• ‘Taxi Driver’ is a film noir film about a man who had left the royal marines and
and suffers from insomnia, he has come to the city of New York to apply for a
taxi driver profession. He is shown as a loner who has strong opinions about
what is right and what is wrong with the world. He had once fallen in love with
a women however after an incident with her, he is determined to do as much
as he can to make the world a better place.
• The beginning of the clip begins with a large amount of thick, grey smoke. You cant tell that the camera is at a low angle untill the taxi comes into the scene and drives through the smoke, this makes out as if the taxi has more power over the viewer. An extreme close up is used on the mans face to show the expression with his eyes focusing around the room, making him look quite sly and professional with his job profession. The extreme close up is also used when he is in the taxi in the city centre, watching people walk around. This makes him look like he is keeping an eye out for someone, which in film noir films is common to wait to meet up with someone to discuss something private with them and looking out for them. An eyeline match is used between the worker and the man. A low angle is used looking up at the man who is stood up compared to the worker who is sat down to make you feel like you are in the place of the worker, this makes the man seem like he has more dominance over the worker and is confident in what he is doing. A shot reverse shot is used during their conversation, this shows their facial expressions to be serious and that the man has knowledge when he replies quickly to the questions also showing he has confidence. Because of the setting and the shot reverse shot, this is ideal in relation to film noir films as conversations between 2 people are usually in a deserted place and personal. At the end of the clip an over the shoulder shot is used when the worker is handling over some forms to him. This would represent dealing something over to someone privately in film noir films.
• The sequence begins with the institution logo to give an idea of the type of film
it is,. ‘Columbia’ are famous for presenting old styled films which are shot in past
times around the 50’s era. This immediately informs you that it is going to be a
film Noir film. After the beginning sequence the background is black with red
text slowly appearing with the main characters names, one at a time. The dark
background shows the idea of black and white films which were used in the
50’s giving a classic film Noir experience, the red text shows the most popular
actors in the film which also suggests the type of film it is as the actors that play
this film are mostly famous for the same genre type. The taxi driving out of the
smoke which then reveals the film title, ‘taxi Driver’ makes the picture seem
quite ironic with the taxi prop. The film title is presented in front of thick smoke
which hides the scene it is in and gives mystery and suspicion. The rest of the
credits are shown in front of the thick smoke so you still cant see the
setting, leaving you suspicious and determined to find an answer to what is
going on and where the scene is going to occur, just like a film Noir film giving
mystery and determination. When the first character is introduced, low key
lighting is used on his face so you cant see his true identity and become
suspicious that he could be hiding something from someone.
• In the first 5 minutes of the clip, sound perspective is used at various volumes
throughout. It starts off at a low volume and slowly begins to build up to build
up the tension and make you think something is due to happen shortly.
However this fools the viewers as nothing dramatic happens and the volume
of the sound then decreases. The music is very eerie and creates a build up
when the credits end and the start of the clip begins properly. The diagetic
sound of the phone call which stops the non diagetic music crreates a good
effect in relation to film Noir films as it gives mystery to the scene as you don’t
know who is trying to get in contact with them. Narrative sound is then used
from the characters so you can hear the main parts of the conversation that
could be vital for the rest of the clip. The in depth conversation between the
two characters helps you come up with an impression on the main character
and the type of personality he has, which determines what type of person he
could be.
• The majority of the beginning clip is set at a taxi firm, this suggests that
most of the action could be held here as it is introduced as the first
scene in the film, meaning it must be an important location. This
scene is relevant to film noir films as most scenes are set in people-
based areas such as bars, diners or pubs. The dress code of the locals
helps to set the scene and give an idea of the time the film is relating
to, in this case being the 50’s when film noir films were most common.
For the main character of the man, he is in fairly casual clothing with
a leather jacket which gives the idea that he is in some sort of team
and gives him a butch feature. The worker is in a typical shirt with the
top 2 buttons undone showing his gold chain which puts him in a
place of high authority and good pay in his job compared to the
other man. The scenes also relate to film noir films as they are set in
the main setting of a taxi firm which is quite dark, smoky, dusty and
gloomy, giving the idea of suspicion.