Script vs. Movie Comparison
Given that this was the shooting script, the difference between the page and the screen isn’t a night-and-day comparison. It’s largely the same movie, but after going through the script, we found there to be at least a few notable and interesting changes made by Scorsese. In general, there are a fair amount of minor dialogue tweaks, a fair amount of sentences trimmed here and there. Nothing to change the course of a scene, and mostly the same, but the spoken word is a little looser than what’s on the page. Though notably (except for a few cut passages), Travis’ diary entries do remain almost exactly the same.
The only things “missing” (in the movie compared to the script) are a couple random interactions with more hostile passengers, a conversation between cabbies at the office, and a more fleshed-out scene of Travis going to the record store to buy Betsy’s album. Also, the Tom character does not have such a direct relationship with Palantine as he does in the script (as he’s replaced by nameless assistants in the film outside of his scenes with Betsy). Surprisingly, the aspects that the movie created and the script doesn’t have are some of its most iconic. For example, Travis’ signature mohawk was a screen invention (as it’s just a full shave on the page); and, probably the most famous, Travis’ paranoid mirror rant (“You talkin’ to me?”) is also an entirely directorial creation.
Overall, as mentioned, there wasn’t any crazy transformation from the script to the screen - mostly what can be described as “trimmings” for the sake of pace. The core of the character, plot, and tone are as clear to read as they are to see. But it’s also interesting to see what other kinds of changes were made and speculate as to why.
Other Misc. Comparison Notes:
- Much of the same atmosphere/visuals described in the screenplay are present on-screen
- Tom and Betsy chatter is cut down
- Travis doesn’t tell Betsy his dead passenger story in the movie
- “I forgot to get the Coca-Cola” line not present in movie
- Many shots/camera moves described by Schrader are followed through with precision
- Occasional efforts to keep Travis’ mentality slightly less overt and on-the-nose
- Script doesn't have the final “sting” moment right at the end to hint at Travis’ future
