i wonder why martin scorcese wasn't able to bag the highly coveted best director award in oscar's in the earlier stage of his career.now i wonder how he did in the departed that he had finally able to caught the elusive statuette; i haven't seen this movie yet. but after watching the taxi driver i really believe he should have been awarded best director a long time ago.
i think taxi driver is an astute vigilante flick. intead of creating merely a gorefest just to prove a point, scorcese probe into the mind of an ordinary cabbie who had been exposed to the decadence and violence of city before and after dark. initially,especially for "visual" viewers (those who temporarily suspend any brain activity while watching a movie. simply put, they JUST watch the movie), taxi driver may appear to be a bit slow and boring. no plethoria of guns and murders whatsoever. i think, in the first half of the movie, scorcese focus on the character development of travis, the cabbie. how he started out as a mere observer of the vile realities of life he is part of, how he became obsessed with the idea of exterminating the "scums of the streets", and eventually killing some of these scums himself. the thing i like about the way the story unfolded is that travis didn't just become as a heartless creep going on a killing spree because he just feel like doing it. sure he killed those pimps by virtue of free will but he has his reasons; he thinks no one can clean up the mess but him. the scene where travis had a convesation with the presidential candidate, senator palantine, is the movie's way of justifying his brutal recourse. when travis said his biggest concern is the way the city had turned into a collosal dumpster of the society's trash, the politician only argued that it is a rather tough job to make the city spick-and-span.
the musical score is also outstanding. the sexy feel of the background music while the camera hovers to the carnage is very tormenting it gave me goosebumps beyond words. rather ironic, rather disturbing. no wonder it bagged the best musical score in the 1970something Academy (a good consolatio for the scorcese?). maybe i am just too much of pseudo-film critic but i reckon this movie had been an inspiraton to some of my favorite director's, wong kar wai, works such as happy together and chungking express when it comes to musical score and cinematography. the slow or jazz music, the vivid colors, the camera movements, the shouts, the distant characteristics of the protagonist. try watching these movies and you'll understand what i am talking about.
pebi talking in gibberish again around 3:42 AM
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