Film: Raging Bull
Director: Martin Scorsese
Country: USA
Released: November 1980
Runtime: 129 minutes
Genre: Sports Film
Studio: Chartoff-Winkler / United Artists
Influenced: Darren Aronofsky, David O. Russell, Lynne Ramsay, Ryan Coogler, Gavin O'Connor
Perhaps it's hard to believe now but, before the towering success of Raging Bull, Scorsese's career was at a crossroads. Debilitated by a cocaine habit, and reeling from the commercial and critical failure of his previous film New York, New York (1977), Scorsese was on the canvas and it was the angelic intervention of his good friend Robert de Niro that got him back on his feet. In 1994, on the set of The Godfather Part II, De Niro had read boxer Jake LaMotta’s autobiography and wanted to adapt it for the screen, but initially Scorsese – who wasn't a sports fan – didn't share his enthusiasm. It was only at his lowest ebb, after a cocaine overdose, that Scorsese began to identify with LaMotta, prompted by de Niro again raising the prospect of them collaborating on an adaptation. The partnership between de Niro and Scorsese on Raging Bull turned out to be a turning point for both of their careers.
The film opens with an incredible, balletic sequence of de Niro as LaMotta dancing on his feet, but we get the sense of a caged tiger, showing at once both the freedom that boxing brings and also its imprisons effect. Scorsese wasn't interested in trying to portray boxing in a realistic way in the same way as Rocky, but he was excited about the idea of it as theatre, using slo-mo and dramatic close-ups to underscore the poetry of a boxer's movements. At home, we get the picture of LaMotta as a man who is violent, animalistic and abusive to women, and throughout the film his head is described as being "hard", "rock", "concrete", etc. Nobody can get through to him and the inner turmoil that imprisons him. The film portrays LaMotta's relentless pursuit of success inside the ring and his reckless behaviour outside of it, delving into the boxer's self-destructive nature, his jealousy, paranoia and his turbulent relationships with his wife, Vickie (Cathy Moriarty), and his brother, Joey (Joe Pesci).
While de Niro (rightly) gets many of the plaudits for his astounding performance, it has to be said that Joe Pesci is also magnificent in his first major screen role. Recommended by de Niro, who saw him in a minor role as a wiseguy in The Death Collector (1976), Pesci had previously been in a Beatles-style band as well as a comedy duo with Frank Vincent (later of Goodfellas, Casino and The Sopranos fame), who also got a part in Raging Bull as Salvy. LaMotta himself even appears in the film as the referee in the middleweight championship winning fight, one of the film's best scenes, especially the ring walk, which was the first time Scorsese had used a Steadicam to film a tracking shot. Scorsese also makes innovative use of Super 8 camera footage to give the film a documentary feel at times, while the black & white cinematography imbues the film with a timeless quality and adds to the expressiveness of the fight scenes.
To contrast with the slow-motion footage during the boxing sequences, Scorsese favours a dynamic and frenetic editing style during other scenes, with quick cuts and jump cuts enhancing the intensity and energy of the film. The final fight between Jake and Sugar Ray Robinson serves as the climax, showcasing the physical toll boxing has taken on Jake's body and the emotional toll it has taken on his relationships. His paranoia about his wife cheating on him eats him up, even causing him to fall out with his brother. By the end of the movie, we see his demise from once being a popular host at his own large bar called Jake LaMotta's in Florida to being the MC in a poky underground bar with a handful of punters in New York. In the final scene, he recites Marlon Brando's "I coulda' been a contender" speech into the mirror. Raging Bull was nominated for eight Oscars, winning two for Best Actor (Robert De Niro) and Best Film Editing, solidifying the Scorsese-de Niro partnership for all time.
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