Ataxx Movie Reviews

Taxi deserves a DVD box set, or at least a series of releases of the complete seasons of Taxi in chronological order. Classic comedy characters like foreigner/mechanic Latka Graves, Reverend Jim Ignatowski, boxer/cabby Tony Banta, counselor/cabby Alex Reiger, and boss Louie DiPalma make this a must for the studio to release.

Sell it and we will buy....

There are so many TV series coming out on DVD but for some reason this 80's classic has not yet been released. Taxi has an all star cast whose chemistry is right on. Danny DeVito, Andy Kaufman, Tony Danza, Judd Hirsch, Mary Lou Henner and others make up this hillarious comedy about a New York Taxi cab company and it's employees. A must have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taxi is one of my all time favorites. The series was hysterical to watch and I am looking forward to watching it on DVD one day soon. Great show with great morals and plenty of laughs. Judd Hirsch, Danny De Vito, and of course Ignatowski.

While the film's end makes you think, some may conceive Travis Bickle (De Niro's character) as more of a hero. He is supposed to be the psychopathic lonely man, not the vigilante. While Scorsese and Paul Schrader give us a fascinating study into the descent of madness, the film moves too slowly at times (Don't get me wrong. Attention to detail is everything; I just think it could have stayed a bit more focused on the storyline itself, because the storyline is interesting). De Niro did a fine job, but all in all, the controversial ending wasn't good. :(

Taxi Driver is an excellent movie that teams up veteran director Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. The movie tells the story of ex-Marine and current New York cabbie, Travis Bickle. He is a loner in every sense of the word as he drifts through life without a purpose. After being rejected by a woman he meets, Betsy, Travis changes his whole life since now he has a purpose in life. In a drastic life style change, Travis goes fanatic. He begins exercising and eating healthy, and most disturbingly takes up a interest in firearms. Soon, Bickle becomes fascinated with a young prostitute he sees on the street and tries to help her. All through the movie, Bickle's anger rises inside of him just waiting to explode. The ending here might seem a little odd, but it works well here in the context of the story and more importantly the character. This is a great character study that once it gets started never slows down.

This has always been my favorite Robert De Niro role. His performance as Travis Bickle is truly classic and at times frightening. Everyone knows his famous "You lookin' at me?" line,but his role is so much more than that and needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. Jodie Foster is also very good as Iris, a 12 year old prostitute, who Travis tries to get off the street. There are also very good performances by Cybil Sheperd, Harvey Keitel as Iris' pimp, Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, and very briefly director Martin Scorsese as a man planning on killing his wife. The Collector's Edition DVD offers theatrical trailers, a very good documentary about the making of the movie, interactive screenplay, photo gallery, and widescreen presentation. Taxi Driver is a great movie that should not be missed. De Niro's performance as Travis Bickle is fantastic and has to be seen to be believed. Do not miss Taxi Driver!

This film captures the feel of NYC in the 70's like no other. The only thing that comes close is Midnight Cowboy in the previous decade. Travis Bickle is as much a part of American culture as any character that has ever appeared on the big screen. Taxi Driver looks a bit dated but the performance of Deniro is truly one of the best ever and ranks beside his portrayal of Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. Given how New York has changed it easy to forget how incredibly seedy midtown was during the Carter years. This film recreates a place and time that are no longer existant. Harvey Keitel is so sleezy as a pimp that watching him alone is worth the price of this DVD.

While the film's end makes you think, some may conceive Travis Bickle (De Niro's character) as more of a hero. He is supposed to be the psychopathic lonely man, not the vigilante. While Scorsese and Paul Schrader give us a fascinating study into the descent of madness, the film moves too slowly at times (Don't get me wrong. Attention to detail is everything; I just think it could have stayed a bit more focused on the storyline itself, because the storyline is interesting). De Niro did a fine job, but all in all, the controversial ending wasn't good. :(

Taxi Driver is an excellent movie that teams up veteran director Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. The movie tells the story of ex-Marine and current New York cabbie, Travis Bickle. He is a loner in every sense of the word as he drifts through life without a purpose. After being rejected by a woman he meets, Betsy, Travis changes his whole life since now he has a purpose in life. In a drastic life style change, Travis goes fanatic. He begins exercising and eating healthy, and most disturbingly takes up a interest in firearms. Soon, Bickle becomes fascinated with a young prostitute he sees on the street and tries to help her. All through the movie, Bickle's anger rises inside of him just waiting to explode. The ending here might seem a little odd, but it works well here in the context of the story and more importantly the character. This is a great character study that once it gets started never slows down.

This has always been my favorite Robert De Niro role. His performance as Travis Bickle is truly classic and at times frightening. Everyone knows his famous "You lookin' at me?" line,but his role is so much more than that and needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. Jodie Foster is also very good as Iris, a 12 year old prostitute, who Travis tries to get off the street. There are also very good performances by Cybil Sheperd, Harvey Keitel as Iris' pimp, Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, and very briefly director Martin Scorsese as a man planning on killing his wife. The Collector's Edition DVD offers theatrical trailers, a very good documentary about the making of the movie, interactive screenplay, photo gallery, and widescreen presentation. Taxi Driver is a great movie that should not be missed. De Niro's performance as Travis Bickle is fantastic and has to be seen to be believed. Do not miss Taxi Driver!

This film captures the feel of NYC in the 70's like no other. The only thing that comes close is Midnight Cowboy in the previous decade. Travis Bickle is as much a part of American culture as any character that has ever appeared on the big screen. Taxi Driver looks a bit dated but the performance of Deniro is truly one of the best ever and ranks beside his portrayal of Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. Given how New York has changed it easy to forget how incredibly seedy midtown was during the Carter years. This film recreates a place and time that are no longer existant. Harvey Keitel is so sleezy as a pimp that watching him alone is worth the price of this DVD.

