Taxi Driver (rewatch)

I always feel a bit silly writing about such a well-known film, especially when all I have is gushing praise.  Whatever I have to say about this brilliant film has been said a thousand times before, a thousand times better, and is easily available all over the internet.  Watching for the umpteenth time, however, I did come up with one new thing I wanted to talk about briefly, and that’s the voiceover.  A lot of people seem to have a blanket objection to voiceover narration, and their mantra is always “show, don’t tell.”  As if it was some ironclad rule of movies that should never be broken.  Narration is like any other filmic device, it can be used well or it can be used poorly.  And I never, ever see these voiceover haters pull that “show, don’t tell” shit on Taxi Driver.  Because you just can’t.  It’s perfect.  There are nits to pick with the film if you’re so inclined, but there are very few better examples of voiceover in the world of cinema.  It puts you right inside Bickle’s deranged, delusional mind, and is the source of some of the most iconic, memorable lines ever. 

As for the Blu-Ray, it looks absolutely incredible and I can’t wait to finally hear the original Criterion commentary.  The packaging, although attractive, is obnoxiously large for a single disc release.  Do I really need a slot to hold some lobby cards?  Hell, why do I need lobby cards in the first place?  Rating: 10

IMDb