From the onset of the film with the Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo from Mascagni with slow-motion photography and the fog behind the ring you know you’re witnessing a masterpiece
From the onset of the film with the Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo from Mascagni with slow-motion photography and the fog behind the ring you know you’re witnessing a masterpiece
The sequences in the ring I think have a strong case for being the greatest directed cinema in the art form’s history – Scorsese masterfully speeds up and slows down the photography. He uses flashbulbs for lighting, for psychological effect, and for those exquisite freeze-frames to accentuate the violence and brutality of the moment
Plain documentary like black and white titles on the date and time – which grounds the film in realism but I agree with this take as well— Jeffrey M. Anderson from Combustible Celluloid “The boxing sequences have little to do with reality, but cinematically they explode.”
I forget, even after seeing the film 8-10 times we start with the older Jake LaMotta in 1964— sad, fat, and it’s jaw-dropping to see De Niro (our greatest actor in his and (our collective) greatest performance) with the transformation – Cole Smithey from Cole Smithey.com “Robert De Niro’s metamorphosis into boxing legend Jake La Motta (AKA the Bronx Bull) is one of the most impressive acting transformations on celluloid.”
cinema’s single greatest acting performance
When we go back to 1941 we get the bell ringing and Scorsese’s trademark rolling tracking shot in on the boxing corner—magnificent
When we go back to 1941 we get the bell ringing and Scorsese’s trademark rolling tracking shot in on the boxing corner—magnificent
I think the servicemen fighting in the stands, the chaos, is important to understanding the Scorsese worldview. This isn’t Norman Rockwell’s 1941—and the riots in Gangs of New York, the mob in Last Temptation– this is an edgier New York—an tenser world—very East coast NYC, Philly, Boston
This is the rare auteur masterpiece (and my current #4 film of all-time) where I think you could reasonably start the praise and appreciation of the film with the acting achievement as well. De Niro’s LaMotta is truly one of cinema’s greatest character. There’s an odd nobility “I ain’t going down for nobody” in him wanting to make it without the mob. It’s tragic when he cries (along with his trainer) when he throws the fight and you feel it. The boxing world is a metaphor for the world and it’s, again, a hard world—a rigged game. And he’s a sinful man (at best— he’s a monster as well).
Both the film and LaMotta are relentless. It’s a difficult watch—unbearably uncomfortable at times like a von Trier film.
Strong take from Camby at the NY Times- “Though Raging Bull has only three principal characters, it is a big film, its territory being the landscape of the soul.”
It’s also a great pairing with Taxi Driver in so many ways including the characters of Travis Bickle. Cathy Moriarty’s “Vickie” (with her low Lauren-Bacall or Scar-jo-like voice) is his Cybil but he has the clout as a boxer to land her as his wife. He’s clearly as toxic as Travis. Scorsese shoots their obsession (Ebert talks about the Madonna/Whore complex of LaMotta here and in Scorsese’s work) of these women with dazzling slow-motion photography. At first it’s infatuation and arguably love—then it becomes a very unhealthy possession and paranoia—from Ebert—“From LaMotta’s point of view, Vickie sometimes floats in slow motion toward another man. The technique fixes the moment in our minds; we share LaMotta’s exaggeration of an innocent event”
at first it’s infatuation, lust and arguably love—then it becomes a very unhealthy possession and paranoia
The first fight with Sugar Ray is Michael Chapman (the cinematographer) and Scorsese on fully display—rolling around the ring on roller skates for smooth tracking shots. We speed up the photography, whip pan, slow down the photography, freeze, flashbulbs. It’s the full display of cinematic abilities and the scene previously mentioned in consideration for the greatest display of film style in a two minute span. It’s loud— bravado– expressionism. In the second Sugar Ray fight there’s just fog/smoke pouring in.
Another Copa scene and here it’s Pesci’s turn to carry the film. The entire film he’s brilliant- what a revelation in 1980—to have the acting chops to spar with De Niro and not get blasted off the screen is almost unfathomable. In the Copa scene he carries large chunks without De Niro in it at all. He beats Frank Vincent here and it’s spellbinding.
Before the title fight there’s the stunning tracking shot “oner”- that would be repeated by Creed with Ryan Coogler showing off his abundance of talent as a young auteur.
