A film like "Taxi Driver" could not be made today.  Even in it's day it was highly misunderstood even among it's admirers as an exploitation film.  The first time I saw this film was on a double-bill in 1982 with a repugnant slasher film, "Maniac".  It's reputation probably wasn't helped because it was the impetus for an assassination attempt on the President.  The seventies saw a lot of daring films greenlighted but even by these permissive standards "Taxi Driver" must have been a tough sell.  The story centers on the paranoia of a lonely, disengaged taxi driver,Travis Bickle, played by Robert DeNiro who is disgusted with the vice of his chosen city, New York.  He may be more dangerous than the vermin he dispises.  When his feeble attempts to connect with other people are rebuffed he falls back on the only way he knows, violence.  He also elevates himself in his mind as some kind of avenging angel.  He takes it upon himself to be the protector of a 13 year-old prostitute, whether she wants to be saved or not.  It goes without saying that DeNiro gives a commanding and daring performance here.  It was his first starring role in a major film and he makes an impression.  He is ably supported by a supporting cast that includes Harvey Keitel as a pimp, Cybil Shepherd as a pretty campaign worker who rebuffs Travis after he takes her to a porn film, and a young Jodie Foster as the prostitute.  Director Martin Scorsese does a superior job from an excellent script from Paul Schrader.  This was Schrader's first script that was produced and he has never surpassed "Taxi Driver" with any subsequent screenplays.  The cinematography by Michael Chapman is excellent, a kind of hazy picture of vice-ridden New York before it was cleaned up.  Enough cannot be said about the jazzy score by Bernard Herrmann that heightens whatever mood is being conveyed.  This DVD contains an excellent documentary, but no commentary by Scorsese.  On a final note, is the last scene reality or a dream?  Does Betsey(Shepherd) really get in Travis' taxi or is it something he just imagines like so many other things?