Scorcese, DeNiro, and screen writer Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) were pretty much broke when they did Taxi Driver (1976) and Schrader was suicidal at the time as well, due to being broke and stressed out trying to make the script deadline. He kept a loaded gun in his desk drawer and nearly pulled the trigger a couple of times with it shoved in his mouth.
All three were pretty much pissed off at the time they did this movie, seeing how New York City was being turned into a violent, crime-ridden cesspool. Scorcese was and is unabashedly proud of his Italian heritage and, as someone else recently mentioned in another post about his new series "Boardwalk Empire", not very politically-correct.
Initially and intentionally, Scorcese was going to make all of the "bad guys" in Taxi Driver black, however, acting great Harvey Keitel, after reading the script and already slated for a different role in the film by Scorcese, convinced Scorcese to let him audition for the role of the pimp and impressed Scorcese so much that he let him do it. In retrospect, Scorcese is glad this happened, otherwise he believes there would've been riots in the city.
It's obvious from several scenes in the film that neither filmmaker Scorcese nor DeNiro's character in it (Travis Bickle) were fans of blacks. Anyway, here is a beat down scene from it, with Scorcese obviously showcasing his frustration and anger at the time. I'd include the final scene as well to show what could have been, but it's just too damn brutal and graphic.
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Edited by: Highlander
