What Taxi Driver Teaches Us About Storytelling

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  • Опубликовано: 3 июн 2024
  • Ever wonder how they wrote one of the greatest character studies of all time, Taxi Driver? Hear from Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese as they discuss the creation of the anti-hero Travis Bickle, how to create story from the perfect metaphor, and more insight into the writing process!
    Chapters:
    00:00 Preface
    00:29 1. The Inspiration
    01:49 2. Creating Stories Through Metaphor
    04:48 3. Creating Travis Bickle
    09:26 4. You Talkin' To Me?
    10:18 5. Script Format
    10:52 6. Study Yourself
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    Comment below a film or TV show you want me to research next.
    Taxi Driver is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological thriller drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and morally bankrupt New York City following the Vietnam War, the film tells the story of Travis Bickle, a lonely taxi driver who descends into insanity as he plots to assassinate both the presidential candidate for whom the woman he is infatuated with works, and the pimp of an underage prostitute he befriends.
    ABOUT BEHIND THE CURTAIN
    Learn from real screenwriters... and then learn how that translates into your own writing process. Behind the Curtain takes the best pieces of advice and insight from professional screenwriters and deliver them to you in an easily watchable format. We're focused on creating a community of passionate screenwriters who are eager to grow together through learning from the best.
    LEARN MORE with this youtube interview playlist
    • How They Wrote Taxi Dr...
    How They Wrote Taxi Driver (Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese)
    • Better Call Saul tells...
    #screenwriting #taxidriver #martinscorsese
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Комментарии • 176

  • @BehindtheCurtain
    @BehindtheCurtain  3 года назад +9

    Stuck in your head with your story? Become a part of a community of writers and break out of your rut: www.behindthecurtainfilm.com/

    • @spudspuddy
      @spudspuddy 9 месяцев назад

      gay frogs is a real thing, it was a scientific study of the effects on rivers and wildlife after the birth control pill was invented and the town's urine is flushed into rivers filling them with high doses of female hormones...these hormones have been found deliberated injected into today's meat supplies and the rise in homosexuality is most likely the result of this deliberate action

  • @kmetcalfe
    @kmetcalfe Год назад +28

    "It's a mistake to think you need a character to be likable. Instead, just make them fascinating." - Paul Schrader

  • @nickpastorino5370
    @nickpastorino5370 3 года назад +232

    "Art isn't about movies or what you're seeing; it's about knowing yourself."-Paul Schrader

  • @artcamp7
    @artcamp7 3 года назад +50

    This short video contains just about everything you every need to know about how to write. pretty remarkable

  • @Justin_Cunningham
    @Justin_Cunningham 3 года назад +51

    One of my favorite scripts of all time!

  • @Nightcrawler77
    @Nightcrawler77 3 года назад +121

    The greatest movie of all time

    • @ufcclips15
      @ufcclips15 3 года назад +4

      I don't think so. I mean it's really, really good, it's pure cinema but not a movie including things to be the best of all times

    • @lonewalkerproductions
      @lonewalkerproductions 3 года назад +1

      Yup

    • @punkaintdead4977
      @punkaintdead4977 3 года назад +2

      Yes

    • @Micolashcage1
      @Micolashcage1 3 года назад +1

      @@ufcclips15 ok. give an alternative, then

    • @cars.796
      @cars.796 3 года назад +2

      @@Micolashcage1 APOCALYPSE NOW . THE GODFATHER 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY.......... are you delusional?

  • @sifatshams1113
    @sifatshams1113 3 года назад +171

    Anyone who loves Taxi Driver should also read Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground. Not only is the protagonist scarily relatable (for misanthropes like myself) but also far less homicidal than Travis.

    • @BehindtheCurtain
      @BehindtheCurtain  3 года назад +19

      I recently read it! I'm a fan of Dostoevsky, but hadn't gotten a chance to read Notes From Underground. Then I heard that Taxi Driver was based on it, and that made me even more interested.

    • @ahmedshabbir8345
      @ahmedshabbir8345 3 года назад +12

      Actually Travis (or entire Taxi Driver) is based on Notes from Underground. Scorsese has said this himself in many interviews.

    • @richardsantanna5398
      @richardsantanna5398 2 года назад +6

      He was also a lot more mad than Travis. The way he talked -it was like he had given up a long time ago.

