Taxi Driver is one of my absolute favorite movies of all time. I know how almost every scene looks exactly, and can quote it perfectly. However I had no idea that angles and shots had so much power, and part of the reason I love Taxi Driver is because of it's brilliant use of shots and angles. Three in particular really stood out to me, the High Angle Shot, Medium Shot, and Close Up.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCDXRTbXd2Q) <-- (Go to 5:15 for the shot.)
The best example of the High Angle shot in the film Taxi Driver is right after the climax, when Travis kills the gang members and sits on the couch sure that he will soon be dead. The police enter the room and the camera pans high above the actors and slowly moves out of the room and follows the path that Travis took to get up to the room. This scene shows that Travis has lost his power, He tries to kill himself after he kills the last gangster but, he has no ammo left. He also lost all four of the weapons he had, and now is back to being a ordinary man. The scene really evokes just how small humans actually are, despite how powerful we can be. In the end we are all helpless, and guns only give you power for so long.

My favorite Medium Shot is when Travis is talking to Iris in the restaurant. Travis invites Iris (a 14 year old prostitute) to get breakfast with him. Travis really wants to help Iris get out of the life of a prostitute and move back in with her parents. This whole scene uses medium level shots, which help to develop these characters' relationship. Travis feels that he has wasted his life and has nothing to really give to anyone, but he feels that maybe if he helps Iris he might feel better about himself for making a difference in someone's life. Iris has never had an older man like Travis treat her so nicely and she really comes out of her shell in this scene, despite the fact that she declines Travis's offer to help her. These two characters develop a lot in this one scene, and the viewer finally sees Travis's true motives as being good.

My favorite Close Up shot occurs quite often while Travis is driving his Taxi. Every time he looks in his rear view mirror we get a close up of his eyes. This is always a powerful shot because we see Travis's genuine reaction to what is happening around him. The first time he meets Iris she gets into his Taxi and tries to escape from her pimp. We see a close up on Travis's eyes staring at her through the mirror, which evokes to the viewer that this is important. Once Iris's pimp catches her he throws twenty dollars into the taxi and tells Travis to forgot what happened. We once again see this close up and Travis stares at the money on his seat. This whole scene tells us that Travis desperately wanted to help Iris but in the end was to slow to make a decision and wasn't happy with the outcome, without Travis having to say one word.

Taxi Driver uses shots and angles masterfully, and each one ca tell us something about the scene and the character without any lines being said. I hope to learn more about the use of these tools and master them just as well as this movie has.