Five Minutes in Taxi Driver

(8:44-13:44)

The new Travis interrupting the cycle.

These are the five most valuable minutes in Taxi Driver, in my opinion. This is the segment in which Travis Bickle contemplates his loneliness and the "long, continuous chain" that is his daily life. Suddenly, there is a change. His rumination leads him to consult a traveling arms dealer and begin to strengthen his body through exercise and abstinence. These are key to the overarching narrative of Travis's desire to rid New York City (and the world, by extension) of all of its dirt and filth. Indeed, they are two significant factors in his eventual attempt to do so.

Scorsese's partner-in-crime, so to speak.

This part of the film relates to Martin Scorsese's work in a multitude of ways. Scorsese's work often incorporates elements of this scene such as guns and crime. Additionally, in several of his films, protagonists struggle throughout in order to change themselves, be it for better or for worse. Finally, for Taxi Driver, Scorsese employed an actor with whom he has worked many times since: Robert De Niro. With Taxi Driver as their second collaboration, the pair established a precedent as they have worked together six times since (eight times total).

 As stated, this segment is absolutely essential to the film's overall plot. Travis's ironic loneliness is explicitly stated for the first time; it has followed him his whole life. This, in conjunction with the repetitive monotony of his taxi-driving life lead to his evolution. He purchases the guns that will later save himself and Iris, and begins cleansing his body through a strict workout regimen and ceasing the use of "destroyers of [his] body."

The American Anti-Hero

The American anti-hero "reshaped American cinema." The rise of the anti-hero occurred for four reasons, each indicating that "American culture is not really influenced by its cinema. American cinema though, in some ways, is a reflection of the culture."


Firstly, after World War II, America had essentially become a new country: "the era of the Sergeant York's and Mr. Smith's was washed away by the bloody surf at Normandy and the shockwave of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. America had lost its innocence for good and needed new kinds of heroes to lead the way." Just as the country itself had evolved, so too did its peoples' ideals and desires.


Additionally, as the people began to rebel more and more against social norms, they wanted their influences to rebel just as much. America's youth "began to become disenchanted and cynical with the very idea of being good, especially when faced with overbearing authority figures. This all leads to a revolution of the father figure, thus altering heroic concepts all together." 


Furthermore, audiences began to crave more realistic protagonists. Whereas earlier films had focused on characters solving large-scale problems, films of the Anti-Hero Golden Age concerned characters with smaller sights: solving their own issues, with less emphasis on valor. Anti-heroes "gave back to the audience a sense of something tangible
lost or gained" and would "come to represent America's growing uneasiness and skepticism about true courage and heroism." Although many such protagonists failed in the end, their refusal to go down without a fight struck a chord with audiences.


Lastly, anti-heroes came to represent the true American spirit, good or bad. Pioneers of the anti-hero understood that "people in general do wrong, but understanding how someone we like can do wrong reflects our own misgivings and failures to do the right thing." Anti-heroes, in their reflection of the average American, delved deeply into the true meaning of being an American.

Intensified Continuity

     In this article by David Bordwell, the film theorist and historian details the four central reasons as to why he believes film continuity has intensified over the last forty years.
     First, he explains that "movies are being cut faster now," in terms of average shot length (ASL). The  ASL of Hollywood feature films decreased from eight to eleven seconds from the thirties to sixties to six to eight in the mid- to late-sixties, and continued steadily to three to six seconds in 1999 and 2000. Additionally, the shot types have changed, as dialogue shots are more brief and establishing shots have become less common.
     Secondly, developments of lenses led to changes in typical lens length. From the 1930s on, wide angle lenses became more prevalent as it "provide[s] expansive establishing shots, medium shots with strong foreground/background interplay, and grotesque close-ups." Longer lenses were "available to frame close-ups, medium shots, over-the-shoulder shots, and even establishing shots." 
     The third cause for intensified continuity was the capability for more tightly framed dialogue scenes. Whereas from the 1930s to 1960s directors favored two-shots ending at knee or thigh level, post-60s films began to employ "'singles': medium shots or close-ups showing only one player." This allowed for further emphasis on certain lines or emotions; thus, actors now are "principally faces." 
     Fourth and finally, Bordwell explains the effect of a more mobile camera. Along with the advent of sound in films, "camera movement became a mainstay of popular cinema," in techniques such as tracking, crane shots, and circling/spiraling shots.