I see it as a companion to Mean Streets, Taxi Driver and New York New York as we get to see the crazy talents of De Niro as an improvisational artist. In each film he has a jousting partner—here it’s largely Pesci and they’re incredible together. This is the first of their 5 collaborations (this, one short scene in Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America, Goodfellas, Casino and soon, The Irishman)
The scenes between fights are difficult for the horror on display—the psychological and physical violence he inflicts. The scene of him knocking down the door before he punches Moriarty out is reminiscent of the stalking by Michael Myers in Halloween or Jack in The Shining.
Laughable take from David Kehr of the Chicago Reader– “I can’t pan it, but this 1980 fantasy biography of fighter Jake LaMotta seems unquestionably Martin Scorsese’s weakest work, at least to that point in his career.”
For the Sugar Ray Robinson title fight (where he loses it) we have the expressionistic display of lighting- genius. It goes dark in the ring. Steam pours out. And then we get an exaggerated violent montage that is an editing sequence on the level of Hitchcock’s shower editing sequence. The flashbulbs are there again, the line about never getting knocked down, the blood dripping off the rope in a perfect wall-art photography—
the blood dripping off the rope in a perfect wall-art photography
it’s Thelma Schoonmaker’s greatest moment as a editor (she won the Academy Award for her work here)
one of the greatest displays of editing in cinema
For the Sugar Ray Robinson title fight (where he loses it) we have the expressionistic display of lighting- genius. It goes dark in the ring.
The acting is such a tour-de-force—brash—big. He’s evil, complex, tortured and the physical transformation level of method inspired generations of actors
The breathtaking finale is a nod to On the Waterfront and Brando. It’s a bookend with the opening. It also have connected tissue to PT Anderson’s Boogie Nights (17 years later of course)—the text is so rich. Scorsese holds on the empty mirror and then we go to the passage of John about the sinful man
breathtaking finale– Scorsese holds on the empty mirror
David Kehr must be smoking some terrible Weed if he thinks Boxcar Bertha, Who’s that Knocking on my Door, and New York, New York are better Than Raging Bull.
@Randy– haha i know. How awful is that review? I’ve missed on some films but man– i hope nothing this bad. I actually like that Ebert would often write a second review if he swung and missed on a film like this.
I chose to rewatch an analyse this movie for a school project. You mind if I use some of your notes in my analysis. It’s quite similar to yours. I will only take a few sentences here and there and I will cite your website. Of course if you dont want me to, I won’t use your notes in my analysis. That’s fine.
@Azman- absolutely. Thanks for checking. Please note where I”m quoting critics here as well. I try to not quote at all when I write but sometimes (often– haha) they just nail it.
Tried to watch it for the 6th time today. Could barely do it. I have seen war films, holocaust films, sad romances and dramas but damn. I actually find myself relating to Jake and I was so depressed when the film ended. Never have I ever felt so emotionally exhausted in all my life. soooooo slow and powerful, like Joan of Arc. Masterpiece.I even analysed this film in great detail if you want I can link it to my comment below.
Apparently there is a mini
Scorsese special in my cinema, unfortunately i missed several haha.
They will screen Raging Bull, has anyone seen it in the theater? worth it? should i see it?
maybe my questions are ridiculous, but i only watch old movies at the theater if are really special
@If freakin Raging Bull isn’t worth going to the cinema, then no film does. Cinemas were made for films like Raging Bull. I’d pay like crazy to see it there. You have the chance. DON’T MISS IT.
Ok, i’m convinced haha, i’ll go see it, ask this, since i have seen it at home i wanted to know if they felt a very, very radical experience with respect to seeing it at home.
Man, you say pay like crazy, but the tickets for being a special function are expensive, i as a student cannot afford such expensive functions every day, so i select them carefully
in fact a good example of this is that I will skip Boxcar Bertha and TLTOCy Kundun
I just saw him at the theater, i would like something to add, but again you cover it very well.
Definitely, it is a different experience, i could say that you are inside the ring watching the fight, i’m not saying you can’t enjoy it at home, but listen very well, the atmosphere, the blows.
The last fight with Sugar Ray is quite scary, when they use the vertigo effect (dolly zoom) Ray looks like a monster, i had not realized until now, but uses many of the angles of the shower scene in Psycho.