While the film's end makes you think, some may conceive Travis Bickle (De Niro's character) as more of a hero. He is supposed to be the psychopathic lonely man, not the vigilante. While Scorsese and Paul Schrader give us a fascinating study into the descent of madness, the film moves too slowly at times (Don't get me wrong. Attention to detail is everything; I just think it could have stayed a bit more focused on the storyline itself, because the storyline is interesting). De Niro did a fine job, but all in all, the controversial ending wasn't good. :(

Taxi Driver is an excellent movie that teams up veteran director Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. The movie tells the story of ex-Marine and current New York cabbie, Travis Bickle. He is a loner in every sense of the word as he drifts through life without a purpose. After being rejected by a woman he meets, Betsy, Travis changes his whole life since now he has a purpose in life. In a drastic life style change, Travis goes fanatic. He begins exercising and eating healthy, and most disturbingly takes up a interest in firearms. Soon, Bickle becomes fascinated with a young prostitute he sees on the street and tries to help her. All through the movie, Bickle's anger rises inside of him just waiting to explode. The ending here might seem a little odd, but it works well here in the context of the story and more importantly the character. This is a great character study that once it gets started never slows down.

This has always been my favorite Robert De Niro role. His performance as Travis Bickle is truly classic and at times frightening. Everyone knows his famous "You lookin' at me?" line,but his role is so much more than that and needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. Jodie Foster is also very good as Iris, a 12 year old prostitute, who Travis tries to get off the street. There are also very good performances by Cybil Sheperd, Harvey Keitel as Iris' pimp, Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, and very briefly director Martin Scorsese as a man planning on killing his wife. The Collector's Edition DVD offers theatrical trailers, a very good documentary about the making of the movie, interactive screenplay, photo gallery, and widescreen presentation. Taxi Driver is a great movie that should not be missed. De Niro's performance as Travis Bickle is fantastic and has to be seen to be believed. Do not miss Taxi Driver!

This film captures the feel of NYC in the 70's like no other. The only thing that comes close is Midnight Cowboy in the previous decade. Travis Bickle is as much a part of American culture as any character that has ever appeared on the big screen. Taxi Driver looks a bit dated but the performance of Deniro is truly one of the best ever and ranks beside his portrayal of Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. Given how New York has changed it easy to forget how incredibly seedy midtown was during the Carter years. This film recreates a place and time that are no longer existant. Harvey Keitel is so sleezy as a pimp that watching him alone is worth the price of this DVD.

Frank Ripploh's largely autobiographical film takes two fairly schematic themes -- boy meets boy and all that that entails; and man deals with utter dislocation between job and private life -- and turns them into a fascinating look at a modern Germany that just as easily could be Taipei (think Ang Lee) or Rome (think Vittorio de Sica).

Frank is an elementary school teacher by day, and a sexual adventurer any time he is NOT at school. On one of his forays into the demimonde, he meets Bernd (played by the very appealing Bernd Broaderup) and falls in love. What follows is fairly typical of any love story, but it is in the details that Ripploh takes his audience into another world. Frank's love story is punctuated by sexual escapades that would have horrified Jane Austen. Added to this, Frank must come to terms with the increasing tension between his respectable job and his not so respectable but very exciting sex life. How Frank resolves this tension is simultaneously amusing and horrifying.

This film is not for prudes or the squeamish. The sex scenes are graphic and sometimes hard to watch. Also, it is obvious that the film was cheaply made, with gritty camera work and spotty sound quality. Still, the details draw the viewer in; you actually see how these people live (and where else do you see an old Karmann Ghia these days?). It is also eerie to see such lack of sexual restraint in a world on the brink of the HIV horror (Taxi zum Klo was released in 1981).

I was fascinated with this film in 1981 and I remain so in 2003. The only reason I gave this movie 3 stars instead of 4 is that the subtitles have an annoying tendency to disappear into the scenery. A passing familiarity with German would help fill in some of the gaps in legibility, but you will probably need several viewings to get all the plot points.

One comes away from this movie with feelings that only foreign films can provide. While Ripploh is no Kurosawa, de Sica, or Inagaki, he equals them in taking you to another world.

My motives for this review are selfish, since my life changed the day I saw this film (January 5th, 1984). Sitting in the theatre as an adolescent, enthralled by this film, I came out to myself and started the process of letting the rest of the world know who I am. I recently watched the film again, and realized that what is most amazing about this film is the blurring of the boundary between drama and documentary. We see Frank Ripploh enacting significant events in his life, even hooking up (and breaking it off again, this time for the camera) with his ex Bernd Broaderup for the sake of cinematic verissimilitude. It is sometimes harrowing, if not downright disturbing to watch, not because the sex scenes make most people (especially straight people) uncomfortable, but because the viewer feels like a voyeur. Everything about this film is "amateur," in the sense of being done for love instead of profit. We tend to disdain things "amateur" in our society, but a film about real people and the lives they lead cannot be "done" by professionals (Hollywood doesn't GET this). I think this is an amazing film, and none of the usual criteria for "reviewing" this film apply.

Believe it or not this piece of German filmography translates as "Taxi to the toilet". It's basically a no holds barred account of the life of an "ordinary" gay man in a not so ordinary leather scene in 70's Deutschland.

Some of the scenes are a little shocking for the time and even now too, however the harder images are carefully filmed and work well with the general running of the movie.

To summarise: Actually quite a good, well acted, film but definitely for a mature audience.

(The DVD is in German language with removal English subtitles.)