    • @ryanegger4425
      @ryanegger4425 2 года назад

      get out of your crib and get a gf or a friend, nothing cool ab disliking humans, shits corny af

    • @TrueNeutralEvGenius
      @TrueNeutralEvGenius Год назад

      @@richardsantanna5398 They are not mad, conformist fool.

  • @Jesus.the.Christ
    @Jesus.the.Christ 3 года назад +19

    Not even two minutes in and you can tell that De Niro used Shrader's timing in building Bickle's way of talking.

  • @gabrieldotterweich7388
    @gabrieldotterweich7388 3 года назад +25

    Wow, those quotes you chose for the "Study Yourself" chapter were very appropriate and inspiring.

  • @klunderjr.1046
    @klunderjr.1046 3 года назад +42

    Man... I waited for this one.. 🙏🏾

  • @ravecrab
    @ravecrab 2 года назад +67

    Travis Bickle is one of the most psychologically rich characters in cinematic history. If you ever want to understand why kids take guns into schools and shoot their classmates, watch this film.

    • @joea9152
      @joea9152 Год назад +12

      For me it’s more of a how than a why. As much as we can try to pin down a persons reasons to commit random violence, we can never know why because they don’t know either. What we and they do know is that their actions will get them attention, and what else is a lonely and isolated person in need of?

    • @TrueNeutralEvGenius
      @TrueNeutralEvGenius Год назад

      ​@@joea9152 "random". It's not random. And don't tell they don't know, when it's you who don't know. You are not a psychological virtuoso, fool. Many of those isolated nonconformists know what and why they are doing. Not everyone tho, but you are generalizing and making projections just like another stupid mediocrity and conformisn, which you obviously are.

  • @DaichiS4815162342
    @DaichiS4815162342 3 года назад +12

    I love the screenwriting lectures that Schrader did. His writing process is very unique!

  • @shrimboy7492
    @shrimboy7492 3 года назад +8

    Just watched this movie for the feel of what it was like in NY in the 70's.

    • @peterb2325
      @peterb2325 3 года назад +1

      Yeah it was like that I was there

    • @timothyhunter4724
      @timothyhunter4724 3 года назад

      It's a bit exaggerated, but not unrealistic.

    • @duewhit310
      @duewhit310 2 года назад

      Thats not the point of it. At all.

  • @Rekon-se6wv
    @Rekon-se6wv 13 дней назад +1

    I m sad to see De Niro grow older. He is such a great actor. I always enjoy his acting in all of the movies he does.

  • @merlinjames5954
    @merlinjames5954 3 года назад +58

    11:06 Paul Schrader is a manga fan?????

    • @BehindtheCurtain
      @BehindtheCurtain  3 года назад +12

      I caught that too!

    • @jmalmsten
      @jmalmsten 3 года назад +10

      I too reacted to that random inclusion. But before we start talking about Shrader the Otaku. It could also just mean that he's come across the term many times from people asking him about how to write films. Maybe even specifically adaptations and influences from japanese comic books. So he included it in this remark to lump it into the point he was making.
      But. It is curious that he did say Manga and did not use the more international term Graphic Novel. So he knows about it. He has opinions about it. Now I am intrigued to hear what he thinks about it. Is he really a fan? Or is he more a grudging old man like Miyazaki who is disappointed in where the promising industry has gone? Or does he just feel the distinctions of mediums of storytelling is fruitless and we should just concentrate on telling insightful stories about interesting people going through their struggles in fascinating ways? :)

    • @JackHC0
      @JackHC0 3 года назад +14

      His wife is Japanese. He made Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. Makes sense that he appreciates manga.

    • @jmalmsten
      @jmalmsten 3 года назад +5

      @@JackHC0
      That is a "tiny" detail I managed to miss in my reasoning...
      Now I want to hear his take on Evangelion. :P

    • @mjolninja9358
      @mjolninja9358 3 года назад +2

      @@jmalmsten 9

  • @film_magician
    @film_magician 3 года назад +16

    9:57 great editing in this video :)

    • @BehindtheCurtain
      @BehindtheCurtain  3 года назад +3

      It was an accident at first and then it lined up perfectly!

    • @film_magician
      @film_magician 3 года назад

      @@BehindtheCurtain hah love it.

