madness.