I just showed Taxi Driver to my film analysis class. From an analytical point of view, I think it's an excellent film. The opening, for example, is almost perfect: we see the taxi moving through the steam/smoke of NYC. We see it at a low angle, moving in slo mo. Then we see Bickle's eyes, through different lenses apparently, now red, then white, a little blue - kind of subtle but there. We see the streets of Manhattan through the taxi windows - everything outside looks distorted, partly because of the rain, but things are moving in slo mo, and they seem to have repercussions on the street - movement seems to move beyond itself, somehow. Things are shimmery and attractive but repellent at the same time. Also, the opening is out of time (because Travis doesn't become a taxi driver until after the scene), adrift like Travis. A couple of times we see dissolves that go nowhere, really, that slice a few seconds of time out but don't take us somewhere else like most disssolves do. We rarely see Travis centered in the frame. The camera ocassionally drifts off Travis (for example, when he gets the job and walks out into the garage, the camera follows Wizard, then pans across the garage, picking up Travis at the end). Sorry - I'm rambling here, thinking of bits and pieces. When he has coffee with Betsy, you always see him on the edge of the frame with her, but he's almost always alone (they get a little closer visually later in the scene). He's detatched from his fares. Even when Scorsese is flipping out in the back seat, he never turns around, only looks through the mirror. The only person he involves himself with - the only one he turns around to look at - is Iris when she first gets in the taxi. So, if I had to pick between the two extremes, I'd say classic. -- Craig Russell *instructor,film analysis PO Box 1017 *instructor, writing Broome Community College *tutor, BCC Writing Center Binghamton NY 13902 *e-mail: [log in to unmask] ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]