(More SPOILERS for Taxi Driver follow.)
My friend James has pointed out some more info on the upcoming Taxi Driver videogame:
“The game picks up where the movie left off,” said the developer in a statement. “As Travis reminisces about his bloody rescue of the young prostitute Iris, it seems the violent catharsis and recovery that ended the film has turned his life around. However, a terrible sequence of events finds him unable to stop the murder of someone very special to him. His ensuing quest for revenge finds Travis Bickle once again on an inexorable path towards violence. Players will fight their way through the mean streets of New York City in Travis’s bid for vengeance, to bring the ruthless rain that will clean the scum off the streets once and for all.”
Also, check out James’s comments on the previous post for more information on other upcoming film-to-videogame adaptations. None of them seem as ludicrous, or as likely to miss the point of the source film, as the Taxi Driver game.
A lot of companies are trying to capture some of the success of Grand Theft Auto III and its sequels, and one way to stand out from the crowd is to license a gritty, violent anti-hero from a popular film. “Scarface” was a natural choice, given its enormous popularity in rap/hip-hop culture (see any episode of MTv’s “Cribs”), and could even accommodate some of the satire that made GTA III such a potent brew. Once “Scarface” was licensed, the “Godfather” seems like a natural choice. Then “Dirty Harry” and “Reservoir Dogs.” (Rockstar itself is bringing us a videogame version of “The Warriors,” although that may be more of a “beat-em-up” than a GTA clone.)
Majesco must have just come late to the party and there was nothing left to license except “Taxi Driver.” It will probably be a simple GTA clone with no understanding of the deeper insights of the movie. I can imagine, for example, that they will give Travis an array of pimp-killing gadgets to complement the spring-loaded revolver he had in the movie. I assume that Scorcese gave up these rights long ago and had no say in the matter.
I guess “The Godfather” wasn’t enough…what’s next? Shampoo the video game. Nashville the video game?