Most Rewatchable Scene feels odd for this film, which is rewatchable because it is great and important rather than for one scene watched 120 times, so the segment becomes a run through the best scenes. — Bill Simmons
First up is Travis driving around and describing decrepit New York City at night; the drive is only about two minutes but grim. — Bill Simmons
Producer Michael Phillips is quoted that the whole West Side was bombed out with condemned buildings, Times Square was disgusting, and they did not know they were documenting the dying gasp of New York. — Bill Simmons
Travis asking Betsy out after going into the office is a really good scene that hinges on believing she might go out with him, which seems ridiculous given where the movie goes, though she kind of buys him. — Bill Simmons
Travis comes in with confidence and reads Betsy well only because he has been stalking her; a high shot of his hand passing over her desk, amid traditional coverage, makes the scene unsettling. — Bill Hader
That overhead 'priest's view' shot returns when he buys the guns and in the long overhead pullback after the shootout, signalling something deeper, insane and spiritual in Travis. — Sean Fennessey
The actor who played Palantine made only two movies and was a culture critic brought in because the filmmakers wanted someone who did not seem like an actor rather than a Hal Holbrook type; this prompts a joke about a critic getting pulled into a Scorsese movie. — Bill Simmons
In the Palantine cab ride the actor waits a beat to find the right politician response to Travis, and Travis knows he is being condescended to and blew it.
Scorsese as the crazy cab passenger is a fun, weird five minutes, not politically correct in 2021; it is judged to work because it feels honest and nothing about it is gratuitous. — Bill Hader
Travis mastering his gun-and-knife routine shows weeks of De Niro's practice; it was filmed in one shot, ran too long in a rough cut and was cut in half around the rally scene, and the 'You talking to me' portion originally ran about 10 minutes, a smart edit followed by the name Marshall Lucas. — Bill Simmons
In the breakfast scene with Iris, her putting sugar on the jam and toast is the lasting detail, read as a callback to Travis pouring brandy and sugar on his cereal, as if they were souls meant for each other in a messed-up way.
The botched assassination is short but gripping because first-time viewers assume it will be the climax; the boom and dolly shots are impressive given how big the equipment was then. — Bill Hader
When directing, he photo-boards all the coverage on an iPhone because a 30-minute TV show lacks time and money; as an actor he can bristle at storyboards and likes that Scorsese told actors to speak up if something did not work for them. — Bill Hader
A joke says the podcast is storyboarded over Zoom with pictures sent to the producer but not shared with the co-host. — Bill Simmons
The final shootout is really cool filmmaking: the X rating forced changes, some color was taken out to make it more palatable, and the wide overhead shot goes on for about two minutes. — Bill Simmons
The shootout has no music telling viewers it is an action scene; the wide shot down the hall as Travis finishes off Keitel's character feels like security-camera footage from someone trapped in the hallway. — Bill Hader
A better example is Travis first shooting Keitel's character, seen from the point of view of someone on a stoop who is left alone with the gunman after he sits down. — Bill Hader
The suicide attempt with no bullets left is played straight, with no music and no cut and crying heard off camera, compared to films by a director transcribed as Rainer Fast Thunder, where what is off camera matters as much. — Bill Hader
The film was an unexpected hit, likely because of its cathartic violent ending, which some read as Travis devolving and others celebrated as a Death Wish-style revenge; it is contrasted with Schrader-written Rolling Thunder as a more complex, sad picture of what a gunfight would look like. — Bill Hader
No most rewatchable scene is picked because that would be weird for this movie. — Bill Simmons
