How did Martin Scorsese avoid an X rating for Taxi Driver?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Martin Scorsese smiling in a tuxedo and bow tie, holding an Oscar statuette at the Academy Awards, with a gold Oscar statue in the background. — Martin Scorsese American film director Martin Scorsese, 2008.

To secure an R rating for Taxi Driver (1976) and avoid an X rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, Martin Scorsese muted the film's color scheme during the climactic scene. This adjustment caused the blood to appear as a darker, less vivid shade of red, which satisfied the board's concerns regarding the graphic nature of the violence.1