Raging Bull

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Raging Bull

Is there anything worse than the overrated classic? I think not, and one movie that falls into that category is Raging Bull. Almost universally praised by both audiences and critics alike, it's one of those true "classics". But is it really? To me, it's just another "good movie": one that if it were released today, I wouldn't feel as bad giving it this review that's lower than most others. Alas, I'll get tons of backlash for this review. Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro, in a weight-gaining role only outshadowed by Vincent D'Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket) is a boxer at the top of his game. He's the middleweight world champion, he recently got married to a beautiful woman (Cathy Moriarty). However, he's not very stable emotionally, and throughout the course of his life, starts to break down. Joe Pesci pops in and out randomly as Jake's manager/brother Joey. But in this movie, he's not funny like a clown. I found Raging Bull to be a very interesting movie. It's a biopic about someone I hadn't even heard of before I heard of this movie. It successfully shows the whole life of someone, not just portions of it, like others do. It gets down deep into the characters, especially Jake, and shows what affects each of the three main characters and why they do what they do. Most movies could learn from this one. However, I didn't really "feel" anything while watching it. Jake was an interesting chracter, but I didn't feel along with him. When various events occured, I wasn't affected in the way I should have been. I think Martin Scorsese really made a superficial film here. He makes an impressive film to look at, especially in the black and white, and the acting of everyone is great, but underneath the surface, there's nothing really there. But I hope I haven't dissuaded you from seeing Raging Bull. It is a very good movie, and one that you can't go through life without seeing. My rating: 7/10 Rated R for violence and language.

I suppose I am in the minority, but I do not believe "Raging Bull" is a great movie, or even a particularly good movie.the photography is fine and the acting is very good, but I could find no reason why anyone would make a film about Jake La Mottas' life.There is no question, that Mr. La Motta was a fine boxer, but other than that there is nothing especially noteworthy about him. In fact, Mr. La Motta seems to have been a violent, abusive man.During the film, Mr. La Motta, beats on opponents in the boxing ring, beats on his wife, beats on strangers, beats on his own brother, and beats on cement walls.Jake La Motta isn't the only violent member of the family. Jakes brother Joey(Joe Pesci) commits an extremely brutal assault against a stranger just for talking with his brothers wife. Its fine to make biographical films about less than noble people, but there should be an underlying lesson.All I learned from "Raging Bull" is that Mr. La Motta was a violent, abusive jerk.

I don't write reviews on IMDb very often, but this particular movie baffles me. How is this in the IMDb Top 250? The only positives I have are that it's well shot and does an excellent job portraying what it's like to be in the same room as a group of people with nothing good to say about each other. The acting is solid all around but nothing groundbreaking. Joe Pesci played Joe Pesci. I didn't find Robert Deniro's performance that amazing; yes he gained 60 pounds to play the retired LaMotta, but besides a lot of yelling, nothing about this universally lauded performance stood out to me. Speaking of yelling, about 70% of the movie is comprised of angry people yelling at each other. I guess all the characters are supposed to be unhappy, but that doesn't mean they all have to be unlikable. There's no reason to care about any of the characters since we hardly get to know them. Maybe the fact that a more relatable side of the characters is never displayed is part of what the film is going for thematically, but the presentation could have been a lot better. For these reasons, I found Raging Bull mostly boring and somewhat exhausting to sit through. I've at least liked every other Martin Scorsese film I've seen, but this one left me unsatisfied and with a sour taste in my mouth.

Raging Bull is one of Martin Scorsese's best films and with out a doubt the best film of the 80's. It follows the career of middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta as his career progresses but his emotional problems worsen. The most notable feature in Raging Bull is the colour. All but the home Video footage is shot in black and white. This was a huge risk on Scorsase's part but it defiantly pays off, the film wouldn't feel the same had it been done in colour. Throughout the entire film acting is simply impeccable. De Niro and Pesci are both stunning. The script is amazing, you really feel like you understand every character, none of their actions seem out of character no matter how outrageous they may be. Scorsese's directing is stunning. He really is a very talented director and in Raging Bull it shows. The fight scenes are famous for their brutal realism and it's easy to see why. He puts you right in the ring with the fighters and you cant help but admire their technical brilliance. However, the most stunning aspect of all is Thelma Schoonmaker's editing. Its some of the best editing I've ever seen especially during the fight scenes where it's positively breathtaking. No matter what happens you always find yourself sympathising with La Motta, even during his most outrageous moments. Not only is Raging Bull the greatest film to come out of the 80's but is one of the greatest this century that's highly underrated and defiantly worth owning. 10 out of 10

"Raging Bull" is a cinematic masterpiece which pulls no punches. Based on a true story, Robert De Niro (in his second Oscar-winning role) stars as Jake La Motta, a middle-weight prize-fighter from the late-1940s and early-1950s, who basically destroys himself and those around him because of an uncontrollable temper and poor decision-making. Instead of going down as one of the greatest boxers of all time, La Motta ruined his career because he was unable to see the "big picture". He threw bouts, he got involved with low-life underworld crime figures, he beat his wife (Cathy Moriarty, in her Oscar-nominated role), he abused all those closest to him, and he had relationships with young girls who were still considered minors. Even his strongest tie, his younger brother (Joe Pesci, in an Oscar-nominated, star-making part), gets cut during the course of his untimely self-destruction. La Motta goes from middle-weight champ to a washed-out stand-up comic at a local club. He gains weight uncontrollably and ultimately just becomes another face in the crowd by the end of the film. By the end, La Motta proclaims that he: "Could have been a contender....", quoting Marlon Brando's famous line from "On the Waterfront". "Raging Bull" is one of those films that is masterfully crafted in all possible departments. The screenplay is one of the best in the history of film. Martin Scorsese's direction is superb and so is the cinematography (shot almost entirely in black-and-white). The film delivered De Niro an Oscar and also won for its editing. "Raging Bull" is one of those films that is very close to "Citizen Kane". They both deal with men who desperately want to be great, but ultimately destroy themselves and those around them. This film is often rated the best film of the 1980s. I cannot argue with that opinion. I also think that this is the best work that Scorsese and De Niro have ever done. The fact that this film lost the Best Picture Oscar to "Ordinary People" in 1980 is probably the biggest disappointment since "Citizen Kane" lost to "How Green Was My Valley" in 1941. Excellent. 5 stars out of 5.

It would be wrong to say this film is rubbish, it certainly isn't, but it's important to remember that a films purpose is to entertain, inform or move you in some way. Unfortunately this film is devoid of all three. Like a number of films it's technically well made, the acting is fine, but the story and the characters are exceedingly uninteresting. People say that DeNiro's performance is amazing, well, I don't know how you can say that. His character comes across as selfish paranoid psycho, with absolutely no morals and no redeeming qualities. Yet we know he has married twice, so there must have be something people liked about him. Unfortunately the film is too heavy on the negative side, no balance is shown to Jake's character, so the believability and ultimately the interest in the film disappears. In fact this is rather typical of Scorsese, a very overrated Writer/Director. I liked Taxi Driver and GoodFellas, but most of his films are actually very poor (Casino, Gangs of NY, Cape Fear). Forgettable and uninteresting, yet technically well made film. 4/10.