Here is a very interesting article on how it was edited https://nofilmschool.com/2014/04/editor-thelma-schoonmaker-breaks-down-raging-bull-tribeca-film-festival
What are some of the best montages and editing sequences in cinema? I ask the two categories in tandem as they are neither completely synonymous nor realistically separable. Also, many scenes toe the line of being a montage or not. Here are some choices, with an asterisk beside the ones I find particularly masterful:
*Battleship Potemkin – Odessa Steps
The Passion of Joan of Arc – torture room
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – D.C. landmarks
Citizen Kane – opening, breakfast montage
Red River – “Yee-haw” embarking on journey
*High Noon – train arrival
Tokyo Story – funeral
North by Northwest – Crop duster
Ben-Hur – Chariot Race
Breathless – Patricia in car (jump cutting)
*Psycho – shower scene
Last Year at Marienbad – opening
Jules and Jim – facial expressions freeze frames
Pierrot le Fou – color tinted party scene
*Persona – opening cinema montage
*The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – climactic duel
Bonnie and Clyde – climactic killing
Once Upon a Time in the West – Opening
2001: A Space Odyssey – Stargate sequence
*The Wild Bunch – opening battle, closing massacre
The French Connection – car chase
*The Godfather – christening/Mafia leader killings cross-cutting
The Conversation – opening surveillance
Rocky – training montage
*Apocalypse Now – opening, closing killing
*Manhattan – skyline opening
*Raging Bull – final fight
Rumble Fish – opening
*Ran – castle attack
Do the Right Thing – racist insults
Goodfellas – young Henry freeze frames
JFK – “X” conspiracy reveal, Jim Garrison courtroom speech
Malcolm X – assassination
Three Colors: Blue – ending
Schindler’s List – creating the list
Dead Man – opening train ride
The Big Lebowski – bowling montage
Magnolia – “Wise Up”
In the Mood for Love – recurring passing glances
The Royal Tenenbaums – suicide attempt
Moulin Rouge – “Roxanne” cross-cutting to Satine with the Duke
The Assassination of Jesse James – distorted voiceover interludes
The Social Network – regatta
Ida – opening
The Revenant – surrealist memory sequences
Parasite – framing the housekeeper
Mank – governor election
Nomadland – keep your eyes out for this one, which occurs just after McDormand begins reciting a Shakespeare sonnet.
Some movies, such as Battleship Potemkin, Last Year at Marienbad, JFK, Moulin Rouge, and The Tree of Life, are effectively feature-length unfettered montages. Any scene from such films might be chosen at random and placed on the list.
There are some movies I have yet to see for which I have heard tales of brilliant editing sequences, including Hiroshima Mon Amour, All That Jazz, and Whiplash. What are some other suggestions?
I should also clarify that I’m asking about editing sequences, as opposed to much shorter editing moments. A list of those would include such wonders as the freeze frames from The 400 Blows or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the match cuts from Lawrence of Arabia, 2001, and The Graduate.
Off the top of my head I would add the climax of Intolerance, the music finale of Whiplash, the move to Sandford in Hot Fuzz (maybe there is a better example from that movie), the lurking shark in Jaws, and the torture room in Passion of Joan of Arc (again maybe there is a better example there that isn’t the whole movie).
Those are very good ones. Intolerance is a great landmark in editing, and I did include the PoJoA torture room on the list (the second one I mentioned). Whiplash and Hot Fuzz are movies I’m excited to see sometime. The ominous Jaws shark scenes are a wonderful inclusion.
@Anderson- I’ll let others comment here and chime in. As you can see on the page here pointed to De Niro’s work. I don’t think it is a crazy think to say though about Brando and The Godfather.
Brando’s iconic work as Vito Corleone is indeed masterful and probably a top-ten all time performance, but many, including me and Drake, do not even consider it his own best. His performance in On the Waterfront may be my number one.
You are so wrong !!! De Niro in raging Bull is the best performance of all time. According to me Brando is not even the best performance of the movie,it’s Pacino for me.
