20 Most Memorable Quotes From Taxi Driver

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. 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.

Taxi Driver explores a seedy New York 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)

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. While Travis has conviction in some of his dark and disturbing plans later in the movie, quotes like this suggest that he also just wants to be healthy and happy.

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 because of how it shows not just Travis, but also the clerk’s casual reaction to death.

It is a haunting and dark moment because of 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. However, it also is a darkly comedic moment as Travis wants to become a stone-cold killer, but immediately after taking his first life, he worries about what he just did. It shows that Travis acts on impulse without putting much thought into it.

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

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

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, as it 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. The statement feels less like Travis explaining his mission to the world and more like him convincing himself of this heroic path to justify the violence he will enact.

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 in the movie 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.

He cannot help but get excited and throw out a cliche line when he finds himself kicking off the violence.

It is an intense moment in the movie as it signals that Travis’ final violent mission has now begun. However, it also shows that, despite Travis claiming this is a righteous mission he has been forced upon, he cannot help but get excited and throw out a cliche line when he finds himself kicking off the violence.

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

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

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 an oddly charming awkward interaction between the two. For a brief moment, it feels like the movie could go in a different direction with Betsy offering a bit of light in his life.

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. It shows Travis fumbling in his attempts to be charming while Betsy makes an effort to get to know this peculiar man.

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)

The movie makes an interesting point about the different ways a person like Travis can be perceived. While he cannot hide the unusual point of view he has of the world, there are some people, like Betsy, who mistake his disturbing personality as something unique and exciting. 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.

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.

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. Taxi Driver is a movie fans love for the wrong reasons in many instances, as people view Travis as a cool vigilante where he is really a hapless and clueless man who just wants to hurt people and this scene addresses that.

13 “Anytime, Anywhere.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

The title Taxi Driver speaks to the fact that, despite the fact that Travis was clearly disturbed, his job as a taxi driver only fueled his dark perspective on the world and sent him further down a violent path. 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.”

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.

Travis is a guy who doesn’t expect very much from society, which this Taxi Driver quote perfectly exemplifies. 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)

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. Keitel has starred in a number of Martin Scorsese movies, but Sport makes for perhaps his most memorable character.

it cannot be easy for an actor to take on such a disturbing role and deliver lines like this as if it is normal conversation, but Keitel fully embraces the disgusting nature of Sport who clearly sees nothing wrong with what he’s doing. 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)

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 in Taxi Driver that shows Travis as emotionally immature early on.

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It is a moment in Taxi Driver that shows Travis as emotionally immature early on. It is also a moment that fans who view Travis as some kind of hero in the story have to ignore. This is Scorsese and Schrader showing in no uncertain terms that Travis is a despicable man who has a selfish side to him. He might not have much in the world, but when he is denied what he thinks he is owed, he snaps.

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 and continues to show that, along with being one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he is also a very effective actor. 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. It also shows that Travis’ world of New York at night is filled with people who only feed into his own violent thoughts and desires. It is interesting that Travis does not see this man as a villain who needs to be stopped and suggests something about Travis’ supposedly righteous mission.

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

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Taxi Driver never shies away from the grotesque grimness of its world, as this quote highlights. Travis does indeed have a warped view of the world, but that doesn’t mean he is wrong that he has to encounter the disgusting and vile aspects of society. 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.

Travis’s appraisal of the duties that come with his career highlight the perverted and violent world that he sees.

His job as a cab driver seems to only heighten his disgust for the world, and Travis’s appraisal of the duties that come with his career highlight the perverted and violent world that he sees. Because of 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)

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. He positions himself as someone others should look to and follow.

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. It is as if he is trying to convince himself that he is this great man who is doing great things but doesn’t fully believe it himself.

7 “I’m God’s Lonely Man.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Travis Bickle’s defining trait is his loneliness. 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.

This Taxi Driver quote feels like an honest and vulnerable moment for the character amid his forced and overly dramatic speeches about being a righteous warrior.

This Taxi Driver quote feels like an honest and vulnerable moment for the character amid his forced and overly dramatic speeches about being a righteous warrior. He claims that society disgusts him and he wants to make it pay, but there is a sense that he truly just wants to be accepted by it more than anything else. While it doesn’t justify Travis’ actions, it does show the sympathetic side of the character.

6 “See Ya Later, Copper!”

Sport (Harvey Keitel)

Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel have appeared alongside each other in several movies, but one of their most memorable scenes together is the first meeting on the sidewalk between Sport and Travis. Sport immediately doesn’t like the look of Travis and suspects that he is an undercover cop, which Travis denies, while Sport insists it is entrapment if he is a cop.

