When I first saw this film, I didn't really feel any connection to it; I guess you could say that I didn't "get" it. I rated it four stars because I knew that it is commonly considered a masterpiece and honestly didn't know what else to give it. After watching it again, I think that I get it now.

Taxi Driver is the counterpart to the statement I made in my review of The Departed. While it is not my favourite Scorsese film, it is the most well-made of all the films I have seen directed by him. There is not a single superfluous shot in the film. Every frame presented to the audience has a purpose. Every character is deep and interesting, with either logical motives, or logically illogical motives. Travis Bickle is one of the best characters in film and the perfect subject for any film analysts. De Niro's portrayal of Travis is fantastic and makes you wonder how it's possible for a guy to go from doing films like this to films like Meet the Fockers. Scorsese perfectly captures the most beautiful and the ugliest aspects of the world and displays them both together in the same film, sometimes even in the same scene. And then there is the ending: the perfect, open-ended, what-do-you-think-it-means ending that is not only the best conclusion imaginable, but the only one that could ever fit the film.

This film is still getting a four star rating from me, but it is almost a four and a half. Considering how much more I enjoyed it on a second watch, I imagine I'll be bumping that rating up on a third or fourth watch.