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A Few Words About A few words about...™ Taxi Driver -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

WinstonCely

Second Unit
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May 17, 2010
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Winston Cely
I have to say I was blown away by the quality of this transfer. However, I have a few notes/questions.


• I like the packaging except for the all-too-often-used shot of Travis in his mohawk.


• I had adjusted my Panasonic TC-P46S2 46" 1080p Plasma TV to give me pretty natural/neutral colors, but this particular title is coming off greener than some other films I have on Blu-ray (Bullitt, The Godfather Collection, Predator, etc) Anyone else noticed this? I actually found changing my overall tone from neutral to cool made the colors seem a bit more natural. I think older Panasonic Plasmas had a bit of a green shift, but I was under the impression from reviews and my own experience with this one, that the problem was fixed.


• I'm really frustrated that the end sequence is still highly desaturated and overly contrasty. From the documentary with Michael Chapman he seemed particularly upset that this happened. It also sounded like it's irreversible. Is this the case? Is there no way to delicately add back the color and lower the contrast, even if only a little bit?
 

Writer-dad

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Jan 18, 2011
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Daniel MacDonald
Listened to the "1986" commentary last night, which was fantastic; however, I don't think it was recorded in '86. Scorsese references his "new picture" Goodfellas (released in 1990) several times, and the host cites Scorsese and Schrader's latest collaboration as The Last Temptation of Christ (released in 1988). Further, Scorsese compares Travis Bickle to Batman from Tim Burton's 1989 film...

I'm thinking the commentary was recorded in 1990, but that's an odd mistake to make on the Blu-ray.


Oh, and DellaStMedia, check out Scorsese's comments during the desaturated section - he goes into extensive detail as to why he made that sequence look the way it does (it was to appease the MPAA, yes, but also was inspired by John Huston's 1956 Moby Dick), and says he even considered making the entire film look that way.
 

Brian Borst

Screenwriter
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May 15, 2008
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Originally Posted by Writer-dad

Listened to the "1986" commentary last night, which was fantastic; however, I don't think it was recorded in '86. Scorsese references his "new picture" Goodfellas (released in 1990) several times, and the host cites Scorsese and Schrader's latest collaboration as The Last Temptation of Christ (released in 1988). Further, Scorsese compares Travis Bickle to Batman from Tim Burton's 1989 film...

I'm thinking the commentary was recorded in 1990, but that's an odd mistake to make on the Blu-ray.


Oh, and DellaStMedia, check out Scorsese's comments during the desaturated section - he goes into extensive detail as to why he made that sequence look the way it does (it was to appease the MPAA, yes, but also was inspired by John Huston's 1956 Moby Dick), and says he even considered making the entire film look that way.


1991, probably, since the Criterion Laserdisc was released that year. Of course, that makes the mistake even weirder.
 

Jon Hertzberg

Screenwriter
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Mar 6, 2001
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Jonathan
For those looking for the original TAXI DRIVER theatrical trailer (it's not on the Blu-ray), it is on the new STAND BY ME Blu-ray, in HD.
 

Cinescott

Supporting Actor
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Nov 2, 2010
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Scott
I just watched this Blu-ray for the first time and w-o-w! Taxi Driver looks like it could have been filmed yesterday. Simply amazing and for $11? How can you go wrong? Special features galore (3 commentary tracks), documentaries, and a script-to screen comparison that's a lot of fun.

Robert DeNiro is astounding as Travis Bickle. Taxi Driver is without question a gem of cinema and a great addition to the film library.


One thing I absolutely love about this movie that comes through beautifully on Blu-ray is the way Scorcesse shot NYC back in the mid 70s. In 1978, I took a school field trip to New York and stayed in a seedy hotel about a block from Times Square. The NYC you see in Taxi Driver is exactly the way it was. It was a very different city and Times Square from today. There were thieves, pimps, prostitutes, porn theaters, muggers, sirens, dirt, grime, filth, and a general depressing blight that made quite an impression on me. I remember a gunshot being clearly audible only 10 floors below my window. One did get the impression that a cleansing rain to wash away the grime and seedy characters would have been a very good thing for NYC. For better or worse, I still remember those 5 days as clearly as if they were yesterday and this film brings back the sights and sounds very clearly.
 

