The 40th Anniversary of Taxi Driver

The Tribeca Film Festival will be celebrating the 40^th anniversary of a film of one of the festival’s creators.

Honoring a cinematic classic, the Film Festival announced the anniversary celebration of thriller Taxi Driver. The Scorsese directed film starring festival founder Robert De Niro, will be screened at the Beacon Theatre on April 21^st at the 15^th Tribeca Film Festival. After the film is shown, the audience can join the acclaimed director and cast members Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, and screenplay writer Paul Schrader in a moderated discussion. Kent Jones will moderate the panel discussion and tickets have been opened to the public today, March 24^th.

The 1976 film was nominated for four Academy Awards, one of which was De Niro’s win for Best Actor, and two Golden Globes. Many critics, directors, and fans cite the movie as one of the greatest of all times. The story centers on De Niro’s Travis Bickle, a discharged Marine, who suffers with loneliness and depression post the Vietnam War. After taking a job as a taxi driver to cope with his insomnia, Travis becomes obsessed with Shepherd’s Betsy to an unhealthy point of view. As events begin to spiral downwards and Travis runs into characters like Leonard Harris’ Palentine and Jodie Foster’s 12 yr old prostitute Iris, he loses faith in the world. With his already precarious mental health Travis begins packing on guns and goes on a vigilante spree. The spree reaches a violent climax but ends with Travis showing a type of comprehension of his actions. Though the exact ending was ambiguous, the panel discussion allows fans to raise questions to the cast and director. Scorsese himself shared his sentiments about the film in the festival’s press release, “It’s odd to think that four decades have passed since we shot Taxi Driver on the streets of a very different New York City. It was made in a surge of energy, starting with Paul’s one-of-a-kind script, and I was working with an extraordinary group of artistic collaborators as anyone could ever hope for—Jodie, who was 13 years old at the time, and Bob gave the picture something precious, dangerous, and altogether remarkable. I’m honored to take part in the celebration of the film’s 40th anniversary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival,”. The feeling of honor resonates with all participants at the festival and with the public after hearing the news.

The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in hopes to bring some life back into the area after the 9/11 attacks. Over the years the festival has become the place for filmmakers and artists to meet and share their work to the public. This year the festival will take place from April 13^th-24^th and the 40^th anniversary celebration will be held April 21^st. Join others in a chance of a lifetime and celebrate cinematic greatness at the Tribeca Film Festival.