This may seem like a bit of a random thread and I'm sure it'll get flamed to death but I just watched

Taxi Driver and was reminded of the fact that Prince reportedly wanted Scorsese to direct

Under The Cherry Moon. I therefore take the liberty of presuming that Prince has seen Taxi Driver.

If so, I wonder if any of the following elements of the film had an influence on his music or films:

Firstly, taxis in general. There's Lady Cab Driver and also the lyric in Annie Christian.

(obviously it's not like taxis did not exist before Scorsese's film, but thought it worth a mention)

The jazzy score by Bernard Herrmann, particularly the swirly harp sounds during the bloody shoot-out.

Now, i'm sure that if Prince has seen this movie, then he would definitely have been interested in the

score and I can't help but draw a parallel between the harp use in Taxi Driver and that of

Under The Cherry Moon. If i'm not mistaken, Christopher Tracy dies to the soundtrack of a swirling

harp, much like the climatic scene of Taxi Driver.

I could be wrong about this, it's been a while since I watched Cherry Moon but i just watched

Taxi Driver and immediately made the connection, hence the birth of this thread.

Cybil Shephard's character Betsy says that there's only 17 Days until the election.

Again, this could obviously be just a coincidence but food for thought.

Can anyone else spot any other possible influences that this film had on Prince's work,

or indeed any other Scorsese/mob/gangster/crime movies?

(We all know that Prince used Godfather dialogue on the Madhouse albums, and granted that is the

work of Copolla not Scorsese, but it does at least suggest Prince had an interest in that particular film genre.)

I should add that the cinematographer on Under The Cherry Moon was Michael Ballhaus,

who was Director of Photography on most of Scorsese's biggest films (not Taxi Driver though).

Some of these things you point out I would suggest are purely coincidental, although it's quite possible that Prince was influenced by the score - swirly harp stuff during death scene - and consciously or not chose to do something similar in UTCM. Prince is known to be a huge fan of cinema and he undoubtedly would have seen and admired Scorsese's work.

Let's not forget the influence of GodfatherIII on Diamonds and Pearls "ganster glam" era!

I hear you with the Gangster Glam!

Thanks FMS for your thoughtful and measured reply, I aknowledge that the 17 days and general taxi

cabs reference are indeed purely coincidental but i really think I may be onto something with the

harp, it's just such a unique sound.

Wow how random, I watched my new blu ray of taxi driver this morning and instantly thought of our boy when Cybil Sheppard mentioned 17 days.

I can't say anything else really made me put the two together

Still aaaabsolutely amazing film

Great observations.