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Taxicab Confessions

Specials 1997 - 2001

  • HBO
  • 1h
  • 3h (3 episodes)
  • United States
  • English
  • Documentary
Taxicab Confessions is a television series of hidden camera documentaries that have aired on HBO since January 1995. In segments taped in New York City and Las Vegas, the taxi drivers are also producers who steer both the vehicle and the conversations with passengers. When passengers enter the cab, they are recorded with several small cameras hidden in the taxi. The producer prompts passengers into discussing their past and/or present circumstances. This has led some participants to reflect on their life, recalling extreme tragedies or triumphs. Much is verbally or visually graphic, including explicit sex talk and sex acts performed in the back seat. At the end of the taxi ride, passengers are asked to sign waivers allowing the hidden camera footage to be used on the program, and footage of this revelation is sometimes seen during the closing credits. Separating the segments are short video montages showing life in the city, incorporating quick cuts of club interiors, flashing neon signage, strippers and the homeless, along with the series theme music, "Over the Rainbow" by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. The series originated in New York, moved to Las Vegas and in recent years returned to New York.

4 episodes

In The Best of Taxicab Confessions, a burned-out rescue-squad cop describes the horrors he’s seen. A young slacker cruising for hookers reveals his tragic family history. A woman on the verge of meltdown ominously recalls the time she shot her cheating boyfriend. Culled from the Emmy-winning HBO series, these are among the New York cab riders whose frequently startling conversations have been captured by Joe and Harry Gantz with hidden cameras. While watching these unwitting subjects spill their guts, voyeur’s guilt gives way to sheer fascination — and wonder at why they granted permission to the sneaky filmmakers.

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