Martin Scorsese’s Controversial 10/10 Psychological Thriller Is Officially Free on Streaming
Martin Scorsese's 1976 neo-noir classic Taxi Driver is now streaming for free on Pluto TV, giving audiences fresh access to one of the defining films of the genre. The film follows Vietnam veteran and insomniac night-shift taxi driver Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, whose alienation and moral disgust at 1970s New York City curdle into violent vigilantism, making it a landmark study of urban decay and psychological unravelling.
The plot traces Travis's mounting isolation, his doomed infatuation with campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), and his fraught attempts to "rescue" Iris (Jodie Foster), a child forced into prostitution, culminating in a brutal and satirical climax. The article situates the film within the broader neo-noir movement of the era alongside works like Chinatown and Blue Velvet, and draws a comparison to Scorsese's later After Hours, noting how both explore nocturnal urban paranoia, though Taxi Driver is rooted more deeply in trauma and societal indifference.
- Taxi Driver is now streaming free on Pluto TV.
- Robert De Niro stars as unravelling vigilante taxi driver Travis Bickle.
- Scorsese's 1976 film remains a landmark of the neo-noir genre.
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Taxi Driver is a 1976 film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle, a former soldier working nights as a New York taxi driver. Struggling with isolation and disillusionment, Travis becomes increasingly consumed by the city's crime and moral decay around him, eventually turning to extreme and violent action. The film also features Jodie Foster and Cybill Shepherd in key supporting roles.
The film is widely regarded as one of the defining works of 1970s American cinema and helped shape the "neo-noir" style, a modern take on dark, morally ambiguous crime stories rooted in earlier film noir traditions. It has long been discussed both for its craftsmanship and for its unflinching, at times disturbing, subject matter, including violence and the exploitation of a minor.
The film is now available to stream for free on Pluto TV, a platform that offers ad-supported content at no cost, giving new and returning viewers easy access to a title that had previously required a paid subscription or rental to watch.