Summary
- Travis Bickle's quote "Days go on and on. They don't end." captures a universal feeling of loneliness and despair.
- The Taxi Driver quote "There never has been any choice for me" marks a turning point in Travis' character arc, showing his descent into violence.
- The scene where Travis says "Suck on this!" before shooting a pimp is a brutal and intense moment that signals the start of his violent mission.
Nearly 50 years since it was released in theaters, many Taxi Driver quotes remain deeply embedded in the minds of viewers. Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver remains one of the most acclaimed masterpieces in the history of cinema. Travis Bickle’s tragic downfall as the quintessential antihero continues to influence dark psychological thrillers and their deeply flawed protagonists to this day. Many screenwriters have tried to emulate the incisive, cynical work of Paul Schrader, but few have managed to capture the anger of city-dwelling loners quite like how Schrader’s Taxi Driver script did.
Taxi Driver explores a seedy New York underworld, framed by Bernard Herrmann's beautiful jazz score, neo-noir cinematography, and graphic, unapologetic violence. It's anchored in history with a cynical view of the Vietnam War, stars Robert De Niro as a deeply flawed and violent lead, and is held together by a truly engaging script. Schrader's script isn't perfect, but its cultural impact remains undeniable. The most memorable Taxi Driver quotes have ensured the movie's legacy is cemented, and each comes with an explanation of exactly why they're so astute and timeless thanks to the deep and deliberate script.
Taxi Driver Ending Explained: What’s Real & What’s In Travis’ Head?
Does Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver end with reality or fantasy? Here's the ending explained and what's real and what's not in the 1976 classic.
20 “Days Go On And On. They Don’t End.”
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)
Paul Schrader wrote the script for Taxi Driver while he was suffering from loneliness, bitterness, and insomnia himself. In fact, Schrader reportedly worked on developing Travis' character in his ex-girlfriend’s apartment, while he was house-sitting for her. This was after he had been living inside his car. This kind of depressing, uncertain lifestyle is conveyed in Travis saying, “Twelve hours of work and I still can’t sleep. Damn. Days go on and on. They don’t end.”
As haunting as some of Travis' thoughts can be, this one may be the most universally relatable, and it certainly helped make audiences sympathize more with one of modern cinema's first real antiheroes. While Travis has conviction in some of his dark and disturbing plans later in the movie, quotes like this suggest that he also just wants to be healthy and happy.
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The ending of Taxi Driver seems to suggest that a dead Travis Bickle is imagining the final scenes, but was that the intention of the filmmakers?
19 "Listen, I Gotta Get A Permit For This Thing. I Dunno What I'm Gonna Do."
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)
While shopping at a store he frequents, Travis makes his first kill in Taxi Driver by shooting a robber. After Travis and the store clerk make sure that the robber is dead, Travis says, "Listen, I gotta get a permit for this thing. I dunno what I'm gonna do." The clerk then takes Travis' gun and tells him not to worry about it, before making the scene look like Travis wasn't involved.
It is a haunting and dark moment because of how it shows not just Travis, but also the clerk's casual reaction to death.
It is a haunting and dark moment because of how it shows not just Travis, but also the clerk's casual reaction to death. It paints a cold picture of the average New Yorker in the '70s. However, it also is a darkly comedic moment as Travis wants to become a stone-cold killer, but immediately after taking his first life, he worries about what he just did. It shows that Travis acts on impulse without putting much thought into it.
18 “There Never Has Been Any Choice For Me.”
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)
Along Travis Bickle’s dark, disturbing journey, he becomes convinced that the reason he was put on Earth was to combat crime on the streets of New York. After deciding that he needs to do something to free the 12-year-old Iris (Jodie Foster) who was being forced into sex work, Travis narrates, “Now, I see it clearly. My whole life is pointed in one direction. I see that now. There never has been any choice for me.”
This Taxi Driver quote marks the biggest turning point in Travis' character arc, as it suggests the carnage will eventually ignite is unavoidable. It shows the damage of his mind as he is beyond reason in how far he will take his delusions. The statement feels less like Travis explaining his mission to the world and more like him convincing himself of this heroic path to justify the violence he will enact.
17 “Suck On This!”
