Martin Scorsese Blesses 'Taxi Driver' Remake with Lars Von Trier
by Sean Comer
A Hollywood god and a relative newcomer will soon come together and revisit a modern classic.
"Antichrist" and "Dogville" director Lars Von Trier and auteur director Martin Scorsese have "officially confirmed" that the two will partner to conceive a remake -- quite possibily, several remakes -- of Scorsese's 1976 grit-laden classic "Taxi Driver," according to Screendaily.com.
Von Trier didn't so much simply pitch a "remake" or "reboot" or "reimagining" as lay down a "challenge" before the Oscar-winning director.
Previously, Von Trier issued a similar challenge to directing colleague Jorgen Leth that resulted in Von Trier's 2003 film "The Five Obstructions." Von Trier wanted to Leth to remake his 1967 short film "The Perfect Human" five times, each time with a new challenge or "obstruction" -- say, animating the film, or somehow changing the characters in some critical way.
That gauntlet of gamesmanship now falls before Scorsese and Von Trier.
“The idea behind this obstructions thing is that you give each other tasks which will move you into an area where you have been reluctant to go yourself. Under protest, you do that and then you enlarge your repertoire," Von Trier said.
"Taxi Driver" looks to be the first of the five movies Scorsese could revisit. The others? Who knows? A re-done "Goodfellas"? A new "Gangs of New York"? A fresh take on "Mean Streets"?
Suppose "Taxi Driver" icon Robert De Niro returns as an older Travis Bickle. That could make it a big next several years for the legendary actor, who has also signed on to star in a film chronicling the rise and fall of Bernie Madoff.