​American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He made his first feature-length film in 1967, Call First (later retitled “Who's That Knocking at My Door), which was followed by Boxcar Bertha (1972). The film Taxi Driver (1976) won the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, and received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, establishing him as an accomplished filmmaker operating on a highly skilled level.