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)
When Travis Bickle takes the law into his own hands, Scorsese doesn’t indulge in a glorious, theatrical display of bloodshed. Instead, he shot Travis’ vigilante acts as bluntly, brutally, and realistically as possible. Travis’ first victim in the final shootout in the movie is Sport, the pimp played by Harvey Keitel. After Sport flicks out a cigarette on Travis, Travis pulls out a gun and says, “Suck on this!,” before shooting Sport in the chest and taking a seat on the front steps of his brothel.
He cannot help but get excited and throw out a cliche line when he finds himself kicking off the violence.
It is an intense moment in the movie as it signals that Travis' final violent mission has now begun. However, it also shows that, despite Travis claiming this is a righteous mission he has been forced upon, he cannot help but get excited and throw out a cliche line when he finds himself kicking off the violence.
16 “One Of These Days, I’m Gonna Get Organezized.”
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)
When Travis takes Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) out for some pie, he tells her, “I should get one of those signs that says, ‘One of these days, I’m gonna get organezized.” At first, Betsy doesn’t get it, so Travis explains that it’s a joke making for an oddly charming awkward interaction between the two. For a brief moment, it feels like the movie could go in a different direction with Betsy offering a bit of light in his life.
Travis and Betsy’s first date doesn’t go too badly. Of course, the relationship goes drastically downhill when Travis takes Betsy to a porno theater on their second. Nonetheless, this remains one of the best Taxi Driver quotes for how it pins an actually funny and lighthearted moment in Scorsese's dark neo-noir masterpiece. It shows Travis fumbling in his attempts to be charming while Betsy makes an effort to get to know this peculiar man.
15 "I Saw In Your Eyes And I Say In How You Carried Yourself That You're Not A Happy Person."
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)
The movie makes an interesting point about the different ways a person like Travis can be perceived. While he cannot hide the unusual point of view he has of the world, there are some people, like Betsy, who mistake his disturbing personality as something unique and exciting. When Betsy asks why she should date Travis, he wins her over with sheer boldness. Travis' spot-on analysis of Betsy shows that he's actually observant and intelligent, despite his faults.
Her perception that he is an interesting man who goes after what he wants proves to be overly generous, as this is simply a sign of Travis's detachment from society.
It also makes him intriguing to her as he points out something that she has perhaps thought about herself or perhaps something that makes her think he might be right. However, her perception that he is an interesting man who goes after what he wants proves to be overly generous, as this is simply a sign of Travis's detachment from society.
Taxi Driver: Why Did Travis Want To Assassinate Palantine?
Taxi Driver is one of the greatest movies ever made, but Travis' motivation for attempting to assassinate Charles Palantine isn't entirely clear.
14 “Only A Jackass Would Carry That Cannon In The Streets Like That.”
Andy (Steven Prince)
In one of the most memorable scenes in Taxi Driver, Travis pays a visit to the illicit gun dealer Andy (Steven Prince) to arm himself ahead of his one-man crusade against New York City’s criminal underbelly. Andy warns him about the practicality of the guns he wants. Travis insists on getting the “cannon” he wants and it proves to be just as impractical as Andy warned it would be when it comes to the movie’s climactic shootout.
It is a moment of subtly hinting that Travis has no idea what he's doing, even though he's supposed to be a Vietnam vet who knows his way around firearms. Taxi Driver is a movie fans love for the wrong reasons in many instances, as people view Travis as a cool vigilante where he is really a hapless and clueless man who just wants to hurt people and this scene addresses that.
13 “Anytime, Anywhere.”
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)
The title Taxi Driver speaks to the fact that, despite the fact that Travis was clearly disturbed, his job as a taxi driver only fueled his dark perspective on the world and sent him further down a violent path. The personnel officer who hires Travis to be a cabbie in the first place in Taxi Driver's opening scene asks him where and when he wants to work, and Travis simply tells him, “I’ll work anytime, anywhere.”
While his insomnia is part of the reason he doesn't mind working nights, there is also a sense that Travis has nowhere else to be.
Travis is a guy who doesn’t expect very much from society, which this Taxi Driver quote perfectly exemplifies. He doesn’t think any area of New York is beneath him. He’ll drive anywhere, and he’ll do it day or night. However, it also establishes Travis as a loner. While his insomnia is part of the reason he doesn't mind working nights, there is also a sense that Travis has nowhere else to be.