Raging Bull (1980)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Jake LaMotta (book) and
Joseph Carter (book) ...

Release Date:

19 December 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Plot:

An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring, destroys his life outside it.

Plot Keywords:

Violence | Paranoia | Jealousy | Boxer | Rage

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Jake La Motta
Cathy Moriarty	...	Vickie Thailer
Joe Pesci	...	Joey La Motta
Frank Vincent	...	Salvy Batts
Nicholas Colasanto	...	Tommy Como
Theresa Saldana	...	Lenore
Mario Gallo	...	Mario
Frank Adonis	...	Patsy
Joseph Bono	...	Guido
Frank Topham	...	Toppy
Lori Anne Flax	...	Irma
Charles Scorsese	...	Charlie
Don Dunphy	...	Himself
Bill Hanrahan	...	Eddie Eagan
Rita Bennett	...	Emma

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:M | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Brazil:16 | Philippines:R-18 | Spain:18 (1st DVD Edition) | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Israel:16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (re-rating) (2000) | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions

Trivia:

Martin Scorsese was worried about the On the Waterfront (1954) recitation because he knew he'd be inviting critical comparison between the scene in this film and the original film's scene. Robert De Niro read it in various ways. Scorsese chose the take in which the recitation is extremely flat specifically to mute the comparison, and to suggest that it is simply a recitation and not indicative of how Jake LaMotta felt about his brother.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the Entrance to the Last Fight as Jake makes his way to the ring you can hear the ring announcer but as Jake passes the bottom of the ring the announcer has his hand by his side holding the microphone, therefore not able to be broadcasting.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jake La Motta: I remember those cheers / They still ring in my ears / After years, they remain in my thoughts. / Go to one night / I took off my robe, and what'd I do? I forgot to wear shorts. / I recall every fall / Every hook, every jab / The worst way a guy can get rid of his flab. / As you know, my life wasn't drab. / Though I'd much...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Forty Years of Fuck (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Ain't Got Nobody

Scorsese's Best? De Niro's Best? The 1980s' Best? Probably on All Three

"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.