4K Ultra HD SteelBook Review: TAXI DRIVER

Home » 4K Ultra HD SteelBook Review: TAXI DRIVER

Jul 04 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Martin Scorsese’s classic 1976 film Taxi Driver has arrived on 4K Ultra HD disc as a new Limited Edition SteelBook Collector’s Edition. (The film had previously been released on 4K disc in 2021 as part of the expensive, Limited Edition Columbia Classics Collection: Volume 2 box set, but now fans can just purchase this film separately.)

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is a former marine living in New York City. He has insomnia, and usually ends up frequenting an adult movie theater when he has trouble sleeping. Since he can’t sleep anyway, he decides to get a job as a taxi driver, working from 6pm to 6am, offering to cover the sleaziest parts of the city. Travis is disgusted by the scum he sees—prostitutes, drug dealers, people having sex in his cab, etc. He doesn’t hold back as he jots down his thoughts in his diary (narrating these inner-monologues to the viewer). By his language, it becomes quite clear early on that Travis is a bit mentally unstable, and certainly a racist. He starts to work out and purchases some guns, as he prepares to make it his mission to clean up the city.

Meanwhile, while driving around, Travis passes the campaign center for Senator Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris), who is running for President. Inside he sees campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) talking with her coworker Tom (Albert Brooks), and is instantly smitten. He often parks outside the office building, just staring at her, and building this whole narrative in his head of their life together. He writes of their “relationship” in their journal, but once he does finally speak with her, his awkward, self-destructive nature quickly fouls things up.

The more Travis witnesses of the city, the more he wants to purge and cleanse New York of this scum. He sees himself as a hero and a savior, plotting out ways to assassinate the senator, or rescue 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) from her pimp (Harvey Keitel) and johns. He grows increasingly more violent and out-of-touch with reality, until he can no longer contain himself, and things really come to a head.

While I was familiar with Taxi Driver‘s famous “You talkin’ to me?” scene, I had never actually seen the film before now, despite it being considered a classic. A very young looking De Niro does an excellent job with this character, really showcasing Travis’ slow descent into insanity as he becomes more and more unhinged and disconnected from reality. I don’t think this film could be made today, much of the language would be deemed way too offensive. Some of the things Travis says are quite shocking and jarring. As he’s pursuing Besty, he seems like this nice but awkward man, but the viewer hears his inner thoughts he jots down in his diary, and he has such hate and contempt for a lot of the people he meets and drives around the city. However, he doesn’t look down upon 12-year-old prostitute Iris, and instead wants to rescue her. The scenes with a 14-year-old Jodie Foster playing a prostitute (for which she was justly nominated for an Academy Award) are incredibly disturbing and unsettling to watch.

I’ve never been a huge Martin Scorsese fan—I tend to find his beloved films to be a bit overrated and excessively violent, though he did not write this movie. I can certainly see why fans of his enjoy this film, and I certainly don’t think it was a bad movie in any way, but overall this one wasn’t really for me. (I think that Rocky deservingly took home the Best Picture Oscar instead.) The film has some excellent performances, especially De Niro, Cybill Shepherd and Jodie Foster, as well as some more humorous moments from Albert Brooks and Harvey Keitel, but it does get quite bloody and uber-violent in the final act. The viewer is also left with a bit of an ambiguous ending, forcing them to decide what is real and what is just in Travis’ head.

Fans of the film will be quite pleased with the film’s fantastic 4K presentation, which is astonishingly clean and clear, with an excellent level of detail, especially in facial close-ups (of which there are many). There is a pleasant and natural level of film grain, while also capturing the grittiness of the city beautifully, even in the darker sequences. And thanks to the Dolby Vision color-grading, the neon lights of the city shops and the adult film theater really stand out. The only scene I had a bit of an issue with visually is during the final act, where Travis heads into the darkened brothel, and the picture gets a bit muddled, but otherwise, it’s quite remarkable how well this film looks nearly 50 years later.

The film’s audio track appears to be the same as that used for the previous Blu-ray release, without a Dolby Atmos upgrade for the 4K release. However, it is still an excellent track that provides clear dialogue throughout, showcases the film’s jazzy soundtrack beautifully, and captures the immersive ambiance of the busy city, or the chatter inside the campaign office.

The 4K Steelbook release includes both a 4K disc and a Blu-ray disc placed overlapping in the right side of a beautiful new SteelBook case, along with an insert with redemption instructions for a 4K Movies Anywhere-compatible digital copy of the film. Sony had previously released Taxi Driver as part of the 2021 Columbia Classics Collection: Volume 2 4K box set, and the two discs included here appear to be identical to the ones in that set. Across the two discs there are hours of bonus material that any fan of this film should be excited to delve into. The supplemental material consists of three audio commentary tracks, including the original 1986 Criterion LaserDisc track from the director and screenwriter, an extensive 70-minute making of documentary, storyboard comparisons, photo galleries, trailers, a 40-minuute 40th anniversary Q&A with the cast and filmmakers, and over 90 minutes of other behind-the-scenes and retrospective featurettes and interviews with the cast, crew and others who lived and worked in NYC during the era depicted in the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:53:47)

2160p / Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Vision / HDR10
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, German 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, German Mono Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish (Latin American) 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Thai, Turkish

Blu-ray:

1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, German Mono Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Latin American) 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Thai, Turkish

Digital (Limited time offer):

4K Digital Copy, redeemable via Movies Anywhere or Vudu

Extras:
There is no new bonus material produced for this release—the two discs appear to be identical to those included in the Columbia Classics Volume 2 collection..

