Tribeca Film Festival to Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’

Tribeca Film Festival to Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’


After feting King of Comedy in 2013 and Goodfellas in 2015, the Tribeca Film Festival is digging even deeper into the Robert De Niro/Martin Scorsese back catalog for 2016 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Taxi Driver. A screening of the 1976 classic is planned for April 21 at the Beacon Theatre followed by a conversation with De Niro, Scorsese, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, and Paul Schrader. It will be moderated by Kent Jones, who has worked with Scorsese an archivist, curator, screenwriter and collaborator for nearly three decades. Tickets for this special event go on sale March 24 at 10am EDT.

Brilliantly unnerving, Taxi Driver is commonly considered to be among the best films of all time. Directed by Scorsese and written by Schrader, the film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Music, Original Score. To put things in context, its competition that year consisted of Rocky, Network, Bound for Glory, and All the President’s Men.

The film finds De Niro cast as Travis Bickle, an honorably discharged yet mentally unstable Vietnam vet who works as a night-shift taxi driver in New York City. After being rejected by the beautiful Betsy, played by Shepherd, Travis heads down a destructive path fueled by fire arms. Along the way, he encounters a 12-year-old prostitute (Foster), who he attempts to save from her hookering ways and pimp Sport (Harvey Keitel). For a refresher, check out the trailer below.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures, a digitally restored and re-mastered version of Taxi Driver will screen at Tribeca. Tickets to the special event range in price from $70-$355 and are available for purchase at Ticketmaster starting March 24 at 10am EDT. For additional information about the screening, visit the Tribeca Film Festival website.

YouTube player