How do you think Raging Bull lands with the boxing fight scenes omitted? Do we still have a masterpiece? Certainly there’d still be De Niro’s magnum opus performance, a knockout of a narrative, powerful bookends, some perfectly dazzling camerawork and editing choices, and certainly many beautiful shots. However, I think you’ll agree when I state that the boxing ring sequences stand out among the rest as some of cinema’s greatest scenes, and I’m worried how drastic the effect might be if Scorsese had not included them.
@Graham— haha I don’t want to think about Raging Bull without these sequences. I think it is obviously still a wonderful film- but nowhere near where it is with the fight scenes included
Love the editing into the fights, often when De Niro is having a tough to watch conversation with Moriarty and you think he’s about go off and hit her we cut to the middle of a fight, very jarring and sorta scary. Influence on Cronenberg in Crash maybe.
It’s not mentioned in this page but I think the home videos montage is one of the highlights here. On rewatches it’s even more tragic showing the life LaMotta and his family could have had if not for his issues. The fact that the colour home video footage is intercut with his black and white boxing matches makes it hit even harder as the light of his happy family is lost every time he steps back into the ring to make his living.
It’s such a tough watch, as much as I get bummed out by the narrative and the acting the accomplishments behind the camera also equally awe me and cheer me up.
Has no one made the connection that instead of Malloy proclaiming to Charlie that he is the reason he never “had class”, we have Lamotta, through the mirror, metaphorically proclaiming to himself (whether he is aware of this or not I do not know) that he himself is the reason he never “had class”. Cause as we know, unlike Malloy, Lamotta’s failures and despair come from solely himself. He’s self-destructive, self-conscious, abusive, brash, etc. I think it’s a fascinating parallel between the two. Both boxers with pent up anger at the course their life has taken, but one has external factors to thank, and the other internal factors to thank
Yes, I just now got to this, revoke my cinephile card if you want
Question drake, is De Niro’s role here the first true example of real, drastic physical transformation for a role? (Or at the very least, the first for putting on a lot of extra weight… that’s much different and a much greater display of dedication than getting oneself in shape obviously)
@Matthew – it is the earliest example I can remember/find. There are actors who gained weight of course (from Orson Welles to Brando to Shelley Winters) but yeah- hard to argue it was for one role
In my original message I said: “whether he is aware of this or not I do not know“
On second thought I think he is
“All I know is this:
once I was blind and now I can see.”
This is the scripture verse at the end, obviously referring to Jake. I believe the mirror scene is him at the very least having some sort of acknowledgment and acceptance that his despair and anger is because of him, hence he is no longer blind
Or maybe I’m completely wrong… and he recites this line because he views himself as a victim like Terry (from the mob and his brother)… that seems to be the prevailing take online from what I have seen
@Matthew – Interesting observation on that ending scene, this is my # 2 movie behind only the 1st Godfather. I actually watched this before I was a real hardcore film buff as my dad recommended it shortly after I started watching boxing. So its kind of funny that I actually watched it intially when I was a teenager as more of a boxing fan than a cinephile although I obviously had an interest in movies.
Definitely a worthy film to say is the second best. Needs another viewing for me to definitively say, but it’s obviously in that company. I actually think there is a lot of stylistically quiet minutes in Raging Bull, but the handful of boxing sequences explode like few things I’ve ever seen in a film. And the scenes between those boxing sequences at the very least treats you to arguably the best acting, character building, and narrative ever. So not too bad
The score is so evocative, I admit music is a more difficult art to rate then film as I think music is more subjective. However, I may put more emphasis than most of music as I think it can set the tone in such as powerful way. A film like Aguirre as amazing as it is would not be in my top without that opening score setting the tone or Ennio Morricone’s score for Days of Heaven
creative narrative techniques – I always admire creative narrative like the breakfast montage in Citizen Kane that shows the breakdown of the marriage. In Raging Bull The 16mm home movies is brilliant giving a glimpse of fleeting moments of LaMotta seemingly happy which is so powerful when juxtaposed with everything else
The performance of course I don’t think this requires much more explanation although I will say that Pesci’s performance gets somewhat overlook because of De Niro giving arguably the best screen performance ever
The boxing scenes with the lighting, editing, and cinematography are all amazing, immaculate really. The film is of course not going for realism as the boxing is used more as an allegory. Scorsese supposedly doesn’t even like boxing or sports in general
On the surface it’s a Biopic but avoids the problem of using the run of the mill formula that so many of biopics elect to use. Yes, the film does cover 23 years but is not told linearly and more importantly is focused, there are no meaningless scenes. Initially the film was going to include scenes from his childhood my wisely removed them
The pacing is crucial. There are scenes with such visceral energy, the boxing scenes of course but also scenes like the one in prison where he breaks down and starts punching the wall while screaming. An entire film of scenes like this would be difficult which is why some of the scenes in between are so crucial; they enhance the high energy scenes as they give the film some balance
David Kehr must be smoking some terrible Weed if he thinks Boxcar Bertha, Who’s that Knocking on my Door, and New York, New York are better Than Raging Bull.