Making Taxi Driver (1:10:55)
In this extensive making-of documentary originally created in 1999, the cast and filmmakers look back at their time working on the film, discussing the cast, the characters, the production process, the makeup effects, the score, the legacy of the film, and more, sharing lots of interesting and entertaining stories about the experience. Includes behind-the-scenes photos, storyboards, script pages, and interviews with director Martin Scorsese, screenwriter Paul Schrader, director of photography Michael Chapman, special makeup artist Dick Smith, editor Tom Rolf, composer Elmer Bernstein, and stars Peter Boyle (“Wizard”), Robert De Niro (“Travis Bickle”), Cybill Shepherd (“Betsy”), Albert Brooks (“Tom”), Harvey Keitel (“Sport”) & Jodie Foster (“Iris”).
Intro to Storyboards by Martin Scorsese Introduction (4:32)
Director Martin Scorsese talks about how he drew a lot as a kid, and the importance of creating storyboards to help visualize a film.
Storyboard to Film Comparison (8:21)
For several scenes, the final shot plays in the bottom right corner of the screen, while the storyboards appear to the left and above it. (Originally produced for 2007 disc release.)
Photo Galleries (9:28)
Collection of animated photo galleries. (Originally produced for 2007 disc release.) Play All, or select from:
- Bernard Herrmann Score (2:25)
  The score plays over photos of the sheet music.
- On Location (2:53)
  Travis’ narrations play over black & white behind-the-scenes and production photos.
- Publicity Materials (1:46)
  Score plays over production/promotional photos and posters.
- Scorsese at Work (2:49)
  Score plays over behind-the-scenes photos of Scorsese.
Theatrical Trailer (1:28)
20th Anniversary Re-Release trailer.

Blu-ray Disc:

Tribeca Film Festival 40th Anniversary Q&A (41:56)
Tribeca Film Festival co-founders Janes Rosenthal and Robert De Niro provide an introduction to this 40th Anniversary screening and Cast Reunion at the Beacon Theatre in New York City at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. This is followed by a discussion with the cast and filmmakers, moderated by Kent Jones. The participants include director Martin Scorsese, stars Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd & Harvey Keitel, screenwriter Paul Schrader, and producer Michael Phillips.
Producing Taxi Driver (9:53)
Producer Michael Phillips discusses his career, how he got involved with Taxi Driver, some of the challenges he faced while working on the project, and more. Writer Paul Schrader also discusses casting Robert De Niro. (Originally produced for 2007 disc release.)
God’s Lonely Man (21:42)
Writer Paul Schrader and author Robert Kolker (“A Cinema of Lonliness”) discuss the character of Travis Bickle. Schrader also talks about getting into screenwriting, his work on the film, and more. Some of this is repetitive to their individual commentaries. (Originally produced for 2007 disc release.)
Original 1986 Commentary with Director Martin Scorsese and Writer Paul Schrader Recorded by The Criterion Collection (1:53:47)
Originally recorded for the Criterion Collection LaserDisc release, separately-recorded interviews with director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader are nicely edited together to provide an interesting commentary track with the pair, discussing their work, and sharing their thoughts on the film and interesting behind-the-scene stories about the production.
Commentary with Professor Robert Kolker (1:53:47)
Originally recorded for the 2007 DVD release, University of Virginia Professor Robert Kolker, author “A Cinema of Lonliness”, provides a very detailed critical analysis of the film.
Commentary with Writer Paul Schrader (1:53:47)
Originally recorded for the 2007 DVD release, screenwriter Paul Schrader discusses the script, some of the changes that were made, the characters, his inspirations, and more.
Influence and Appreciation: A Martin Scorsese Tribute (18:30)
Collaborators of Scorsese’s share stories, discuss the life and career of Martin Scorsese, and his work on Taxi Driver. Includes interviews with author Robert Kolker, filmmakers Oliver Stone & Roger Corman, actor Robert De Niro, cinematographer Michael Chapman, producer Michael Phillips, and writer Paul Schrader. (Originally produced for 2007 disc release.)
Taxi Driver Stories (22:23)
Former New York City taxi cab drivers share stories about what it was like working in the city in the 1970s.
Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver (16:54)
Director Martin Scorsese talks about the script, the budget, the reactions to the movie, his inspirations, camera angles, and more. This appears to be additional footage from the Making Of feature interview.
Travis’ New York (6:15)
Cinematographer Michael Chapman and former New York Mayor Ed Koch discuss what New York was like in 1970s.
Travis’ New York Locations (4:45)
Side-by-side comparisons between nine scenes shot in 1975 and the same New York locations in 2006. Play All, or select from:
- Travis’ New York Location 1 (:39)
- Travis’ New York Location 2 (:38)
- Travis’ New York Location 3 (:47)
- Travis’ New York Location 4 (:22)
- Travis’ New York Location 5 (:26)
- Travis’ New York Location 6 (:49)
- Travis’ New York Location 7 (:37)
- Travis’ New York Location 8 (:33)
- Travis’ New York Location 9 (1:03)
Theatrical Trailer (3:12)

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Must Own for Fans

Taxi Driver is a time capsule of what New York City was like in the 1970s, as seen through the eyes of a mentally unstable taxi driver as he becomes more and more unhinged. The film features some excellent performances, and appearances by some really talented actors early on in their careers. Sony’s 4K release looks and sounds phenomenal, making this a must own for any fan of the film. While there was no new bonus material created for this release, it does contain an amazing assortment of hours of previously-released extras. For those who already own the Columbia Classics Collection: Volume 2 4K release, the discs appear to be the identical, so there is no need to double-dip, unless you want this release’s beautiful new SteelBook case.