Taxi Driver is an American neo-noir thriller directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film stars Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks.
The film was released during a period which is now considered as the “New Hollywood Era,”where directors were able to gain more creative control from studios. Films explored darker themes and often had grim, taboo content–yet many of the posters of the era were mild and predictable in both content and design.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for the film!
About Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver follows mentally-unstable cab driver Travis Bickle (De Niro) navigating life in New York City after returning from the Vietnam War. Travis works at night, driving around politicians, pimps, and prostitutes, and he quickly becomes disgusted by the dark underbelly of the city. A perceived sense of corruption and sleaze fuels his anger with society, and his urge for violence quickly escalates. Travis takes matters into his own hands and goes on a rampage, of sorts, to “rid the city of scum.”
The film’s violent ending leaves audiences to wonder if Travis was a hero or not. Though Travis’s actions and intents seem somewhat heroic, he ultimately contributes to the violence and horrors that he had once attempted to correct. Interestingly enough, the film could be viewed on loop (the ending scene almost seems to tie in to the start of the film), as to indicate that Travis may be in a vicious cycle of self-destruction in this quest to save himself and society.
Taxi Driver Poster Breakdown
The official poster for Taxi Driver (right) was illustrated by Belgian artist Guy Peellaert. It features the main character, Travis Bickle, and his taxi cab, in front of a gritty New York City street scene. The illustration fades to a bright yellow billing block, which contains the large red stencil-like title treatment.
In defense of this design, Kenny Gravillis (founder of Gravillis, Inc.) said in an interview with Clio:
“There is something about this poster that feels uncomfortable. The tone of it, the style of it, how De Niro is looking off but not really doing anything. He’s just standing there. And that’s what’s so cool about it. Very much like the character Travis Bickle—just part of the furniture, unnoticed, uncharismatic, awkward yet on the edge. All very subtle, and this poster captures that in its style and execution. Would be a very hard sell in modern-day movie marketing.”
From 50 Movie Posters That Changed Entertainment Marketing
Though Kenny makes a good point about the body language and expression, as a reflection of the character and his situation, the poster does very little to intrigue the viewer. It is a literal representation of the film and its setting, and its execution is typical of the time in which it was released. A film that was so controversial and original at the time of its release should have a poster that stands out from the crowd: enter Poster Child.
REIMAGINING THE CHARACTER POSTER
In order to re-design the Taxi Driver poster, it was important to examine the main themes of the film. Loneliness, isolation, insomnia, violence, depravity, and decadance are outstanding themes of the film.
We almost see Travis become one with this dark city through his journey, inspiring the sketches on the top. Here we see Travis literally become one with his building, viewing various scenes through silhouetted figures. Just like Travis, this challenges the viewer to make assumptions about what is going on through the windows–just as he did through the brief interactions that he had in his taxi cab.
Furthermore, one of the major plot points in this film is Travis’s mission to save Iris (Foster), a child prostitute that he meets one night in his taxi cab. The film ends with a violent shootout between Travis and Iris’ pimp and the clients of the brothel where she works. Though Iris plays a crucial role in the story, and in Travis’s plans, she is rarely seen on alternative movie posters for the film. The second two character poster designs (bottom right and far right) focus on her and her iconic clothing from the film. One poster feels light and happy, using the bright pink of her outfit to highlight her childlike nature, which is conceptually juxtaposed by the themes of the film.
OBJECTS AS CHARACTERS
Another way to consider characters and represent both their personalities and intentions is through objects and settings. These sketches explored the idea of representing Travis and Iris only by their clothes, which are now iconic to the film. Though this design relies on the assumption that the viewer is familiar with the film and the costumes, there are still some assumptions that we can make based on the shoes and clothes–and body language–alone.
For example, based on the drawings, one would be able to decipher that the person wearing the heels is a girl, and the attire might suggest that she is dressed maturely for her age, begging the question as to why. The legs coming out of the taxi cab may suggest something similar.
ENVIRONMENTS AND OBJECTS
The last consideration made when thinking of concepts for this poster was the setting in which we find Travis most often–his apartment.
In showing Travis’s desk, with several key objects from the film and his life, the viewer is challenged to piece together these objects and their significance to each other and to the film.
In the final ideation sketch, we see Travis looking in to the mirror, which reflects back a much different version of himself. This poster gives subtle suggestions to the viewer about Travis’s surroundings and objects that are important to the film.
ANATOMY OF THE REDESIGN
The final illustration for the Taxi Driver poster is stylized and painterly, making it reminiscent of 1970s illustration and poster design–without being a direct copy. Iris’s softer face and features are juxtaposed by bright vibrating colors, similar to the ways in which she differed from the harsh landscape of 1970s NYC.
Iris is seen with an almost unusual expression to represent the way in which her character seemed out of place in this story–children have no place on the streets of this gritty NYC or in brothels. In her glasses you can see a reflection of Travis, in his iconic pose with a gun, and her eyes are subtly looking over him, as if she is watching over him as he spirals into violence. His gun is held out straight and if you follow the horizontal of its barrel you can see a small, subtle bullet flying out past Iris’s eyes.
The title treatment for the poster is simple and bold, which allows for the image to be the center of attention. The stenciled style of the original poster is replaced with a bolder sans-serif. The checkerboard pattern flows rather seamlessly into the title, and the yellow doesn’t quite match the yellow of a taxi cab, to avoid it from being too bright or overpowering when placed against the vibrant imagery.