The Drifter

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Jim
Taxi Driver is one of the first Blu-ray's I bought, back in Summer 2014. Excellent film, and incredible presentation. The PQ is sharp, the colors are vivid, and the print still has an appropriate amount of grain. Truly Superb. This is one of the best individual Blu releases of a '70's film I've ever seen..especially when you take into account the vast improvement over previous releases. Kudos & Thanks to all involved in producing this.

Re: the film itself, this is definitely one of my all time favorite movies. Both disturbing & brilliant, which is something that is hard to achieve. IMHO it's DeNiro's best film, and also Scorsese's best as well. It truly captures a time & place perfectly; when watching this film you feel like you're right there in NYC back in the mid-'70's - this is also difficult to achieve, but is pulled off extremely well here.

I also like the strong film noir aspect - Travis' cruising down the NY City streets at night with the neon lights, shadowy figures, etc. is quintessential noir, and evokes a great mood/atmosphere. The sublime score by Bernard Hermann adds to this feeling as well; I liked the initially smooth jazzy quality to this, followed by those harsher, more foreboding sounds. Well done.

One thing I absolutely love about this movie that comes through beautifully on Blu-ray is the way Scorcesse shot NYC back in the mid 70s. In 1978, I took a school field trip to New York and stayed in a seedy hotel about a block from Times Square. The NYC you see in Taxi Driver is exactly the way it was. It was a very different city and Times Square from today. There were thieves, pimps, prostitutes, porn theaters, muggers, sirens, dirt, grime, filth, and a general depressing blight that made quite an impression on me. I remember a gunshot being clearly audible only 10 floors below my window. One did get the impression that a cleansing rain to wash away the grime and seedy characters would have been a very good thing for NYC. For better or worse, I still remember those 5 days as clearly as if they were yesterday and this film brings back the sights and sounds very clearly.

Good points. I was too young to go to NYC's Times Square in the '70's, but do vaguely remember going there (as a kid) in the mid-'80's. Don't remember much about this, but IIRC it was during the day & I didn't see as much sleaze - but it may have been near the beginning of the Times Square clean-up - IIRC, this started in the '80's, and lasted throughout the '90's & into the 200X's.

Conversely, when I took a trip to NYC in Summer 2016, the area was unrecognizable when compared to what it had been like 30-40 years earlier. In fact, I did feel a lot safer walking around most parts of NYC late at night than I suspect I would have been in the '70's. He$$, I felt safer walking around NYC late @ night than I do walking around most other places (including where I live) during the day. In fact, I was surprised by how cleaned-up everything was in 2016 (not just in TS, but in most of the tourist spots). I didn't even see any aggressive panhandling, which I typically run into in other, smaller U.S. cities. That being said, there were the ubiquitous scammers/buskers, however - LOL.
 
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Peter Neski

Screenwriter
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Mar 14, 2005
Messages
1,191
There is nothing that I like better than seeing a beautifully crafted restoration on Blu-ray, and the now-classic Taxi Driver, from Columbia fits that bill perfectly.


This is a Blu-ray that has been created from lovingly restored data files based upon the finest surviving film elements.


Resolution, grain structure, color, black levels, shadow detail (and not), are all reproduced by hands that could just as easily be gently waving a few drops of vermouth over an expectant martini.


Not too many words necessary here.


A beautifully restored film. A superb Blu-ray. My only negative is a real dislike for the packaging, as bulky, and open to dust. I've never been a fan of the huge Warner style box affairs, and while I can except those cute little books, this is something that really doesn't feel right on a shelf.


I couldn't be more pleased to call Taxi Driver a perfect Blu-ray.


Highly Recommended.


RAH
got the 4k streaming verson,and it looks great
 

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