@Randy– haha i know. How awful is that review? I’ve missed on some films but man– i hope nothing this bad. I actually like that Ebert would often write a second review if he swung and missed on a film like this.
Hey drake,
I chose to rewatch an analyse this movie for a school project. You mind if I use some of your notes in my analysis. It’s quite similar to yours. I will only take a few sentences here and there and I will cite your website. Of course if you dont want me to, I won’t use your notes in my analysis. That’s fine.
@Azman- absolutely. Thanks for checking. Please note where I”m quoting critics here as well. I try to not quote at all when I write but sometimes (often– haha) they just nail it.
And sometimes, like with David Kehr, they whack their own hand with the hammer instead of the nail.
@Graham– haha I know – poor David Kehr– what a ridiculous review
Tried to watch it for the 6th time today. Could barely do it. I have seen war films, holocaust films, sad romances and dramas but damn. I actually find myself relating to Jake and I was so depressed when the film ended. Never have I ever felt so emotionally exhausted in all my life. soooooo slow and powerful, like Joan of Arc. Masterpiece.I even analysed this film in great detail if you want I can link it to my comment below.
Apparently there is a mini
Scorsese special in my cinema, unfortunately i missed several haha.
They will screen Raging Bull, has anyone seen it in the theater? worth it? should i see it?
maybe my questions are ridiculous, but i only watch old movies at the theater if are really special
@If freakin Raging Bull isn’t worth going to the cinema, then no film does. Cinemas were made for films like Raging Bull. I’d pay like crazy to see it there. You have the chance. DON’T MISS IT.
Ok, i’m convinced haha, i’ll go see it, ask this, since i have seen it at home i wanted to know if they felt a very, very radical experience with respect to seeing it at home.
Man, you say pay like crazy, but the tickets for being a special function are expensive, i as a student cannot afford such expensive functions every day, so i select them carefully
in fact a good example of this is that I will skip Boxcar Bertha and TLTOCy Kundun
I just saw him at the theater, i would like something to add, but again you cover it very well.
Definitely, it is a different experience, i could say that you are inside the ring watching the fight, i’m not saying you can’t enjoy it at home, but listen very well, the atmosphere, the blows.
The last fight with Sugar Ray is quite scary, when they use the vertigo effect (dolly zoom) Ray looks like a monster, i had not realized until now, but uses many of the angles of the shower scene in Psycho.
Here is a very interesting article on how it was edited
https://nofilmschool.com/2014/04/editor-thelma-schoonmaker-breaks-down-raging-bull-tribeca-film-festival
@Aldo- awesome share here- thank you!
