"Taxi Driver" is certainly one of the finest films in the American tradition; it stands out among films from a very strong decade. It's certainly one of Scorcese's best, and one of his earliest mature works- if "Mean Streets" works as a transitional stand-alone film between his early, genre pictures and his later, more varied works, "Taxi Driver" is only his second film of the period. It is a directoral masterwork; each decision that Scorcese made here was the right one. It's also one of the clearer examples of the extent to which the American 70s were in a thrall to the films of the Nouvelle Vague. But I digress. The movie has one clear thematic problem, and it's Shrader's. Why does Bickle take Betsy to a porno? If he idealizes her (and he does) he should separate her from the mass by which he is clearly disgusted. Thus, he should wish to protect her from the things he associates with the mass- namely pornography and prostitution. Bickle is clearly torn between including himself in the mass he envisions as damned and separating himself from them; he sees Betsy as a means of saving himself. He only goes to porn theatres to ritualistically purge himself of the tendencies which align him with the mass; Betsy is supposed to take him out of it altogether. Yet, he takes her to a porno. This doesn't make much sense and it's the only reason "Taxi Driver" isn't as good as "Raging Bull," "Goodfellas," and "Mean Streets." This doesn't mean that "Taxi Driver" isn't a great or important film. It's outstanding, and this new edition is much-needed.