Treasure Of The Sierra Madre And Taxi Driver Comparison Essay

Of the films that I have seen of John Huston and Martin Scorsese it’s hard not to notice their similarities and numerous differences. Perhaps the most obvious comparison to make is how they use decor and costumes, both of their films, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) and Taxi Driver (1976), take place at the time of their release, so the costumes and settings are realistic and most importantly lived-in. How these locations are lived in are portrayed a little differently through lighting and camera work, as Travis Bickle’s apartment is dark and grungy looking throughout the film, Scorsese is a filmmaker that likes to portray these kind of locations and characters that would inhabit them. Scorsese’s film feels less like a studio film and

This ultimately fits his style of film as it is generally dialogue driver, with characters spending a lot of time discussing plans with one another and setting up emotions and plot points. A great example of this comes up in Sierra Madre when Dobbs and the others are discussing what they are going to do with the trespasser Cody, the camera stays in place and cuts back and forth between Dobbs and his partners, the camerawork and editing here isn’t flashy or fancy, but it gets the job done. Scorsese on the other hand, loves to move the camera around and depict unique editing techniques. In Taxi Driver, Travis makes a phone call to Betsy about their disturbingly awkward date. At first the camera stays fixed on Travis, but as the conversation goes on the camera moves away from Travis and focuses on the hallway leading out of the building. This is something Huston would have never done, as dialog is something he tends to focus his camera on, but Scorsese is more willing to move the camera away and almost give it a life of it’s