It is a fascinating moment between the two characters as both are playing roles, not knowing how foolish they look. Travis is annoyed he is not blending in as he had hoped, while Sport’s ignorant attempts to explain the legal system are hilariously misguided. It is the movie’s criticism and commentary of people with these tough-guy personas who fail to realize that the rest of the world doesn’t see them the way they want to be seen.

5 “I Don’t Believe That One Should Devote His Life To Morbid Self-Attention.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Found in one of Travis’ narrated monologs near the beginning of the movie, this Taxi Driver quote seems ironic in hindsight, but it dives deep into his motivations early in the story. “All my life needed was a sense of some place to go. I don’t believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention. I believe that someone should become a person like other people.”

It shows just how lost Travis is and how these viewpoints are, just his desperate attempts to make sense of the world.

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This is one of the best Taxi Driver quotes for underpinning how Travis is ultimately motivated by a desire to contribute to the community, which he sensibly figures would be the best way to fit in with others. It shows how much Travis’ mind can change, from criticizing the idea of withdrawing from society to then claiming all of society is disgusting and deranged. It shows just how lost Travis is and how these viewpoints are, just his desperate attempts to make sense of the world.

4 “From Now On, It’ll Be Total Organization. Every Muscle Must Be Tight.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Some of the most memorable Taxi Driver quotes and scenes are from when Travis prepares to take action, recalibrating his entire life for his new goal. As Travis narrates his new regiment to turn himself into the perfect warrior, the audience gets a glimpse at his preparation. He now sees himself as on a mission to which he has to dedicate himself completely.

From Travis doing clapping pushups to practicing at the shooting range, Taxi Driver has a truly unique and disturbing training montage. However, it is filled with the same delusion that Travis has had throughout the movie, as he sees himself as having some grand purpose that doesn’t exist. It is also sad to think that Travis could have accomplished a lot of good things by showing this dedication elsewhere.

3 “I Have Learned More About America From Riding In Taxi Cabs Than In All The Limos In The Country.”

Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris)

When Senator Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris) and his aides ride in the back of Travis’ cab, Travis claims to be a stalwart supporter despite the fact that his only interest in the politician comes from wanting to impress Betsy. Cleverly, the politician tells Travis, “Let me tell you something. I have learned more about America from riding in taxi cabs than in all the limos in the country.”

It’s the perfect line because there’s real wisdom behind Palantine’s words while also seeming darkly humorous.

It’s the perfect line because there’s real wisdom behind Palantine’s words while also seeming darkly humorous. Palantine is giving a typical politician answer that makes him seem like a man of the people. However, Travis and his views showcase that what Palantine might learn from him would be disturbing. The fact that Travis would try to assassinate Palantine later in the movie makes this exchange between them all the more memorable in retrospect.

2 “You Talkin’ To Me?”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

Even those who’ve never seen Taxi Driver know that Robert De Niro utters this line in one of his movies. Apart from being the single most memorable Taxi Driver quote, it also occurs during one of the most iconic moments in Taxi Driver. At this point in Taxi Driver, Travis is so isolated that he’s begun to talk to himself in the mirror, making up scenarios and practicing how he’s going to threaten people on the street.

While the scene has grown a reputation as an ultimate tough-guy moment in cinema, rewatching the real scenes shows that it is something very different. Even alone and talking to himself, Travis is awkward, unconfident, and looks like someone playing a version of a tough guy he saw on television. The improvised moment is a testament to Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese’s collaboration where they could invent this moment that has become an iconic cinematic moment.

1 “Someday, A Real Rain Will Come And Wash All This Scum Off The Streets.”

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

This whole monologue is perfect for the way it sums up Travis’ cynical view of the world and the mental downfall that he suffers later in the film. Jazz creeps in the background as Travis drives his taxi alone. It’s business as usual on the streets of New York, and the city lights above are reflected in the puddles of rain on the street.

“Thank God for the rain, which has helped wash away the garbage and trash off the sidewalks. I’m working long hours now: six in the afternoon to six in the morning. Sometimes, even eight in the morning, six days a week. Sometimes seven days a week. “It’s a long hustle, but it keeps me real busy. I can take in three, three-fifty a week. Sometimes even more when I do it off the meter. All the animals come out at night – whores, skunk p*****s, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday, a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets.”

Typical in Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader’s movies, the quote has plenty of religious connotations, with the idea of a flood coming to wash away the sinners of the world. However, the long list of people Travis feels should be washed away shows the hatred in his mind which goes far beyond wanting to be a noble vigilante. Apart from giving viewers a long, hard look into Travis’ sick mind, these are some of the most memorable Taxi Driver quotes for making Travis’ vitriolic thoughts sound almost like poetry.