Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver was composer Bernard Herrmann's final score, and absolutely one of his finest. This particular CD has the original film score as conducted by the composer himself and some "Additional Interpretations" arranged by David Blume. First the movie itself, where Robert de Niro plays the title role alongside an impressive supporting cast. As a cab driver, he sees a lot of the seedier side of life, and his increasingly deranged mind concocts a mission to take action against this.

In a departure from Herrmann's normal style, here he adopts a laid-back jazzy theme which aptly depicts the sleazy setting among the city's night life, but also has some of the lead characters passion. Interspersed with the jazz theme on saxaphone we have great whooshes of sound which are clearly portents of doom. You just know that the taxi driver is unhinged and increasingly ready to take some kind of drastic action. Very unsettling but strangely compelling at the same time. Among the music, we also have the cab driver's narrated log of his thoughts, adding immensely to the experience including the "You talking to me?" dialogue into the mirror.

The CD cover folds out and contains commentary by Martin Scorsese on how he chose and eventually persuaded Herrmann to do this score. There is also a lot of detail on the actual tracks selected and where they sit (chronologically) in the movie, and finally the monologues are also listed as spoken by de Niro. And if you're truly insane, you can turn this over and pin up de Niro on your bedroom wall for a good night's sleep! These links take you straight into the page featuring this product on the shopping sites: Amazon.co.uk in the UK, or Amazon.com in the US.

Track listing:

• Main Title
• Thank God for the Rain
• Cleaning the Cab
• I Still Can't Sleep/They Cannot Touch Her (Betsy's Theme)
• Phone Call/I Realise how much She is Like the Others/A Strange Customer/Watching Palantine on TV/You're Gonna Die in Hell/Betsy's Theme/Hitting the Girl
• The .44 Magnum is a Monster
• Getting into Shape/Listen you Screwheads/Gun Play/Dear Father & Mother/The Card/Soap Opera
• Sport and Iris
• The $20 Bill/Target Practice
• Assassination Attempt/After the Carnage
• A Reluctant Hero/Betsy/End Credits

The Additional Interpretations are a little superfluous and a bit variable, detracting in parts from the movie's mood. But, hey, they're free extras filling out an additional 20 minutes on the CD and you don't have to listen to them:

• Diary of a Taxi Driver (album version)
• God's Lonely Man (album version with alternate ending)
• Theme from Taxi Driver
• I Work the Whole City
• Betsy in a White Dress
• The Days do not End
• Theme from Taxi Driver (reprise)

This is a landmark film score from one of the greatest film composers ever, and anyone who likes Herrmann's music should have this CD in their collection. Released after the composer's death, it bears the same dedication to his memory as the film itself. Scorsese recounts how Herrmann's ill health was apparent during the soundtrack recording. He died in his sleep having just that day finished recording the final cues for the movie.