What are some of the best montages and editing sequences in cinema? I ask the two categories in tandem as they are neither completely synonymous nor realistically separable. Also, many scenes toe the line of being a montage or not. Here are some choices, with an asterisk beside the ones I find particularly masterful:
*Battleship Potemkin – Odessa Steps
The Passion of Joan of Arc – torture room
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – D.C. landmarks
Citizen Kane – opening, breakfast montage
Red River – “Yee-haw” embarking on journey
*High Noon – train arrival
Tokyo Story – funeral
North by Northwest – Crop duster
Ben-Hur – Chariot Race
Breathless – Patricia in car (jump cutting)
*Psycho – shower scene
Last Year at Marienbad – opening
Jules and Jim – facial expressions freeze frames
Pierrot le Fou – color tinted party scene
*Persona – opening cinema montage
*The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – climactic duel
Bonnie and Clyde – climactic killing
Once Upon a Time in the West – Opening
2001: A Space Odyssey – Stargate sequence
*The Wild Bunch – opening battle, closing massacre
The French Connection – car chase
*The Godfather – christening/Mafia leader killings cross-cutting
The Conversation – opening surveillance
Rocky – training montage
*Apocalypse Now – opening, closing killing
*Manhattan – skyline opening
*Raging Bull – final fight
Rumble Fish – opening
*Ran – castle attack
Do the Right Thing – racist insults
Goodfellas – young Henry freeze frames
JFK – “X” conspiracy reveal, Jim Garrison courtroom speech
Malcolm X – assassination
Three Colors: Blue – ending
Schindler’s List – creating the list
Dead Man – opening train ride
The Big Lebowski – bowling montage
Magnolia – “Wise Up”
In the Mood for Love – recurring passing glances
The Royal Tenenbaums – suicide attempt
Moulin Rouge – “Roxanne” cross-cutting to Satine with the Duke
The Assassination of Jesse James – distorted voiceover interludes
The Social Network – regatta
Ida – opening
The Revenant – surrealist memory sequences
Parasite – framing the housekeeper
Mank – governor election
Nomadland – keep your eyes out for this one, which occurs just after McDormand begins reciting a Shakespeare sonnet.
Some movies, such as Battleship Potemkin, Last Year at Marienbad, JFK, Moulin Rouge, and The Tree of Life, are effectively feature-length unfettered montages. Any scene from such films might be chosen at random and placed on the list.
There are some movies I have yet to see for which I have heard tales of brilliant editing sequences, including Hiroshima Mon Amour, All That Jazz, and Whiplash. What are some other suggestions?
I should also clarify that I’m asking about editing sequences, as opposed to much shorter editing moments. A list of those would include such wonders as the freeze frames from The 400 Blows or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the match cuts from Lawrence of Arabia, 2001, and The Graduate.
Off the top of my head I would add the climax of Intolerance, the music finale of Whiplash, the move to Sandford in Hot Fuzz (maybe there is a better example from that movie), the lurking shark in Jaws, and the torture room in Passion of Joan of Arc (again maybe there is a better example there that isn’t the whole movie).
Those are very good ones. Intolerance is a great landmark in editing, and I did include the PoJoA torture room on the list (the second one I mentioned). Whiplash and Hot Fuzz are movies I’m excited to see sometime. The ominous Jaws shark scenes are a wonderful inclusion.
Isn’t Marlon Brando in The Godfather the greatest single acting performance?
@Anderson- I’ll let others comment here and chime in. As you can see on the page here pointed to De Niro’s work. I don’t think it is a crazy think to say though about Brando and The Godfather.
Brando’s iconic work as Vito Corleone is indeed masterful and probably a top-ten all time performance, but many, including me and Drake, do not even consider it his own best. His performance in On the Waterfront may be my number one.
You are so wrong !!! De Niro in raging Bull is the best performance of all time. According to me Brando is not even the best performance of the movie,it’s Pacino for me.
How do you think Raging Bull lands with the boxing fight scenes omitted? Do we still have a masterpiece? Certainly there’d still be De Niro’s magnum opus performance, a knockout of a narrative, powerful bookends, some perfectly dazzling camerawork and editing choices, and certainly many beautiful shots. However, I think you’ll agree when I state that the boxing ring sequences stand out among the rest as some of cinema’s greatest scenes, and I’m worried how drastic the effect might be if Scorsese had not included them.
@Graham— haha I don’t want to think about Raging Bull without these sequences. I think it is obviously still a wonderful film- but nowhere near where it is with the fight scenes included
Is it a problem that I say to myself “He ain’t pretty no more!” whenever I squash a mosquito?
[…] Raging Bull – Scorsese […]
Raging Bull is getting the Criterion Treatment in 4K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gave this my third viewing this morning.
Love the editing into the fights, often when De Niro is having a tough to watch conversation with Moriarty and you think he’s about go off and hit her we cut to the middle of a fight, very jarring and sorta scary. Influence on Cronenberg in Crash maybe.
