It's a very similar movie to Taxi Driver. Travis drove a cab late at night; if he had stayed home and watched the Jerry Langford Show he might have ended up like Rupert. Both men are equally delusional and obsessive and the films both end with a fantasy-like sequence in which his act of violence is rewarded.
I do hope they keep this movie far away from Hinkley.
I'm glad I'm not the only one to make the Travis Bickle/Rupert Pupkin connection...
"Can I touch your hair?"-Meiying (Wenwen Han) The Karate Kid (2010)
it's not a difficult connection to make, especially since it's the same actor, film maker, and theme.
though i don't say one would have turned out like the other. pupkin, very obviously, is an extrovert while bickle is an introvert. completely different temperaments and approach to problem solving. pupkin was in fact, never violent.
though the theme of delusion and obsession is obviously there.
Good post. I came on here to see what conversation there was on this issue. Clearly a lot of common ground in the two films: Isolation, obsession, delusion, drastic action to 'right' a 'wrong'. Two studies of severely socially dysfunctional people whose suffering eventually pushes them over the edge with surprisingly satisfactory (to the individuals) results.
But the interesting thing, to me, is that these people may not really be that different to those who become celebrities these days - I mean, Big Brother-type reality shows, to take but one example, seem almost as weird a route to fame as Bickle and Pupkin's. 'By any means necessary' seems to be the mantra of fame-hungy youngsters today.
Also, perhaps the 'weirder' you are, the more you are loved IF you happen to be fortunate enough to become an official, media endorsed weirdo.
Right?
How could you possibly be any kind of real genius if you don't have a bit of madness in you? These great people have to be allowed their little quirks. It makes them interesting. They are not like us normal people. No. they are special people.
Both great films in my opinion, with Taxi Driver being superior by quite a margin, generally speaking.
Cheers,
Manton
I'd rather get drunk... I do get drunk... I did get drunk.
It's a shame we don't get Scorsese's take on the parallels or lack thereof in a comentary for the Blu Ray (which from the screen caps on the reviews online seems too dark).
If to stand pat means to resist evil then, yes, neighbour, we wish to stand pat.
It split the Cybill Shepherd character into two: Miss Long and Rita.
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