  • @dylanthrillmour866
    @dylanthrillmour866 3 года назад +7

    The group mentioned the possibility doing a sequel in the 2000s. Part of that interests me, what would Travis be like in a post 9/11, social media age world. Would he survive? Is he an outlier of the filthy 70s New York in a cleaned up tourist town? Would more people relate to his isolation and misanthropy & would that make him less isolated by result? It’d ruin the original, considering the endings ambiguity.

  • @clingclanglarry3327
    @clingclanglarry3327 3 года назад +45

    Absolutely amazing essay! You can really feel how personal it was for Schrader. His ultimate remedy is to write it on ink and paper. Please do a essay on Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters. It's so underrated and I'd love to hear more about it!

    • @BehindtheCurtain
      @BehindtheCurtain  3 года назад +5

      Exactly! Writing as self therapy can produce the most meaningful stories

  • @shriviyasr3848
    @shriviyasr3848 3 года назад +4

    5:48 ,the theatre board has the best screenwriting advice

  • @alexh4319
    @alexh4319 3 года назад +5

    One of the greatest film scripts of all time.

  • @TheLazyReviewer
    @TheLazyReviewer 3 года назад +32

    Unbeliveable that Schrader started writing a diary about his mental state on his day to day, not knowing that he will be writing one of the best scripts to one of the all time greats. Greats stories usually have some of the unexpected beginnings to it

  • @OctowaveOfficial
    @OctowaveOfficial 3 года назад +16

    Taxi driver has one of the best soundtracks ever

    • @mohamedashian604
      @mohamedashian604 3 года назад +1

      Gotta love Bernard herrmann

    • @Indieguitarist2007
      @Indieguitarist2007 2 года назад +1

      Bernard Herrmann in my opinion along with Morricone, is the greatest film composer of all time.

  • @JaydevRaol
    @JaydevRaol 3 года назад +3

    This really helped me understanding the film even more. Thanks for this. As always Quality Stuff! 👍

  • @henocsilva562
    @henocsilva562 3 года назад +4

    After delivering pizza and doing postmates for years i watched this movie and had never related to a movie so much..

    • @lawrence-yx1ew
      @lawrence-yx1ew 3 года назад

      Theres something very lonely about driving people around. I did lyft for about a year. I hated it but now that I have another job I find myself missing the simplicity of it. Driving around with my mind. I hardly ever talked and no one hardly ever talked to me.

    • @henocsilva562
      @henocsilva562 3 года назад

      @@lawrence-yx1ew what got to me was how short all my interactions became. Even if we wanted to sit and talk to each other we couldnt because there was this feeling of "having something to do" that would pull us away.. For me my job, them their food..

  • @glassjaw2007
    @glassjaw2007 3 года назад

    This was a wonderful compilation of interview with a great master!

  • @faresmejdi5216
    @faresmejdi5216 3 года назад +1

    great effort and work distilling the interviews! thank you for the video !

    • @BehindtheCurtain
      @BehindtheCurtain  3 года назад

      Thanks for watching! Glad it was valuable to you

  • @doctorsueno1048
    @doctorsueno1048 2 года назад

    This is spectacular, really outstaning selection of clips!!!

  • @serenitycinema5809
    @serenitycinema5809 3 года назад +1

    Such a good movie and a really insightful commentary on art in this video!

  • @navide7522
    @navide7522 8 месяцев назад

    Full of great points and also great edit

  • @mvdsanden
    @mvdsanden 3 года назад

    Great lessons! Many thanks!

  • @Ryann10SA
    @Ryann10SA 3 года назад +1

    Just added this video to my favourites list.

  • @ytubeanon
    @ytubeanon 2 года назад +1

    Paul Schrader sounds like the most informative person I've heard about scriptwriting

  • @cine.te.philia3632
    @cine.te.philia3632 3 года назад +2

    ONE OF THE BEST SCREENPLAY!

  • @cheesysofa92
    @cheesysofa92 3 года назад

    I love this video, super helpful

  • @DM-lv7tl
    @DM-lv7tl 3 года назад +3

    this is incredible

  • @user-hc1vg5md3z
    @user-hc1vg5md3z 2 года назад

    wow that's really brilliant. thanks for putting this togethher

  • @oriheller2852
    @oriheller2852 3 года назад +8

    He wrote it while holding a gun next to him... That's how.

  • @educatetheleft
    @educatetheleft Год назад +1

    4:48 is that the taxi driver soundtrack playing in reverse in the background?

