Tagged: Astra Constable
Taxi Driver: Travis Bickle’s M-65 Field Jacket
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle, disturbed taxi driver and Vietnam War veteran
New York City, Spring to Summer 1976
Film: Taxi Driver
Release Date: February 9, 1976
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Ruth Morley
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Martin Scorsese’s violent meditation on loneliness, Taxi Driver, was released 50 years ago today on February 9, 1976—one day after its New York City premiere. Fresh off of his Academy Award win for The Godfather Part II, Robert De Niro received a second career nomination for his portrayal of “God’s lonely man” Travis Bickle, a troubled Marine Corps veteran who combats his insomnia by driving a taxi through the decaying streets of 1970s New York.
After his poorly conceived attempts to woo a sophisticated political campaign volunteer are understandably rejected, Travis refocuses his attention on the pre-teen prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster), whom he attempts to dissuade from her current profession. Meanwhile, Travis’ paranoia grows to the point that he drops just under a thousand dollars on a quartet of handguns that range in power and concealment—his scattered plans ranging from political assassination to a brothel massacre, all the while practicing his heavily armed bravado in his disorganiz-ized home:
“You talkin’ to me?”
Taxi Driver: Travis Bickle’s Tanker Jacket
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle, disturbed taxi driver and Vietnam War veteran
New York City, Spring to Summer 1976
Film: Taxi Driver
Release Date: February 9, 1976
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Ruth Morley
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy International Taxi Driver Day to all cabbies whose alienation doesn’t drive them to a violent murder spree shooting up a brothel! This observance commemorates when the first gas-powered taxi cabs reportedly arrived on the streets of London on March 22, 1907.
The profession was immortalized in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film Taxi Driver, written by Paul Schrader and filmed on location in New York City during the scorching summer of 1975. Two years after his first Academy Award win (for The Godfather, Part II), Robert De Niro received his second Oscar nomination for his performance as Travis Bickle, the lonely Marine-turned-cabbie whose PTSD, insomnia, and paranoid psychosis becomes a dangerous powder keg in the squalid decay of 1970s New York. Continue reading
Three Days of the Condor: Joubert’s Houndstooth Coat
Max von Sydow as Joubert in Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Vitals
Max von Sydow as G. Joubert, French Alsatian contract assassin
Chevy Chase, Maryland, Christmas 1975
Film: Three Days of the Condor
Release Date: September 24, 1975
Director: Sydney Pollack
Costume Designer: Joseph G. Aulisi
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Unlike BAMF Style holiday favorites Die Hard, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, or The Thin Man, Three Days of the Condor doesn’t directly address its Christmas setting, instead letting the otherwise cheery atmosphere, decor, and music be infiltrated by the increasing paranoia of its leading character, CIA researcher Joe Turner (Robert Redford), forced on the run after a massacre at his office.
Engineered by CIA Deputy Director Leonard Atwood (Addison Powell)’s secret intra-agency faction, the massacre was carried out under the supervision of Joubert, an enigmatic contract killer who takes it upon himself to finish the job after a timing snafu allows Turner, alias “Condor”, to escape. Continue reading
Henry Hill’s Cadillac – May 11, 1980
Ray Liotta as Henry Hill in Goodfellas (1990)
Vitals
Ray Liotta as Henry Hill, coked out Mafia associate
Long Island, NY, Spring 1980
Film: Goodfellas
Release Date: September 19, 1990
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Richard Bruno
Background
First things first, the scene is actually set on Sunday, April 27, 1980. For some reason, Goodfellas chose to re-date Henry’s arrest to two weeks later. Okay, glad we got that cleared up.
Yesterday, we saw a mobster’s luxury car during the post-war era. Thirty years later, the “Lincoln vs. Cadillac” debate (made famous by Donnie Brasco) rages on. While a boss like Sonny drove a Lincoln in 1947, a street guy like Henry is even able to get behind the wheel of a Cadillac in 1979. And not just any Cadillac, but a “Special Edition” Coupe de Ville Phaeton! These were not small cars, and I can’t imagine trying to handle one of these boats around tight residential corners, especially with all the substances in Henry’s system clashing with his growing paranoia. The car is especially showcased during the film’s climax, the last true day of freedom for Henry Hill before his drug arrest and life in the Witness Protection Program. Continue reading
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