Taxi Driver (1976)

This is an imperfect-but-creditable movie. A 26-year-old man (Robert De Niro) is hired as a taxi driver after promising to work any shift available. He frequently passes the headquarters of a political campaign and notices a beautiful woman (Cybill Shepherd) working inside. One day he boldly walks inside and asks her out. Around the city he notices a lot of crime including robbery, prostitution, and assault, which causes him to feel depressed. After realizing the government is ignoring the problems, he purchases several handguns and decides to clean up the city by himself.

De Niro was 32 when the film was released and Jodie Foster was 13. John Hinckley, Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, claimed he was inspired by this film and wanted to impress Jodie Foster. In 1970, 750 porn theaters existed in the U.S. The advent of home video led to a drastic reduction in the number of theaters. Travis takes Betsy to see Language of Love, a 1969 Swedish sex educational film, but she gets offended and walks out. The MPAA was hesitant to give this film an R-rating because of the violence in the final scene.