  • @victors.k.p.5282
    @victors.k.p.5282 3 года назад +8

    The Scorsese cut at around 06.18 is hysterical. And when he keeps going on and doing the finger wagging killed me. Perfect.
    And amazing essay, as always. Have you thought of doing a full-on Kubrick one? (The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut - though I suppose he might not have had the time to do any interviews for that one). Or Blade Runner, In Bruges, Twin Peaks?

  • @lanolinlight
    @lanolinlight Год назад +6

    JOKER doesn't measure up because it was designed for a literal-minded generation that greets any metaphor more subtle than, say, the Joker's laugh, with confusion and hostility. They want "darkness" with no shadows. They want all the answers up front--answers to the least important questions. Schrader's work was personal; JOKER was a Hollywood player's shallow, calculated attempt at grafting its psychological intensity to a comic book property.

  • @MissInformationAcademy
    @MissInformationAcademy 3 года назад +1

    insightful

  • @rayancedrichaddad1197
    @rayancedrichaddad1197 Год назад

    Taxi Driver (1976) is my Favorite Film from Martin Scorsese. And the Paul Schrader's process to write the Film is really inspiring. One of the Best Film of All time.

  • @batgurrl
    @batgurrl 3 года назад +1

    Excellent analysis for a masterpiece of cinema. Thanks.
    You talking to me?

  • @odoacredacalcutta5085
    @odoacredacalcutta5085 3 года назад

    how come I found this channell only now. This is exactly what I want to know about the movies I love. How they they spawned from their makers mind

  • @sleptking1707
    @sleptking1707 3 года назад +573

    Really didn’t like this movie, complete rip off of joker.

    • @jacktee4030
      @jacktee4030 3 года назад +16

      TRUE

    • @alexh4319
      @alexh4319 3 года назад +33

      lol, nice trolling job there.

    • @LuisSierra42
      @LuisSierra42 3 года назад +64

      I'm sick of the big studios ripping off honest independent work like Joker

    • @NineInchNailer
      @NineInchNailer 3 года назад +16

      After reading your comment I started laughing and yelled "Fuck you, dude!" at the same time...just so you know!

    • @bmsSumner
      @bmsSumner 3 года назад +4

      LMAO big facts

  • @TheMegaMammoth
    @TheMegaMammoth 3 года назад

    This is really good I need to make a vid like this

  • @anibalcesarnishizk2205
    @anibalcesarnishizk2205 7 месяцев назад

    Who knows whether Henry Hill saw Scorsese's crew shoot the movie without knowing his name was going to be mentioned in the movie Goodfellas directed by Scorsese.

  • @brianban110
    @brianban110 3 года назад

    One my favorite movies ever

  • @guillermocastello03
    @guillermocastello03 3 года назад +2

    I can't believe i'm early for this :''

  • @charleswinokoor6023
    @charleswinokoor6023 2 года назад +1

    The most jarring and powerful scene was when Travis interrupted a young black guy using a gun to rob a Puerto Rican bodega owner.and while doing so shot the robber to death in self defense.
    When Travis tells the store owner he doesn’t have a gun license the guy tells him to just take off.
    Then the bodega owner grabs a metal bar and proceeds to beat the dead guy while cursing him and calling him maricon.
    He’s also pissed off that he keeps getting robbed.
    There was no phony baloney artistic irony about it.
    It had to have been the most realistic scene in the movie.

  • @TrueNeutralEvGenius
    @TrueNeutralEvGenius Год назад

    Well done compilation, mah boy.

  • @mondantarigan5579
    @mondantarigan5579 3 года назад +1

    Halo man!

  • @Afro1234321
    @Afro1234321 3 года назад +1

    Can we get the sources of the interviews?

    • @BehindtheCurtain
      @BehindtheCurtain  3 года назад

      I linked to a playlist of most of the interviews! There was maybe one or two that weren't on RUclips and are from Fresh Air.

  • @namanshah8354
    @namanshah8354 3 года назад +1

    At least they should have given credits to Paul for joker

  • @peterstuckel
    @peterstuckel Год назад +1

    0:22 I read Palpatine, omg, too much star wars...

  • @Aleezy18
    @Aleezy18 3 года назад +1

    You talking to me?.... you talking to ME?

