[SteveMcKing]

It always struck me how the stars of Taxi Driver took no lessons from it. De Niro, Shepherd, and Foster- they seem to think Travis was "the bad guy".

[danno3150]

Fortunately, the director never subscribed to this simplistic view. Scorcese was a big fan of The Searchers (as am I). Many of the characters and motifs in Taxi Driver are based on the classic western. John Wayne's character in that movie was a damaged soul, just like Travis Bickle, who commits acts of violence to save an innocent. The motives aren't "pure" or clear for that matter. Neither character is a "good guy", but both ultimately perform horrific, yet heroic, acts. This concept is hard for small Hollywood minds to grasp.