- Bus Tour, Public Bus/Vehicle Tour
- 2 hours for public tours
- All ages
A look at TV & movie locations above Times Square.
Tour-goers on the NYC TV & Movie Tour and TCM Classic Film Tour will get a chance to see locations used in the iconic New York film, Taxi Driver.
Taxi Driver stars Robert DeNiro as Travis Bickle and also features Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, Cybill Shepard, and Jodie Foster. The 1976 film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Score, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Robert DeNiro) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jodie Foster).
The story revolves around Travis Bickle, a mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran who works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York. The city’s reputation for violence, corruption, decadence, and sleaze feeds Bickle’s urge to lash out. He frequents the local sex shops and theaters in search of diversion and winds up trying to save a teenage prostitute (Jodie Foster) in the process. Feeling ultimately powerless, he sets out to assassinate the senator, hoping for the infamy of a “crazed lone gunman.”
The Maine Memorial at Columbus Circle is the setting for the political rally where Senator Charles Palatine is giving his speech when Travis Bickle sets out to shoot him. This location is seen on both the NYC TV & Movie Tour and the TCM Classic Film Tour. The Maine Memorial is a frequent filming location, as it has also been used in Enchanted, August Rush, Keeping the Faith, Kate and Leopold, and Down to You.
The location where Travis Bickle picks up his final fare in his taxi is the St. Regis Hotel, located on E. 55th Street, just off Fifth Avenue. This famous New York hotel has also been featured in several movies, including The Devil Wears Prada, Miss Congeniality, The First Wives Club, Radio Days, and Hannah and Her Sisters. This location is also seen on both the NYC TV & Movie Tour and TCM Classic Film Tour.
In preparation for his role in Taxi Driver, Robert DeNiro got an actual taxi driver’s license and drove it nights around New York City.
Jodie Foster was Scorsese’s first choice to play teenage prostitute Iris. Scorsese offered the role to Melanie Griffith, Linda Blair, Bo Derek, Carrie Fisher, Geena Davis, and Mariel Hemmingway, before finally “settling” on Jodie Foster.
In addition to being nominated for four Oscars, Taxi Driver was nominated for, and in many cases won, several other awards. These include several BAFTA Film Awards, the Blue Ribbon Award, the Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Award, the Golden Globe, the Directors’ Guild of America award, the Grammy, the Writers’ Guild of America award, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award, among many others.
* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.