  • @emanuelgarcia7542
    @emanuelgarcia7542 2 года назад

    Is there anyway I can get in contact with the Director. I want to ask him what gave him the idea to portray this sort of character in his movie. Has he ever came across a man like William in real life or better you ask him and tell him a big fan is highly interested in watching all his movies after watching the movie card counter

  • @3Prayt
    @3Prayt 3 года назад

    Yesss

  • @travisbickle01
    @travisbickle01 Год назад

    Greatest movie of all time

  • @thesagar2068
    @thesagar2068 3 года назад

    Can I get some more explanation on metaphors and problems that paul is talking about.. ??

  • @tp8271
    @tp8271 Год назад +1

    It’s based off of the underground man

  • @johnnyapples33d0E
    @johnnyapples33d0E 3 года назад +1

    wot's the background jazz music, anyone?

    • @shrimpflea
      @shrimpflea 3 года назад +1

      Composed for the film by Bernard Herrmann

    • @patrickflaherty6586
      @patrickflaherty6586 2 года назад +1

      The great Bernard Herrmann,,! Who also wrote The Great musical score for the original Cape Fear also used in De Niro's later Cape Fear movie

    • @johnnyapples33d0E
      @johnnyapples33d0E 2 года назад

      @@shrimpflea thank u

    • @johnnyapples33d0E
      @johnnyapples33d0E 2 года назад

      @@patrickflaherty6586 thank u

    • @johnnyapples33d0E
      @johnnyapples33d0E 2 года назад

      @@shrimpflea just had it ij my head that such choomz weren't hermdogg, but yeah i guess makes sense. W ot a legemd

  • @phantomfire8228
    @phantomfire8228 2 месяца назад +1

    6:46

  • @jonfee5081
    @jonfee5081 3 года назад

    7:00 did Martin Scorsese just describes his character on a comic book character?

    • @DanBharry
      @DanBharry 3 года назад

      Batman movies are now cinema

    • @jonfee5081
      @jonfee5081 3 года назад

      @@DanBharry yeah I know Batman is the reason why I love dc more than marvel.Batman movies are not about the money it is about sending a message

  • @adityasingh5159
    @adityasingh5159 3 года назад

    Oh god imagine scorscese making Batman wow

  • @house684
    @house684 3 года назад

    'They'?

  • @ransakreject5221
    @ransakreject5221 2 года назад

    Did Scorsese just almost compliment Batman?

  • @muffinsdawg
    @muffinsdawg 3 года назад +2

    That’s it. I’m writing my movie. Remember my name guys

    • @BehindtheCurtain
      @BehindtheCurtain  3 года назад +1

      LET'S GOOOOOO. Check in with our discord if you have any questions or need motivation from other writers!

  • @SP-cp3qu
    @SP-cp3qu 2 года назад

    n1

  • @Mateoarredondo
    @Mateoarredondo 3 года назад

    First? Oh fuck I got beat

  • @transporterIII
    @transporterIII 3 года назад

    problem-metaphor ubiquitous in scripture

  • @TrueNeutralEvGenius
    @TrueNeutralEvGenius Год назад

    That's ironic and tragicomedic when writer himself don't understand the final product which they created.
    "He goes to a girl which is better than him..." - what a complete bs. She never was better than him. And it was perfectly implied over the film and dialogues and magnificent final. He rejects her in the end, not vise versa.

  • @GingerGamingandStuff
    @GingerGamingandStuff 3 года назад +32

    Nothing is more pure than Martin Scorsese whispering ”Batman!”

  • @emanuelgarcia7542
    @emanuelgarcia7542 2 года назад

    Is there anyway I can get in contact with the Director. I want to ask him what gave him the idea to portray this sort of character in his movie. Has he ever came across a man like William in real life or better you ask him and tell him a big fan is highly interested in watching all his movies after watching the movie card counter

    • @emanuelgarcia7542
      @emanuelgarcia7542 2 года назад

      The reason I’m asking is because I am that guy. The loner who hides and a few people have found me mysterious. I’m reaching out because I’ve been lost. I have questions

    • @leeleeman4678
      @leeleeman4678 Год назад

      @@emanuelgarcia7542 cringe

    • @emanuelgarcia7542
      @emanuelgarcia7542 Год назад

      @@leeleeman4678 Ik it sounds fake ,but even I couldn’t believe my life when it all started going wrong