Review of Raging Bull (1980) by James Z — 01 Sep 2012

A masterpiece that is a superlative in terms of acting, editing, and the entire sports genre, Raging Bull represents a torrent of raw, violent masculinity under attack. One could put forth many points that this is Scorsese's magnum opus, and they wouldn't be wrong. You even could say that this film saved his career and life in the early 80s as he was recovering from coke addiction.

It tells the story of how boxer Jake La Motta nearly destroyed his life due to out of control anger issues and persistent sexual jealousy toward his wife. De Niro delivers the performance of his life (the massive weight gain is just a tiny part of it) and with Pesci to back him up, I can confidently say that no other film matches this one in terms of acting. Cathy Moriarty is also great as La Motta's victimized wife, and Frank Vincent's turn as Salvy foresees something about a shinebox. We can sympathize with Jake despite his rage and disgusting appetite, with his insecurities and frustration, with the mafia keeping the title out of his hand, while also seeing him for the repellent jerk he is.

Raging Bull is an editor's wet dream. It honestly might be the best edited film I've ever seen. The way the picture flows together seamlessly, making smart use of cuts or doing without them, adds to the technical marvel. Thelma Schoonmaker won a well deserved Oscar for her technique. The movie contains one of the greatest tracking shots of all time, in the championship title scene, as it follows La Motta from his dressing room all the way to the ring. This combined with a beautiful musical piece by composer Pietro Mascagni makes for raw emotion on steroids, and I'm not ashamed to say it made me weep. The cinematography of this film is a sight to behold thanks to Michael Chapman, who also shot Taxi Driver, and the black and white lens gives it a strange melancholy beauty.

Since redemption is a key feature of Scorsese's pictures we get an ambiguous ending here about the nature of Jake's rebirth. As he quotes Brando's famous speech from On the Waterfront, we wonder if he really does see the problems he caused or simply looking for someone else to blame.

While the film is bleak, it also has a tendency to be very funny at times. The dynamic and countless dialogue exchanges between De Niro and Pesci are comedy gold. I always burst out laughing at the scene where Jake loses his shit over a burnt steak, and again when he gets Joey to punch him in the face over and over again. And no other film could pull off a hilarious line like "your mother sucks fucking big fucking elephant dick" so well.

So in other words Raging Bull is a masterpiece and one that should be seen by everyone and seen again. A man that dies without seeing this film is not a man at all.