Soviet Montage and Formalism x Andre Bazin and Realism

Soviet Montage and Formalism

     Vsevolod Pudovkin's "constructive editing" argued that each shot should be of new significance to the story. This should be done, he believed, not by the shot itself but in its placement. For example, he perceived D.W. Griffith's use of close-ups as meaningless; his close-ups, however, were carefully placed along with other specific details in montage so as to express his messages. Essentially, in formalism the most important part of filmmaking is not the material, but how it is utilized.

     Similarly to his student Pudovkin's idea of constructive editing, Lev Kuleshov believed that cinematic messages stem from smaller details placed together. This is reflected in the Kuleshov effect: emotional meaning (and the viewer's formation of it) are reliant on the filmmaker's juxtaposition of the shots as opposed to the actor's performance. He performed an experiment with amateur actors to reinforce this belief. A proponent of this concept is Alfred Hitchcock; for example, in Rear Window, protagonist LB Jeffries spies on his courtyard neighbors; the shots are placed so as to imply specific emotions.

     Sergei Eisenstein believed that life was constantly in a state of change and to this end applied it to his filmmaking. In editing, he used incomplete shots that held significance to the overall film as opposed to themselves-Eisensteinian montage. This technique is applied in Battleship Potemkin's "Odessa Step Sequence" in that the cuts are out of continuity and not necessarily related; instead, there are shots and reaction shots of several characters, allowing for a greater sense of the general attitude of the characters.

Andre Bazin and Realism

     Andre Bazin's dislike of classical and formalistic films was due to their uses of editing. In Bazin's opinion, editing a scene rendered it ineffective because it was unrealistic in that its meanings were determined as opposed to ambiguous. Furthermore, he thought that formalists, in creating the meanings of/for their scenes, were manipulating the audience and thus preventing them from formulating their own meanings.

     In filmmaking, realists strive mainly for allowing the audience to interpret their work in their own ways. This is accomplished by intentional ambiguity and not emphasizing any specific aspects of their film.

     The techniques the filmmakers use to achieve the above rely heavily on cinematography and NOT editing, or doing so as little as possible. Said cinematography includes long shots, wide screen, lengthy takes, deep focus, panning, craning, or tilting rather than cutting. These allow the audience to make observations and make based opinions instead of being guided to the filmmakers's desired reactions.

"Arrival of a Train" x "Damsel in Distress"

The great differences in these short films are reflective of the evolution of the medium over time.

In the camera work of "Arrival of a Train," there is little in terms of shot composition or angle. The only subjects are the train and its passengers, shot at a somewhat nondescript angle. There is zero movement. It is a single-shot film, also known as a sequence shot. The cinematography of "Damsel in Distress" is much more significant. As with "Arrival of a Train," each shot is composed of its main subject; however, due to development in techniques there are varying shots. The brevity of each shot also adds to the film's suspense.

In "Arrival," there is no editing given that it is composed of a single, lengthy shot. Therefore, its editing can be classified as realism. "Damsel" is cut to continuity and cause-and-effect relationships are displayed, such as that between the damsel and the dog. As stated, each shot is cut quickly to add tension--an example of classical cutting. "Damsel's" editing is a part of classicism.

There is little narrative in "Arrival;" a train arrives at a station and some passengers exit while others board. The film is devoid of suspense, message, or (one could argue) a story. In "Damsel," the narrative is clear: a woman, trapped by a villain on a railroad track and with a train approaching, calls for her dog to summon help. Again, this clarity is due to advancements in filmmaking, specifically the capabilities for shot variety and editing.