It’s not mentioned in this page but I think the home videos montage is one of the highlights here. On rewatches it’s even more tragic showing the life LaMotta and his family could have had if not for his issues. The fact that the colour home video footage is intercut with his black and white boxing matches makes it hit even harder as the light of his happy family is lost every time he steps back into the ring to make his living.
It’s such a tough watch, as much as I get bummed out by the narrative and the acting the accomplishments behind the camera also equally awe me and cheer me up.
Has no one made the connection that instead of Malloy proclaiming to Charlie that he is the reason he never “had class”, we have Lamotta, through the mirror, metaphorically proclaiming to himself (whether he is aware of this or not I do not know) that he himself is the reason he never “had class”. Cause as we know, unlike Malloy, Lamotta’s failures and despair come from solely himself. He’s self-destructive, self-conscious, abusive, brash, etc. I think it’s a fascinating parallel between the two. Both boxers with pent up anger at the course their life has taken, but one has external factors to thank, and the other internal factors to thank
Yes, I just now got to this, revoke my cinephile card if you want
@Matthew- I like it Matthew- and I’m with you.
Question drake, is De Niro’s role here the first true example of real, drastic physical transformation for a role? (Or at the very least, the first for putting on a lot of extra weight… that’s much different and a much greater display of dedication than getting oneself in shape obviously)
@Matthew – it is the earliest example I can remember/find. There are actors who gained weight of course (from Orson Welles to Brando to Shelley Winters) but yeah- hard to argue it was for one role
What about Elizabeth Taylor in Virginia Wolf?
@Jagman to the rescue! Nice work
In my original message I said: “whether he is aware of this or not I do not know“
On second thought I think he is
“All I know is this:
once I was blind and now I can see.”
This is the scripture verse at the end, obviously referring to Jake. I believe the mirror scene is him at the very least having some sort of acknowledgment and acceptance that his despair and anger is because of him, hence he is no longer blind
Or maybe I’m completely wrong… and he recites this line because he views himself as a victim like Terry (from the mob and his brother)… that seems to be the prevailing take online from what I have seen
@Matthew – Interesting observation on that ending scene, this is my # 2 movie behind only the 1st Godfather. I actually watched this before I was a real hardcore film buff as my dad recommended it shortly after I started watching boxing. So its kind of funny that I actually watched it intially when I was a teenager as more of a boxing fan than a cinephile although I obviously had an interest in movies.
Definitely a worthy film to say is the second best. Needs another viewing for me to definitively say, but it’s obviously in that company. I actually think there is a lot of stylistically quiet minutes in Raging Bull, but the handful of boxing sequences explode like few things I’ve ever seen in a film. And the scenes between those boxing sequences at the very least treats you to arguably the best acting, character building, and narrative ever. So not too bad
A rough outline of my case for Raging Bull
The score is so evocative, I admit music is a more difficult art to rate then film as I think music is more subjective. However, I may put more emphasis than most of music as I think it can set the tone in such as powerful way. A film like Aguirre as amazing as it is would not be in my top without that opening score setting the tone or Ennio Morricone’s score for Days of Heaven
creative narrative techniques – I always admire creative narrative like the breakfast montage in Citizen Kane that shows the breakdown of the marriage. In Raging Bull The 16mm home movies is brilliant giving a glimpse of fleeting moments of LaMotta seemingly happy which is so powerful when juxtaposed with everything else
The performance of course I don’t think this requires much more explanation although I will say that Pesci’s performance gets somewhat overlook because of De Niro giving arguably the best screen performance ever
The boxing scenes with the lighting, editing, and cinematography are all amazing, immaculate really. The film is of course not going for realism as the boxing is used more as an allegory. Scorsese supposedly doesn’t even like boxing or sports in general
On the surface it’s a Biopic but avoids the problem of using the run of the mill formula that so many of biopics elect to use. Yes, the film does cover 23 years but is not told linearly and more importantly is focused, there are no meaningless scenes. Initially the film was going to include scenes from his childhood my wisely removed them
The pacing is crucial. There are scenes with such visceral energy, the boxing scenes of course but also scenes like the one in prison where he breaks down and starts punching the wall while screaming. An entire film of scenes like this would be difficult which is why some of the scenes in between are so crucial; they enhance the high energy scenes as they give the film some balance
Is this or Taxi Driver Schrader’s best work?