Every film class should have TAXI DRIVER on it's agenda:  This is an exercise in cinematic symbolism.  The steam rising from the manhole covers suggesting NYC houses the gates of Hell;  The .44 Magnum;  The long apartment hallway shot with Travis on the telephone to Betsy (being rejected);  The rally at Columbus Circle...it goes endlessly.  This tale of urban angst and desperation is an all time classic.  The Bernard Hermann score (his last) stands on its own pillar of greatness.  One of Scorsese and DeNiro's best works and without question the best film from 1976.