Taxi Driver

Wow. That movie was pretty intense. When it started I was paying attention to the sound and got a little worried that I wouldn't have much to say about it. By the end I knew I'd have plenty. The film is actually very clever in how it uses sound, particularly atmos recordings of New York.

At the start of the film Travis is relatively well adjusted and normal and the traffic noise and general atmosphere we hear is fairly standard for this type of film. Being New York everything is a little louder and more hectic, but nothing too noticeable. However as the film progressed I found myself noticing how loud the background noise was more and more. Sometimes to the point where it almost drowned out the dialogue. As Travis unravels the noise becomes almost unbearable and we empathize with him living in this loud, crazy place.

There are a few stand-out moments in terms of sound. A couple that stood out to me are a scene where Travis is talking to other cab drivers in a café. He makes a glass of alka-seltzer and the fizzing of the glass starts to drown everything else out until all we can hear is that and some muffled voices. A clear metaphor for the way travis' instability is bubbling up to the surface and drowning everything else out. Another moment is when he takes Iris up into a sleazy hotel to talk to her. A siren that is part of the background noise gets louder and louder as the camera pans up this building. It's a horrific, piercing sound and just makes you uneasy. It feels almost as if this is what's happening in his head.

Overall I really, really enjoyed the film and thought it's use of sound (as well as just about everything else) was pretty astounding. The recordings of traffic noise in particular are very well done and suit the atmosphere of the film perfectly. The musical soundtrack is also quite interesting. Simultaneously invoking New York and the jazz music that we might associate with the city and also a darker, less stable underbelly.