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#4—Raging Bull

The forth film on AFI’s 2007 list is a sports film. Now naturally sports films are supposed to lift us up and show us a glimpse into the human spirit. Films like The Natural and of course Rudy come to mind. Though I don’t believe that this 1980 film was really supposed to inspire us, but instead show a grittier side to 1940s boxing.

Raging Bull is the true story of Jake LaMotta, The Bronx Bull, and his ‘fight’ to middle-weight boxing championship in the 40s and 50s. The audience follows LaMotta in a flashback that focuses more on   LaMotta outside of the ring and only really highlights his boxing career. Since his boxing career his only shown in pieces, the audience is given a more personal insight on who LaMotta really was;  from the meeting of his second wife, to the relationship (or lack thereof) with the ‘neighborhood’ guys, and his relationship with his brother/manager Joey.

From an acting stand point this film is a very character driven movie. The action is not the main focus as in such films like Rocky. Robert De Niro portrays LaMotta, for which he won an Oscar for. De Niro does a great job bringing LaMotta’s energy and sometimes anger to the screen. As in other biopics, the supporting cast is just that, supporting. Joe Pesci, his first collaboration with Scorsese and De Niro, does a great job as LaMotta’s brother Joey. The hard thing about Pesci’s performance is because I have seen his other work with Scorsese, it looked and sounded the same as his performance in Goodfellas.  LaMotta’s second wife Vicki is played by Cathy Moriarty. I personally couldn’t feel for Moriarty or her character. Moriarty was nominated for an Oscar, but I just found her very stiff and boring until the marital spats began.

Aside from De Niro’s performance, this film is what Martin Scorsese looked like in his prime. The direction and the scene set up that Scorsese put into this film shows on screen. When you watch this film you can feel that Scorsese had his passion for filmmaking. Scorsese chose to film this in black and white (remember this film was produced in 1980), I feel, to give the audience a feel of what the time period was. Watching his fights, you would have watched them in black and white. The film also feels like it was produced in the late 40s early 50s the way Scorsese moves the camera and how he sets up scenes with his actors.

I did like the movie, however I didn’t feel that this film should be this high on the 2007 list. In 1998, Raging Bull was #24 and that is where I would feel comfortable placing the film. I strongly believe that this film made this list strictly because of Martin Scorsese and his direction of this film alone. Don’t get me wrong, I think that De Niro’s performance was noteworthy, but nothing like his portrayal of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (also directed by Scorsese in 1976).

Verdict: View especially if a Martin Scorsese fan.