10 Films To Watch If You Like Taxi Driver

One of Martin Scorsese’s most famous masterpieces is his Robert De Niro starring (surprise surprise) thriller Taxi Driver. The film sees De Niro as a taxi driver looking to spice up his life before getting involved in an assassination attempt on both a presidential candidate and a pimp. The film includes a masterful performance from Jodie Foster aged just twelve, while it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards.

There has never been a sequel to Taxi Driver or a movie quite like it, but there are many films with similar qualities.

10 You Were Never Really Here (2017)

Throughout Taxi Driver, viewers see Travis Bickle descend into a strange kind of subtle madness, while he seemed to remain a good man in general. The two people he had decided to kill weren’t exactly moral, and it wasn’t like he was about to go on a killing spree; he also genuinely cared for Iris. You Were Never Really Here puts Joe at the center of a mission to destroy a human trafficking network in which he needs to rescue a young girl from a horrible life. It’s a straightforward story that doesn’t wander into psychological twists and allows the central character both insanity and kindness.

9 Goodfellas (1990)

Thematically, there isn’t a whole lot connecting Taxi Driver and Goodfellas. Both have moments of extreme violence and keep you on the edge of your seat throughout, but one is a gritty crime epic while one is a cut and dry thriller. However, the Scorsese trademarks are littered everywhere throughout both, while Robert De Niro is spectacularly good in leading roles in both films.

8 Raging Bull (1980)

Again, fans return to the age-old pairing between Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese, and again they look at a film that doesn’t have a lot of storyline connection to Taxi Driver.

However, the violence and directorial style connects the two films in the same way Goodfellas is linked to both. No matter whether someone’s a fan of boxing, it’s almost impossible to ignore one of the greatest films ever made.

7 Panic Room (2002)

It just so happens that Jodie Foster, now an adult with an incredibly successful career under her belt, plays the lead role in David Fincher’s criminally underrated Panic Room. That isn’t even the main reason the film links to Taxi Driver. While a lot of thrillers end up centered on a massive psychological twist (they were the same person; he didn’t exist etc.), both Taxi Driver and Panic Room are straightforward in their excitement and tension, keeping you tuned in and excited at face value.

6 Léon: The Professional (1994)

Natalie Portman’s acting debut came back in 1994 with Léon: Then Professional where she played Mathilda, a 12-year-old trained to become a hitman. There are thematic connections all around the film, from the motivation to assassinate people, to the presence of a child star who would go on to incredible fame as an adult.

5 Drive (2011)

The Ryan Gosling-starring Drive is a star-studded action drama centered around Gosling, in the role of the unnamed driver, who works as a stunt double, a stunt driver, a getaway driver and a mechanic. Like Travis, he doesn’t like the mundanity of driving around and ends up in a series of complex, dramatic situations. While its incredibly graphic violence was received negatively by many, the film saw good reviews.

4 American Psycho (2000)

The insanity of Patrick Bateman is a stretch from the insanity of Travis Bickle, but the two characters certainly overlap in many ways. Both put up a front of normalcy to many and plan their escapades behind the scenes.

Again, graphic violence and well-placed humor are rife in both films, while an impressive stylistic directorial approach has helped both films go down in history as classics.

3 Cape Fear (1991)

The final collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese to make its way into this list is Cape Fear. While in Taxi Driver De Niro takes on a role that is somewhere between protagonist and antagonist, his role is firmly that of an insane, murderous antagonist here. This both shows everyone the depth of his acting skill while also giving hints at what the future of Travis Bickle could have easily held if he had continued his descent into insanity.

2 Night On Earth (1991)

The artistic 1991 film Night On Earth is an interesting example of how a taxi driver can sit at the center of an interesting storyline. Its artistic approach uses five separate stories that each focus on the bond between a taxi driver and their passengers.

1 There Will Be Blood (2007)

The 2007 film There Will Be Blood tells the story of Daniel Plainview’s determined hunt for wealth set in the late 19th-century‘ oil boom’ in California. The film was a huge critical hit and received eight Oscar nominations, while there are distinct similarities in its storyline approach and Day-Lewis’ acting style.