#8
Raging Bull
Raging Bull
1980
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin, Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese
Based on the autobiography by: Jack LaMotta
Cinematography by: Michael Chapman
Edited by: Thelma Schoonmaker
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Cathy Moriarty
Nowadays Raging Bull is considered by many to be Scorsese's masterpiece, the greatest movie of the 1980s and even one of the greatest movies of all time. In fact, io their revised list, the American Film Institute named it the 4th greatest movie of all time. This is one instance where mainstream critics get it right. It's an incredible movie. To be honest though, listing it as only #8 on my top of the 1980s list makes me feel pretty special. Again though, it is only so far down the list because the 1980s was such an amazing decade for movies. Raging Bull has got the classic flawed individual trying to make it on his own theme that mainstream critics love. The main character is a real piece of crap. In fact, when the movie was first released many critics were split on the movie because they found Jake LaMotta (Robert DeNiro) to have no redeeming qualities. While this may have split the critics initially, it is probably that difference that distinguishes it from most other movies and why it is a classic nowadays.
The movie is based on the autobiography of Jake LaMotta. He was a boxer in the 1940s and former middleweight champion. It follows his rise and fall both professionally and personally. In the ring, he works his way to the top only to throw it all away by diving in a match. In his personal life he has severe bouts of rage hurting all of the people around him. This causes his family to fall apart. In the end, his wife Vickie (Cathy Moriarty) and manager brother Joey (Joe Pesci) leave him.
Robert DeNiro is really amazing in this movie and deservedly won an Oscar for Best Actor for it. He even learned how to be a proper boxer. During the shooting, LaMotta who coached him, claimed that he could have had a good run as a boxer instead of an actor. Also, a sign to DeNiro's commitment to the role was the fact that he gained 70 pounds to play the older overweight Jake LaMotta. Something that was unheard of at the time in acting. In this scene here you can see how he captures the rage and masochism of Jake:
It's also a pretty funny scene too actually. Raging Bull was Joe Pesci's first major role and also the first of many great movies that he made together with DeNiro (Goodfellas, Casino).
The American Film Institute also recently named Raging Bull the greatest sports movie ever made. Take that Rocky and Million Dollar Baby! This is especially interesting because when DeNiro gave Scorsese the autobiography of Jake LaMotta and first talked about making a movie out of it, Scorsese declined because he claimed that he didn't know anything about boxing. The way the scenes in the ring are filmed though, maybe it was better that way. Take at look at the scene from a match where LaMotta destroys an up and coming 'good looking' boxer named Janiro:
This clip says so much about what makes Raging Bull such a great movie. The first half is brutal. Scorsese uses everything to show how violent it is inside the ring. That one shot of Janiro's nose opening up and blood pouring out is unforgettable. In addition to this, I love the unique use of sound effects. You hear the distant sound of a train as Jake goes for a knockout punch. In other scenes in the movie you hear the heavy breathing of wild animals mixed with the heavy breathing of the fighters themselves. There's plenty of small things like this that point to Scorsese's brilliance. What Scorsese also does so well is making the brutality seem so beautiful. Thus, in the second half of the clip, the high-contrast black and white images and the Pietro Mascagni opera score combine to make something as arduous as training appear heavenly.
The movie is about more than just boxing though. It was a highly personal movie for Scorsese to make. When he chose it to be his next project he was in a hospital recovering from a near-fatal drug overdose. He even thought that this could be his last movie so he put everything he could into it. The theme of redemption which applied to Jake LaMotta was also so pertinent to Scorsese himself. I can only assume that at the time Scorsese must have felt as pathetic and down as LaMotta appears in this next scene:
Even though Raging Bull is at the top of all the critics lists and considered to be the best Scorsese film by the critics, most people I talk to haven't seen it. When it comes to Scorsese everyone's seen Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Departed, and even Taxi Driver. Those are all great movies but you're missing something if you haven't seen this one, go check it out now.
The movie is based on the autobiography of Jake LaMotta. He was a boxer in the 1940s and former middleweight champion. It follows his rise and fall both professionally and personally. In the ring, he works his way to the top only to throw it all away by diving in a match. In his personal life he has severe bouts of rage hurting all of the people around him. This causes his family to fall apart. In the end, his wife Vickie (Cathy Moriarty) and manager brother Joey (Joe Pesci) leave him.
Robert DeNiro is really amazing in this movie and deservedly won an Oscar for Best Actor for it. He even learned how to be a proper boxer. During the shooting, LaMotta who coached him, claimed that he could have had a good run as a boxer instead of an actor. Also, a sign to DeNiro's commitment to the role was the fact that he gained 70 pounds to play the older overweight Jake LaMotta. Something that was unheard of at the time in acting. In this scene here you can see how he captures the rage and masochism of Jake:
It's also a pretty funny scene too actually. Raging Bull was Joe Pesci's first major role and also the first of many great movies that he made together with DeNiro (Goodfellas, Casino).
The American Film Institute also recently named Raging Bull the greatest sports movie ever made. Take that Rocky and Million Dollar Baby! This is especially interesting because when DeNiro gave Scorsese the autobiography of Jake LaMotta and first talked about making a movie out of it, Scorsese declined because he claimed that he didn't know anything about boxing. The way the scenes in the ring are filmed though, maybe it was better that way. Take at look at the scene from a match where LaMotta destroys an up and coming 'good looking' boxer named Janiro:
This clip says so much about what makes Raging Bull such a great movie. The first half is brutal. Scorsese uses everything to show how violent it is inside the ring. That one shot of Janiro's nose opening up and blood pouring out is unforgettable. In addition to this, I love the unique use of sound effects. You hear the distant sound of a train as Jake goes for a knockout punch. In other scenes in the movie you hear the heavy breathing of wild animals mixed with the heavy breathing of the fighters themselves. There's plenty of small things like this that point to Scorsese's brilliance. What Scorsese also does so well is making the brutality seem so beautiful. Thus, in the second half of the clip, the high-contrast black and white images and the Pietro Mascagni opera score combine to make something as arduous as training appear heavenly.
The movie is about more than just boxing though. It was a highly personal movie for Scorsese to make. When he chose it to be his next project he was in a hospital recovering from a near-fatal drug overdose. He even thought that this could be his last movie so he put everything he could into it. The theme of redemption which applied to Jake LaMotta was also so pertinent to Scorsese himself. I can only assume that at the time Scorsese must have felt as pathetic and down as LaMotta appears in this next scene:
Even though Raging Bull is at the top of all the critics lists and considered to be the best Scorsese film by the critics, most people I talk to haven't seen it. When it comes to Scorsese everyone's seen Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Departed, and even Taxi Driver. Those are all great movies but you're missing something if you haven't seen this one, go check it out now.
For being both one of the most beautiful and most brutal movies ever made, in my opinion Raging Bull is the 8th greatest movie of the 1980s.
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