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, whether they enjoyed the classic movie on release or more recently on home video, DVD, or streaming. Today, 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.

New York itself is a character in Taxi Driver, it explores a seedy 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.

20 “Days Go On And On. They Don’t End.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Travis' taxi in the opening shot of Taxi Driver.

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.

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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 for 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.

18 “There Never Has Been Any Choice For Me.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Robert De Niro in the final shot of Taxi Driver.

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 that 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.

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 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. It is an intense moment in the movie as it signals that Travis' final violent mission has now begun.

16 “One Of These Days, I’m Gonna Get Organezized.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Travis and Betsy on a date in Taxi Driver

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 a oddly charming awkward interaction between the two. 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.

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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)

Travis picks up Betsy in Taxi Driver

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. 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.

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.

13 “Anytime, Anywhere.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Travis stands at a street corner in a mohawk in Taxi Driver.

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.” This is a guy who doesn’t expect very much from society. 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.

12 “Man, She's Twelve And A Half Years Old. You Never Had No P**** Like That.”

Sport (Harvey Keitel)

Jodie Foster and Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver

What finally breaks Travis and pushes him to clean up the streets himself is meeting Iris, a 12-year-old girl being prostituted by Sport. Harvey Keitel perfectly plays the scumbag pimp character, as he tries to sell the young girl to Travis. It is a revolting moment of his vulgar and disturbing sales pitch. Despite the fact that Tarvis' rampage at the end of the movie is a dark moment, it is hard not to want to see a grotesque villain like Sport receiving some brutal punishment.

11 "You're In A Hell, And You're Gonna Die In A Hell, Just Like The Rest Of 'Em!"

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Travis and Betsy in Taxi Driver

Through Travis' relationship with Betsy, it becomes clear that he is a dangerous man angry at the world for his place in it. Despite the inappropriate idea of taking her to a porno theater on a date, Travis still believes he deserves to be with Betsy and tries to continue their relationship. However, when she cuts ties with him, he shows up at her work and angrily yells at her for being like the rest of them. It is a moment that shows Travis as emotionally immature early on, and ultimately sweetens the plot for audiences when Travis later outgrows his childish thoughts.

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10 "I Have A .44 Magnum Pistol. I'm Gonna Kill Her With That Gun."

Passenger (Martin Scorsese)

Martin Scorsese occasionally puts himself in his movies. In Taxi Driver, Scorsese gives perhaps his best performance as a man who sits in Travis’ cab and tells him about catching his wife cheating. After pointing out his wife's silhouette at a nearby window, the man explains to Travis what he's planning. It is a haunting moment of the man's calmness and even humor in describing this to a total stranger. It foreshadows the coming violence, and for underscoring how Taxi Driver dismantles traditional masculinity.

9 "I Have To Clean The C** Off The Back Seat. Some Nights, I Clean Off The Blood."

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in the theater in Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver never shies away from the grotesque grimness of its world, as this quote highlights. Not only does it point out how terrible Travis’ life is, since it’s his job to clean disgusting fluids out of his car at an absurd time like four o’clock in the morning, it also implies some pretty gnarly things he sees during his day-to-day. His job as a cab driver seems to only heighten his disgust for the world. For the way it sordidly justifies Travis' mindset by pulling audiences into his personal hell, this is one of the most memorable Taxi Driver quotes.

8 "Here Is A Man Who Would Not Take It Anymore."

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Taxi Driver Robert DeNiro

Travis Bickle is one of cinema's most frightening and dangerous protagonists, but he sees himself as a hero of his era. He sees himself as someone who is like everyone else but is willing to take action against the evil of the world. When Travis presents himself and his manifesto to viewers, he refers to himself in the third person in an inspirational speech. Interestingly, the narration begins only for Travis to fumble his words and have to start again. It is another sign that he is not the ultimate warrior that he sees himself as, but rather a pathetic and disturbed man.

7 “I’m God’s Lonely Man.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Travis shirtless in Taxi Driver

Travis Bickle’s defining trait is his loneliness, and that's what makes this one of the most memorable Taxi Driver quotes. Since he left Vietnam and returned to New York, Travis has felt like an outcast and struggled to fit in. Travis represents the veterans who have returned from war with PTSD and have been rejected by society. Out of the many scenes where Travis narrates his life alongside an immersive jazz score, this is the one that shines a spotlight on his truest and most deep-seated feelings.

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6 “See Ya Later, Copper!”

Sport (Harvey Keitel)