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Direct film viewShowing master rank #118 on its own—not above the ranking.
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Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

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View Taxi Driver film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

Insomniac Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle drives a New York night taxi, recording his isolation as fantasies of purification harden into action.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle works overnight as a Manhattan cabdriver and writes about the city, his sleeplessness, and his disgust. Failed attempts at connection with campaign worker Betsy and his concern for teenage Iris feed an increasingly violent idea of purpose.

Why it belongs

Taxi Driver traps viewers inside Travis Bickle's lonely, contaminated gaze without granting his alienation ethical authority.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

De Niro's guarded performance keeps need, vanity, grievance, and danger uneasily intertwined. Steam, rain, neon, slow motion, subjective street views, and Bernard Herrmann's divided score make the city feel filtered through Travis's unstable consciousness.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound29IMDb Top 250141AFI 10052
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness9.6
Engagement9.2
Ease8.0

English · R
Narrative Feature
Mood: Tense & Absorbing