Movies

Taxi Driver and The Searchers Share a Shocking Underlying Story

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Among Martin Scorsese’s most remarkable films is “Taxi Driver,” and his affection for a John Wayne Western played a role in its conception. In essence, “Taxi Driver” narrates the tale of Travis Bickle, a Vietnam War veteran struggling to adapt to reality who works as a taxi driver in New York City. He develops feelings for a campaign volunteer (Cybill Shepherd) and becomes fixated on rescuing a teenage prostitute (Jodie Foster) from the harshness of city life. This predicament eventually leads to a violent showdown with her pimp, resulting in bloodshed due to Travis’s self-appointed vigilante heroics.

Initially, when it hit theaters, the movie sparked much debate due to its graphic violence that nearly earned an X-rating from the MPAA. Upon release, it faced intense criticism but eventually won acclaim as a masterpiece from both critics and audiences. A detail that might have been overlooked by those who initially dismissed it is that its plot closely resembles a popular John Wayne Western released two decades prior. Thanks to the appreciation of Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader, Taxi Driver can be considered a modern take on the classic John Ford film, The Searchers.

Martin Scorsese’s Favorite John Wayne Movie Is The Searchers & It Directly Inspired Taxi Driver

Martin Scorsese First Saw The Searchers When He Was 13

Martin Scorsese harbors a profound affection for traditional American cinema, particularly the Western and gangster genres. His admiration for these early cinematic narratives is profound, as he’s deeply enamored with them. Although Scorsese has excelled in the gangster genre, his love for Westerns was so intense that he often incorporated their narrative elements into his work over the course of his career. This fusion is most evident in the John Wayne film, The Searchers. In an interview with AFI, Scorsese recounted watching The Searchers when he was thirteen, and it left a lasting impression on him.

Martin Scorsese shared how watching “The Searchers” significantly altered his perspective on John Wayne and the Western genre. He stated that while Wayne usually embodied a noble and benevolent character, in this film he portrayed Ethan Edwards, a man consumed by racial prejudice that mirrored the rising bigotry in America during that period. Scorsese explained that this character’s deep-seated racism was so intense that at one point in the movie, he shot out the eyes of a deceased Native American to prevent his spirit from finding peace and forcing it to roam eternally. This unsettling portrayal of hatred left a lasting impact on Scorsese, influencing his filmmaking even years later.

In Scorsese’s first movie, “Who’s That Knocking at My Door“, the protagonist, J.R., portrayed by Harvey Keitel, discusses John Wayne and the film “The Searchers“. This movie was subtly referenced in “Mean Streets“, but it became more noticeable in “Taxi Driver“. The connection is strengthened because Paul Schrader, who had a profound affection for “The Searchers“, wrote the script for both movies. Later, he even made a semi-reinterpretation of the story with his film “Hardcore“.

How Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle & The Searchers’ Ethan Edwards Are Alike

Both Are Former Veterans, Seeking To Save A Woman, Who Live With Hate In Their Hearts

During an API interview, Martin Scorsese touched upon the characters Ethan Edwards and The Searchers. On several occasions, he referred to Ethan as “Travis,” which served to illustrate their similarities. Scorsese described Ethan as both “frightening” and embodying the most abhorrent aspects of racism in our nation that Travis later mirrored.

Travis harbors a fanciful notion, and his craziness stems from acting upon it. Similarly, Ethan Edwards, by enacting this obsession, exhibits an unhealthy fixation.

There are numerous similarities that link Ethan Edwards from The Searchers and Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. To begin with, they both have military backgrounds: Ethan fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, whereas Travis served in Vietnam. They are also both social outcasts; though Ethan has a family, he appears detached and rarely interacts with others, while Travis lives a solitary existence. Lastly, they both become fixated on a woman when she finds herself in a precarious position.

In “The Searchers,” a Comanche tribe kidnaps my niece who, five years on, seems content among them. My sole purpose has become vengeance, seeking to end her life, believing it’s better for her to perish than live this polluted existence with the Native Americans. I also yearn to annihilate any Native American in my path. My companion, Travis, forms a bond with a teenage girl trapped in prostitution (Jodie Foster), driven to free her from her oppressor. Neither the niece nor the girl express a desire for rescue, and it’s uncertain if they even want it. However, these men are so consumed by their hatred that the women’s autonomy means little to us.

Movie Director Rotten Tomatoes Critical Score Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
The Searchers (1956) John Ford 87% 88%
Taxi Driver (1976) Martin Scorsese 89% 93%

Ultimately, at the conclusion, both characters take their last actions, a moment where they shift their positions significantly. Ethan in the movie decides not to kill his niece, but instead annihilates the Comanche tribe she was part of. He brings her home, and the film concludes with him standing outside, silhouetted by the doorway, as it shuts, leaving him isolated. In the film Taxi Driver, Travis eliminates the pimp and everyone he perceives as controlling the young woman, but upon completion, he is left solitary, possibly mortally wounded, with nothing to show for his actions. Both characters conclude their movies shattered and alone.

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2025-05-19 17:31

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