Editing Taxi Driver (section)

=== Critical response ===
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| footer            = The performances of [[Robert De Niro]] and [[Jodie Foster]] garnered universal critical acclaim, earning them [[Academy Award]] nominations for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] respectively.
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''Taxi Driver'' received universal critical acclaim. [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' instantly praised it as one of the greatest films he had ever seen, claiming:
<blockquote>''Taxi Driver'' is a hell, from the opening shot of a cab emerging from stygian clouds of steam to the climactic killing scene in which the camera finally looks straight down. Scorsese wanted to look away from Travis's rejection; we almost want to look away from his life. But he's there, all right, and he's suffering.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/taxi-driver-1976 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |title=Taxi Driver | access-date=October 18, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925233419/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/taxi-driver-1976 | archive-date=September 25, 2016 | url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

On the review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 162 reviews and an average rating of 9.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A must-see film for movie lovers, this Martin Scorsese masterpiece is as hard-hitting as it is compelling, with Robert De Niro at his best."<ref>{{cite Rotten Tomatoes|id=taxi_driver|type=m|title=Taxi Driver|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001002501/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi_driver/|archive-date=October 1, 2008|url-status=live|access-date=March 22, 2025}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] gives the film a score of 94 out of 100, based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "universal" acclaim".<ref>{{cite Metacritic|id=taxi-driver-re-release|type=movie|title=Taxi Driver|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311011258/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/taxi-driver-re-release|archive-date=March 11, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=February 1, 2021}}</ref>

''Taxi Driver'' was ranked by the [[American Film Institute]] as the 52nd-greatest [[Cinema of the United States|American film]] on its [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]] list, and Bickle was [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains|voted the 30th-greatest villain]] in a poll by the same organization. ''[[The Village Voice]]'' ranked ''Taxi Driver'' at number 33 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |title=Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll |access-date=27 July 2006 |year=1999 |work=The Village Voice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826201343/http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |archive-date=26 August 2007}}</ref> ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' also ranked him 18th in its "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll,<ref>{{cite news |title=The 100 Greatest Movie Characters |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |url=https://www.empireonline.com/100-greatest-movie-characters/default.asp?c=18 |access-date=December 2, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107045525/http://www.empireonline.com/100-greatest-movie-characters/default.asp?c=18 | archive-date=November 7, 2011 | url-status=live}}</ref> and the film ranks at 17 on the magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.<ref>{{cite web |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/500-greatest-movies/ |date=October 3, 2008 |title=The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time|access-date=April 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822120854/http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/500-greatest-movies/|archive-date=August 22, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' magazine conducted a poll of the 100 greatest movies set in New York City. ''Taxi Driver'' topped the list.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 101 best New York movies of all time |date=June 17, 2016 |work=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]] |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/new-york-movies-100-best#tab_panel_10|access-date=May 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527122000/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/new-york-movies-100-best#tab_panel_10|archive-date=May 27, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Schrader's screenplay was ranked the 43rd-greatest ever written by the [[Writers Guild of America]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-greatest-screenplays/list|title=101 Greatest Screenplays|publisher=Writers Guild of America|access-date=March 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206081937/http://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-greatest-screenplays/list|archive-date=February 6, 2017|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> ''Taxi Driver'' was also ranked as the 44th best-directed film of all time by the [[Directors Guild of America]].<ref>[https://www.dga.org/craft/dgaq/all-articles/1602-spring-2016/80th-film-poll.aspx The 80 Best-Directed Films] [[Directors Guild of America]]. Retrieved April 12, 2024.</ref> In contrast, [[Leonard Maltin]] gave a rating of 2 stars (out of 4) and called it a "gory, cold-blooded story of a sick man's lurid descent into violence" that was "ugly and unredeeming".<ref name="Leonard Maltin Movie Guide">{{cite book |last1=Maltin |first1=Leonard |title=Leonard Maltin's 2014 Movie Guide The Modern Era |year=2013 |location=New York |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780451418104/page/1385 1385] |isbn=978-0-451-41810-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780451418104/page/1385 }}</ref>

In 2012, in a ''[[Sight and Sound|Sight & Sound]]'' poll, Iranian filmmaker [[Asghar Farhadi]] selected ''Taxi Driver'' as one of his 10 best films of all time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/1204|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517140210/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/1204|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 17, 2016|title= Asghar Farhadi's Top 10 Director's Poll|website= [[British Film Institute]]|access-date= 27 May 2020}}</ref> [[Quentin Tarantino]] has also listed the movie among his 10 greatest films of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/quentin-tarantino-handwritten-list-11-greatest-films-of-all-time/ |title=Quentin Tarantino's handwritten list of the 11 greatest films of all time |publisher=Far Out Magazine |access-date=October 15, 2022 |archive-date=December 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231223223/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/quentin-tarantino-handwritten-list-11-greatest-films-of-all-time/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The February 2020 issue of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine lists ''Taxi Driver'' as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars".<ref>{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=[[New York Magazine]]|access-date=March 17, 2025}}</ref>